From: Robert Dober <robert.dober@...>
Date: 2007-05-06T20:55:49+09:00
Subject: Re: How can I output an object/variable's name?

On 5/6/07, John Joyce <dangerwillrobinsondanger@gmail.com> wrote:
<snip>
> maybe it's not necessary to do this. I want the instance's name (like
> p1 here) to be accessible and manipulatable like an attribute as well.
>
Maybe there is a slight missunderstanding between local variables and
instance_variables

Look at this

528/28 > cat inst-vars.rb && ruby inst-vars.rb
# vim: sts=2 sw=2 tw=0 expandtab nu:
#
@a = 42
@b = "fourtytwo"
@c = {:a=>42,:b=>22}
@d = Object.new

instance_variables.each do
  |ivar|
  puts "instance variable #{ivar} refers to object: " <<
     instance_variable_get(ivar).inspect
end
instance variable @d refers to object: #<Object:0x2b68198>
instance variable @b refers to object: "fourtytwo"
instance variable @a refers to object: 42
instance variable @c refers to object: {:b=>22, :a=>42}

Yet there is still no way to go from the object to the instance variable.
And yes you can achieve about the same for local variables with
local_variables.each do
  |lvar|

  value = eval(lvar)
...
end

I see why you needed eval now!!

Cheers
Robert
>


-- 
You see things; and you say Why?
But I dream things that never were; and I say Why not?
-- George Bernard Shaw