Rails - May 2005 - design question

If I have a function that translates a string like "300000" or
"30,000" or "30,000.00" into an amount like
"$300,000", where should
that function go?  In the /lib directory somewhere?

I personally put helper functions like this in app/controller/ 
application.rb
class Integer
     alias _to_s to_s
     def to_s
         _to_s.reverse.gsub(/(\d{3})/,
''\1,'').chomp(",").reverse
     end
end

Lucas Carlson
http://tech.rufy.com/


On May 9, 2005, at 11:24 PM, Joe Van Dyk wrote:
> If I have a function that translates a string like "300000" or
> "30,000" or "30,000.00" into an amount like
"$300,000", where should
> that function go?  In the /lib directory somewhere?
> _______________________________________________
> Rails mailing list
> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
>

On 5/10/05, Lucas Carlson <rails-1eRuzFDw/cg@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> I personally put helper functions like this in app/controller/
> application.rb
> class Integer
>      alias _to_s to_s
>      def to_s
>          _to_s.reverse.gsub(/(\d{3})/,
''\1,'').chomp(",").reverse
>      end
> end
Keep in mind though, it''s probably not the greatest idea to override
to_s unless you want to do this *everywhere* that you''re printing an
integer.

Best just to make your own custom method, and then call
your_var.your_func when you need that formatting.

-- 
Urban Artography
http://artography.ath.cx

If you were supporting multiple formatting, you could do something like:

formatter = Formatter.new(dollar_currency)
formattedString = formatter.format(dollarAmount)

Although really if the amount is a dollar, then what about a proper
dollar class that takes the string:

dollar = Dollar.new("300,000")

Then make dollar.to_s return "$300,00". You could even have
customizable formatting then:

dollar.format(formatString);

And add currency-related methods, like conversion. This might be
overkil if it''s a one-time deal, but there is great benifit in
treating a dollar amount like a dolar amount, rather than as a string
or numeric. It''s a simple matter to map this into the DB using
ActiveRecord - see
http://api.rubyonrails.com/classes/ActiveRecord/Aggregations/ClassMethods.html
for more information on the aggregation support.

sam


On 5/10/05, Rob Park <rbpark-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:
> On 5/10/05, Lucas Carlson <rails-1eRuzFDw/cg@public.gmane.org> wrote:
> > I personally put helper functions like this in app/controller/
> > application.rb
> > class Integer
> >      alias _to_s to_s
> >      def to_s
> >          _to_s.reverse.gsub(/(\d{3})/,
''\1,'').chomp(",").reverse
> >      end
> > end
> 
> Keep in mind though, it''s probably not the greatest idea to
override
> to_s unless you want to do this *everywhere* that you''re printing
an
> integer.
> 
> Best just to make your own custom method, and then call
> your_var.your_func when you need that formatting.
> 
> --
> Urban Artography
> http://artography.ath.cx
> _______________________________________________
> Rails mailing list
> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org
> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
> 

-- 
sam
http://www.magpiebrain.com/