From: Sergey Sheypak <serega.sheypak@...>
Date: 2010-02-12T16:22:33+09:00
Subject: String to symbol

Hello, I'm working with yaml and objects.
Please, see my model:

#Base class for all models.
class DataBean
  #list allowed fields for model
  def allowed_fields
    []
  end

  def is_attr_allowed!(attr)
    raise(ValidationException, "Attribute with name [#{attr}] is not
allowed for model #{self.class}.
                                     Allowed fields are
#{allowed_fields}", caller) unless allowed_fields.include?(attr)
  end

  def initialize(options)
      options.each_pair { |attr_name , value|
        is_attr_allowed!(attr_name)
        self.class.send(:define_method, attr_name, Proc.new{value})
      }
  end

end

class Dates < DataBean
  def allowed_fields
    [:start,  #project beginning
     :end,    #project ending
     :current] #last modification date "T", means current date
  end
end

So I can use 'rails like intializers'
Dates.new(:start=>Date.new, :end=>Dates.new+100)

The problem is that I'm reading Dates class fields from yaml file.

Dates:
  class: Dates
  fields_ordered: [start, current, end]

And I pass String (read from yaml) as a hash key to initializer:
Dates.new('start'=>Date.new)

As I read, :symbols are constants, they are immutable and have int
representation. These facts help to spend less memory and resources.

Do I have any opportunity to pass Strings into my initializers?
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