From: matz@... (Yukihiro Matsumoto)
Date: 2001-04-23T23:16:26+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:14078] Re: RCR: getClassFromString method

Hi,

In message "[ruby-talk:14040] RCR: getClassFromString method"
    on 01/04/23, Phil Tomson <ptkwt@shell1.aracnet.com> writes:

|It would be nice to have a function that returns a class type given a 
|string that names that class.  I realize that this is doable already in at 
|least a couple of different ways - you can use the each_object method in 
|ObjectSpace to iterate through all of the classes till you find the one 
|you need, or you can use const_get in Modules, (at least that's where I 
|think it is), but none of those ways is intuitive and easy to figure out 
|for newbies.

You are right.  None of them is intuitive and easy to fugure out.  But
think about this: Should this really be encouraged style of programming?

Unlike C++ or Java, where Class is treated specially, classes in Ruby
are plain objects, which may not need to be retrieved from name.

I have to admit I'm not yet sure whether we need this feature or not.

							matz.