would like to use a string as an attribute (of a class)

[erik8085]

I would like to use a string as an attribute (of a class)

example:
o=Someclass.new
attr='name'

then if executing
puts o.attr

gives the error: ...attr is not a method...

any help appreciated

Erik

[ruby-lang]

Your someClass could look like this:

class Someclass
  attr_accessor :attr

  def initialize(attr)
    @attr = attr
  end
end

The attr_accessor call creates a getter and a setter method for you, so you can access the attribute @attr, which is private.

If your only OO language is JavaScript, then you will need to spend a few hours learning how Ruby's classes and methods work. The may look similar if you squint and look at them sideways, but they are conceptually very different.

[erik8085]

example:
o=Someclass.new
attr='name'

then if executing
puts o.attr

gives the error: ...attr is not a method...

Sorry, more explanation here:
attr='name'
so when o.attr evaluates, I play that it is o.name, and name is an attribute of Someclass.
Rephrase of question: is there a way to use a stringValue instead of a attributeName (typeconvert or other thing)

[ruby-lang]

Oh, I got it now, sorry for the misunderstanding. Yes, in fact you can do that too, and in one line. Just call the send method:

puts o.send(attr)

You can include arguments after the method name, too:

o.send('name=','Bob')

[pjleonhardt]

or, in this case:

o.send(attr + '=','Bob')
# or
o.send("#{attr}=", 'Bob')

[erik8085]

Ended up with:
o.send(ATTRS[index] + '=',item)
------------------------------------

ATTRS is an array of instance attributes which exist in Someclass.
Value of item comes from a text file with lines of values, like:

"ssa","asa","sdsd","sdsd","sdsd"
"svsa","asbcxvba","sxcvbdsd","svbndsd","scvndsd"
"snsa","acsa","sdnmsd","sdnmsd","snbmdsd"
.
.
.
Thanks for the help
Erik