From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@...>
Date: 2002-03-04T06:17:05+09:00
Subject: Re: string to array and back

Ron Jeffries <ronjeffries@removeacm.org> wrote:

> In Ruby, an array of bytes is really an array of objects that behave like
> Fixnum, if I'm not mistaken. Send it :each and you get the bytes one after
> another. But a string mistakenly thinks that :each should deliver in
> lines, not bytes. Gack.

> An array of bytes sent :to_a answers itself. A string sent :to_a answers,
> get this, an array with the string in it. (Or lots of strings, if the
> string has newlines in it.) Gack.

class String
  alias each each_byte
end

seems to fix both problems, with String#each_line retaining the original
definition of 'each'. (Why doesn't setting $/ to '' do the same,
incidentally? It seems like less surprising behaviour than the "append
multiple successive newlines" special case.)

-- 
Martin DeMello