Programming Ruby 3.3

Digging

Often data isn’t simply a single hash or array but comes in a complex package that combines hashes and arrays. Accessing data in a complicated structure can be a pain, but Ruby provides a shortcut with the dig method.

The dig method, which is defined for Array, Hash, and Struct, allows you to “dig” through a complicated data structure in a single command.

data = {
  mcu: [
    {name: "Iron Man", year: 2010, actors: ["Robert Downey Jr.", "Gwyneth Paltrow"]}
  ],
  starwars: [
    {name: "A New Hope", year: 1977, actors: ["Mark Hamill", "Carrie Fisher"]}
  ]
}
data[:mcu][0][:actors][1]     # => "Gwyneth Paltrow"
data.dig(:mcu, 0, :actors, 1) # => "Gwyneth Paltrow"

The biggest advantage of using dig ...