Using Default Parameters in Ruby

Ruby allows default parameters in methods/functions (all functions in Ruby are methods because everything in Ruby is an object) [1].

default_parameters.rb

def print_my_name(first_name, last_name="Chen")
  puts first_name + " " + last_name
end

print_my_name("Edward") # This will print "Edward Chen" and return nil. (Methods in Ruby will always return something)

Source code: https://github.com/yc015/Ruby-Inspect/blob/main/src/default_parameters.rb

The codes above will print:

Edward Chen

The print_my_name() uses the default parameter "Chen" for last_name.

References:
[1] https://docs.ruby-lang.org/en/2.0.0/syntax/calling_methods_rdoc.html#label-Default+Positional+Arguments Ruby’s Official Documentation about Default Positional Arguments