From: Tom Cloyd <tomcloyd@...>
Date: 2009-05-06T19:19:13+09:00
Subject: inexplicable "undefined local variable" error`

This makes no sense to me, so...I could use a little help

In my main program I read in some ruby from an external file:

eval( File.read( "../lib/setnet/Utilities.rb" ) )

I check a variable which should now be defined (by a line in that file), 
using ruby-debug:

Breakpoint 1 at SN.rb:550
../lib/setnet/SN.rb:550
pp menu_ut  # <= my main program code about to execute, so menu_ut 
better be there
(rdb:1) p defined? menu_ut
"local-variable"  # <= looks good
(rdb:1) p menu_ut  # <= this successfully prints the expected contents 
of this array.
[...]
(rdb:1) c  # now the above line of program code should execute without 
error...and we get instead...

../lib/setnet/SN.rb:550:in `proc_command': undefined local variable or 
method `menu_ut' for #<SN::SetNet:0xb79adac8> (NameError)

...and it blows.

How can this be?

I do know that if I make this variable a constant, in the input file, 
all is well. But I had thought an ordinary variable would be fine, as 
the input code is evaluated in the current binding...only it doesn't 
seem to be there (the variable), unless you ask ruby-debug, which says 
it is.

I cannot make sense of this. And...I need to fix it somehow.

All suggestions most welcome.

Tom