From: Joel VanderWerf <vjoel@...>
Date: 2007-03-05T04:42:46+09:00
Subject: Re: How to download file from web site

Bil Kleb wrote:
> ara.t.howard@noaa.gov wrote:
>>
>> require 'open-uri'
>> uri = 'http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/17670/RMagick-1.15.3.tar.gz'
>>
>> open(uri) do |fin|
>>   open(File.basename(uri), 'w') do |fout|
>>     while(buf = fin.read(8192))
>>       fout.write buf
>>     end
>>   end
>> end
> 
> He asks naively...
> 
>  Why is this so complicated, e.g., the 8192 buffered write, etc.?

It does seem too low-level, doesn't it? Especially in the same snippet 
with open(uri), which abstracts so much.

Didn't the rio library[1] have a way to abstract this operation?

This is from the docs:

> Copy a web-page to a file 
>  rio('http://rubydoc.org/') > rio('afile')

I suppose it's using the same buffering technique underneath that 
abstraction.

[1] http://rio.rubyforge.org/  (never used it myself)

-- 
       vjoel : Joel VanderWerf : path berkeley edu : 510 665 3407