From: Robert Klemme <shortcutter@...>
Date: 2006-09-28T05:00:19+09:00
Subject: Re: problem with ".scan"

Peter Bailey <pbailey@bna.com> wrote:
> unknown wrote:
>> On Thu, 28 Sep 2006, Peter Bailey wrote:
>>
>>> Well, I know that they're not always odd or even. They've been a
>>> mix of both. But, I understand what you're saying. I will change my
>>> original script. Basically, and, please tell me if I understand
>>> this correctly: if I'm going to do a scan of a file, open the file,
>>> scan it, and then close it. Right?
>>
>> yup.  just remember to avoid this
>>
>>    string = 'foobar'
>>
>>    string.scan(%r/foo/) do |word|
>>      string << 'foo'   # can't modify while scanning
>>    end
>>
>> regards.
>>
>> -a
>
> Thanks a lot, -a! I've cleaned up my code. But, if you notice way
> above, I've got a File.read in the line before the file scan. If I do
> an "end" for the file scan, my "read" is still open, right? Meaning,
> I can still do stuff to the open file.

If you're referring to your original code, then no. You use File.read(name) 
which returns the whole file in a single string. No open connection is 
returned.

Btw, for efficiency reasons if your files are large you might consider using

File.foreach(file_name) do |line|
    ....
end

Or use File.readlines instead of File.read - that way you get an array with 
lines and not the whole file in one piece.

Kind regards

    robert