From: Sean O'Dell <sean@...>
Date: 2002-04-10T10:36:52+09:00
Subject: Easy character comparisons

Today I spent a little time debugging something I "didn't expect."  I
evaluated (using if) string[index] against a single character in a string
and for awhile, I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.  Then I
realized that string[index] returns a number, not a string containing a
single character.  Example:

    "string"[0] == "s"  =>  false

I ended up having to change the expression to something like this:

    "string"[0..0] == "s"  =>  true

Is there a more elegant way of doing this sort of comparison?  My fudged way
seems awkward.

    Sean