From: David Vallner <david@...>
Date: 2006-08-25T06:30:54+09:00
Subject: Re: Integer(nil) versus Float(nil) versus String(nil)

Christoffer Sawicki wrote:
> Dear Rubyists,
> 
> def x() yield rescue :error end
> 
> [ x { Integer(nil) }, x { Float(nil) }, x{ String(nil) } ]
> # => [0, :error, ""]
> 
> Isn't that a bit inconsistent?
> 
> Cheers,
> 

Probably.

<rant>
But my Java-addled brain makes me make damn sure nulls / nils don't come 
anywhere near I expect actual data, like into collections or numbers. If 
you don't rely on automagical conversion to work, it can't bite you if 
it doesn't. Just code explicitly.
</rant>

The to_foo and #Foo() type conversion methods being different always 
confuses the heck of me, which is why I get paranoid around them. Does 
anyone have a link to some rationale for and explanation of the difference?

David Vallner