From: Chris Pine <nemo@...>
Date: 2003-02-02T01:03:10+09:00
Subject: Re: String#+

Hi,

----- Original Message -----
What would you have Ruby do with this?

    print 5+' times'
----------------------------


TypeError.

In practice, I can't remember this ever having been a problem (one way or
the other), so really *any* of the solutions you presented would be fine...
but the main issue, I think, is that anything can convert nicely into a
string, and often we want them to.  The same is certainly not true for
integers.

In practice, the String#+ issue (i.e. me having to add ".to_s" somewhere)
seems to happen daily.  (Like I said, it's a small thing, but as the days
roll by, I thought I'd mention it.)  My argument was a pragmatic one; but of
course, perhaps my own programming situations differ from others, so what I
find practical might in fact be peculiar.  :)  Actually, I can't remember
the last time I added two fixnums (outside of explaining it in my tutorial)!
Ironic, since I fancy myself more a mathematician than a programmer.

And I notice that you didn't mention Array#+, probably because you didn't
even think about it.  I'm guessing that, in practice, you'd never have a
problem with that one, just as I'd never have a problem with Fixnum#+.

It just wouldn't bother me if + wasn't symmetric, but that's just me.

Chris