From: walter@...
Date: 2004-04-16T02:04:10+09:00
Subject: Hash, ==,  key-value comparison

Ok,

ALthough the docs don't mention it, Hash comparison using == checks 
not only the key value pairs, but also the default value / default 
procs.

So how does one compare 2 hashes key-value pairs.  I can see that it 
might be useful to distinguish between 2 hashes whose key-value pairs 
are the same but the default value/default proc are different, but I 
would think that would be much less often than wanting to know if the 
key-value pairs are the same.

Maybe I am thinking about this all wrong, but I always viewed a Hash 
as a Hash, and yes some might have a default value and some might 
have a default proc, but it is the data (the key-value pairs) that, 
to me, make up the Hash.  The default data/procs are convenience that 
make it easier to work with a Hash, but I would think that {} and 
Hash.new(3) would be == if their key-value pairs would be equal.

Assuming that I am in the minority here about ==, what is the proper 
way to see if 2 Hashes key-value pairs are the same.



Walt
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Walter Szewelanczyk
IS Director
M.W. Sewall & CO.        email : walter@mwsewall.com     
259 Front St.            Phone : (207) 442-7994 x 128
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