Menene bambance tsakanin strings da symbols?

Question

Accepted Answer

**Strings** sune jajjemewa masu malleability na haruffa; **symbols** (`:name`) sune jajjemewa marasa malleability, **interned** na gida — gida daya ce gida daya a cikin ƙwaƙwalwa ko'ina. Symbols ana amfani da su azaman masu karfi, masu inganci na gida (musamman maɓuɓɓugan key), while strings suke ɗaukar bayanan rubutu na gaske.

## Bambancen asali: asali da malleability

```ruby
# strings — each is a NEW object (even with the same content)
"hello".object_id == "hello".object_id    # false — two different objects
"hello" << " world"                        # mutable — can be modified in place

# symbols — the SAME symbol is always the SAME object (interned)
:hello.object_id == :hello.object_id       # true — identical object every time
:hello.frozen?                              # true — symbols are immutable
```

Kowane rubutu na string literal yana buɗewa jajje sabunta, amma symbol ce **interned** — `:hello` ce koyaushe jajje daya daidai a cikin ƙwaƙwalwa, ko nawa kadan an buɗe shi. Symbols kuma sune marasa malleability.

## Fa'idodin ƙwaƙwalwa da aiki na symbols

```text
Strings: each "name" allocates a new object → more memory, slower comparison (char by char)
Symbols: :name is ONE shared object → memory-efficient, fast comparison (by identity)
→ Symbols are ideal as identifiers used repeatedly (hash keys, method names, options).
```

## Lokacin amfani da juna

```ruby
# SYMBOLS — for identifiers: hash keys, method names, options, fixed labels
user = { name: "Ann", role: :admin }       # symbol keys (the idiom)
send(:upcase)                               # method name as a symbol
status = :active                            # a fixed label/state

# STRINGS — for actual text DATA that you display, manipulate, or that varies
name = "Ann Smith"                          # real text content
message = "Hello, #{name}"                  # building/interpolating text
user_input = gets.chomp                     # data from outside
```

Amfani da **symbols don gida** (maɓuɓɓugan key, sunayen zaɓi, jihadaje, sunayen aiki — gida da aka kaɗai, maimaitawa) da **strings don bayanan rubutu na gaske** (abubuwan da kuke nuna, suna aiki, ko sannan daga mai amfani).

## Juyawa tsakanin su

```ruby
"hello".to_sym    # :hello
:hello.to_s        # "hello"
```

## Dalilin da ya saba

Tuntuni bambancen string-da-symbol yana mahimmanci da kallon musamman Ruby, saboda symbols sune fasali da yawancin wasu harsuna ba su da shi, da amfani su azaman haka ce idiomatic Ruby.

Bambancen maini shine cewa **symbols sune interned da marasa malleability** (`:name` ce koyaushe jajje daya daidai a cikin ƙwaƙwalwa, marasa malleability), while **strings sune masu malleability kuma kowane abin da aka rubuta shine jajje sabunta**.

Wancan yana ba symbols **fa'idodin ƙwaƙwalwa da aiki** azaman gida: an kaɗa su kainsa da a raba su (inganci-na-ƙwaƙwalwa lokacin amfani da su maimaitawa), kuma ana kwatanta su ta hanyar asali (sauri) maimakon harf-ta-harf.

Karfin tambida — **amfani da symbols don gida** (maɓuɓɓugan key, sunayen aiki, sunayen zaɓi, jihadaje da aka kaɗa — abubuwan da ake amfani da su maimaitawa azaman labuɓan) da **strings don bayanan rubutu na gaske** (abubuwan da kuke nuna, suna aiki, ko da suka kawo daga maimakon jiya) — mahimmanci ne idiomatic Ruby da ke shafar dukansu inganci da wuyake.

Symbol maɓuɓɓugan key (`{ name: "Ann" }`) ce ka'ida a Ruby da Rails, da amfani da symbols don gida da aka kaɗa maimakon strings yana inganci kuma kyauta.

Tuntuni lokacin amfani da kowannen ɗaya, interning/marasa malleability na symbols, da ingancin su azaman gida yana mahimmanci kuma ana amfani da shi akai-akai Ruby ilimi — yana banbanci na fuskanci ga sabuwa (menene dalila mu yi duka?), da fahimta bambancen (symbols azaman interned inganci gida, strings azaman masu malleability bayanan rubutu) yana illa don rubuce-rubuci idiomatic, inganci Ruby kuma akai-akai jira gwaji masu nuni fahimta na wannan gida ruby fasali.