From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2004-04-05T02:46:47+09:00
Subject: Re: deciding between ruby and python

On Monday, April 5, 2004, 12:09:58 AM, Yukihiro wrote:

> Hi,


> In message "Re: deciding between ruby and python"
>     on 04/04/04, Dan Doel <djd15@po.cwru.edu> writes:

> |At least, that's how I've seen it described (and a quick check reveals that
> |join calls #to_s, never #to_str, and when I redefine #to_s, it can throw an
> |exception, just like Python would).

> Maybe "join" should call "to_str" instead of "to_s" in the future.

Bad idea, IMO.  "join" is designed for returning a string.  It
therefore has the right to create strings as necessary for this
purpose.

"join" is similar to "puts" in this regard.

And to consider another angle: join is a generally useful method.
#to_str is only implemented in a small set of classes.  "join" would
become a lot less useful if you implemented that change.

David Black's comments on this elsewhere were also illuminating.

Cheers,
Gavin