From: Dave Thomas <Dave@...>
Date: 2002-07-26T05:34:10+09:00
Subject: Re: [PATCH] object.c ruby.h (fwd)

GOTO Kentaro <gotoken@notwork.org> writes:

> I vote #truth?.  If someone asks `why not boolean' we can plead that
> Boolean algebra is just one of characterizations but not synonym for
> the truth value.

If you call Regexp#match with a non-string argument, it calls that
argument's to_str method to coerce it into a string.

So, perhaps, if the expression to pass to 'if', 'while', and friends
isn't 'true' or 'false', the interpreter should call #truth? on it to
coerce it into a truth value.[1]

If that sounds logical, then perhaps #to_truth might be a more
consistent name.


Dave


[1] Doing this would allow Perl fans to do

  class String
    def truth?
      !empty?
    end
  end
  class Integer
    def truth?
      !zero?
    end
  end

Aarrgh...