Ruby 2.3 introduced the safe navigation operator (&.) as a native language feature that provides the same functionality as
ActiveSupport’s try! method but with better performance characteristics.
The safe navigation operator is part of Ruby’s core language, which means:
- Better performance: Native language features are typically faster than library-based implementations
- Reduced dependencies: Using built-in language features reduces reliance on external libraries
- Improved readability: The
&. syntax is more concise and widely recognized by Ruby developers
- Future compatibility: Native language features are more stable and less likely to change compared to library methods
ActiveSupport’s try! method was useful before Ruby 2.3, but now that the safe navigation operator is available, it’s the preferred
approach for safe method chaining.
What is the potential impact?
Using try! instead of the safe navigation operator can lead to:
- Performance degradation: Method-based approaches are slower than native language operators
- Unnecessary complexity: Additional dependency on ActiveSupport when native Ruby features suffice
- Maintenance overhead: Code that relies on library methods when language features are available
