From: Yui NARUSE <naruse@...>
Date: 2011-07-16T00:23:28+09:00
Subject: [ruby-core:38077] [Ruby 1.9 - Feature #5008][Assigned] Equal rights for Hash (like Array, String, Integer, Float)


Issue #5008 has been updated by Yui NARUSE.

Status changed from Open to Assigned
Assignee set to Yukihiro Matsumoto

First of all, Ruby has two way of the type conversion; implicit and explicit.
to_i, to_f, to_s, to_a and so on are explicit conversion.
to_int, to_str, to_ary and so on are implicit conversion.

> Establish #to_h as the convention method for converting objects into Hash.

If to_h is introduced, it should be a implicit conversion.
But what it is?

> Add Kernel#Hash method for converting objects into Hash strictly (see issue #3131).

Why don't you discuss in #3131?

> Define NilClass#to_h so that we can convert nil into an empty Hash.

You should show the use case: what is the benefit of the function.
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Feature #5008: Equal rights for Hash (like Array, String, Integer, Float)
http://redmine.ruby-lang.org/issues/5008

Author: Suraj Kurapati
Status: Assigned
Priority: Normal
Assignee: Yukihiro Matsumoto
Category: 
Target version: 


=begin
Hello,

I am using ruby 1.9.2p180 (2011-02-18 revision 30909) [x86_64-linux].

Although Ruby has a rich set of primitive data types and structures, 
the Hash seems neglected in the Ruby API in comparison to its peers:

* String: Object#to_s by API
* Integer: Kernel#Integer by API and Object#to_i by convention
* Float: Kernel#Float by API and Object#to_f by convention
* Array: Kernel#Array by API and Object#to_a by convention
* Hash: Kernel#Hash (issue #3131) and Object#to_hash by convention

In particular, the Hash seems neglected by the Ruby API because:

* Its convention method (#to_hash) is longer than one character (#to_h).
* It did not have a Kernel-level method until recently (see issue #3131).
* It has no methods for conversion from NilClass, unlike #to_s, a, i, f.

Please rectify this un-orthogonality and grant Hash equal rights by:

* Establish #to_h as the convention method for converting objects into Hash.
* Add Kernel#Hash method for converting objects into Hash strictly (see issue #3131).
* Define NilClass#to_h so that we can convert nil into an empty Hash.

Thanks for your consideration.
=end


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