From: "Michael W. Ryder" <_mwryder@...>
Date: 2007-07-31T09:39:59+09:00
Subject: Confusion with while loop

I am trying to create a method that would allow one to skip x number of 
a character then change the next y number of a character.  While trying 
to create a simple routine I ran into two "weird" problems.  The code 
follows:

a = "1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7"
ns = 2, nc = 2

i = 0, il = a.length, xs = 0, xc = 0
while xs < ns
   if a[i, 1] == "1"
     xs += 1
   end
   i += 1
end

puts a[i, -1]

In this incarnation trying to run the code returns the following error: 
testing.rb:5:in `<': comparison of Fixnum with Array failed 
(ArgumentError).  If I change ns in the while statement to 2 I get the 
following error: testing.rb:6:in `[]': can't convert Array into Integer 
(TypeError).

I can't see why statement 5 (the while statement) thinks that ns is an 
array when it is clearly defined as an integer.  I also can't figure out 
why I get the error message in the following line when I have used that 
code in other places with no problems.  I must be missing something but 
I can't figure out what it is.