What does constant prefixed with double colons mean?

Question

I have seen some constants prefixed with double colons like

::DATE_FORMAT

What does this mean, and how are they different from the normal constants ?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17362545/understanding-namespaces-in-ruby/17362617#17362617 — Marek Lipka, Aug 20 '13 at 11:18

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 20 '13 at 11:19

2

It's the scope resolution operator. With an empty LHS, it is scoping to global.

It would be used when simply accessing the property/method/etc by its name alone would be ambiguous, e.g. a DATE_FORMAT available in scope which isn't the one you're after.

answered Aug 20 '13 at 11:19

alex

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What does constant prefixed with double colons mean?

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