From: Issac Trotts <ITrotts@...>
Date: 2001-12-14T01:52:48+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:28421] Re: The maddening output of Arrays

OK, how about this:

##
# print out Arrays Python-style
class Array
    def to_s
        self.inspect
    end
end

##
# puts Arrays Python-style
alias oldputs puts
def puts(obj)
    if obj.kind_of? Array
        oldputs(obj.inspect)
    else
        oldputs(obj)
    end
end






> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Alan Black [mailto:dblack@candle.superlink.net]
> Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 6:11 AM
> To: ruby-talk@ruby-lang.org
> Subject: [ruby-talk:28409] Re: The maddening output of Arrays
> 
> 
> Hi --
> 
> On Thu, 13 Dec 2001, Issac Trotts wrote:
> 
> > It's a good thing Ruby makes this so easy to fix:
> >
> > class Array
> >     def to_s
> >         self.inspect
> >     end
> > end
> 
> The snag with that is that it doesn't propagate to #puts:
> 
>   irb(main):019:0> class Array; def to_s; inspect; end; end
>   nil
>   irb(main):020:0> a = [1,2,3]
>   [1, 2, 3]
>   irb(main):021:0> print a
>   [1, 2, 3]nil                       # OK, what you want
>   irb(main):022:0> puts a
>   1                                  # Not what you want
>   2
>   3
>   nil
> 
> 
> This is the thing that Matz mentioned he recently experimented with
> changing but ended up deciding not to.  It's specific to Array: that
> is, #puts has special handling for Array and its subclasses.  (I'm
> still trying to come up with a way to change this that Matz will
> accept :-)
> 
> 
> David
> 
> -- 
> David Alan Black
> home: dblack@candle.superlink.net
> work: blackdav@shu.edu
> Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav
>