My Tech Notes

Ruby FAQ which seems to constantly move around and is currently not available (Google cache is though) has a very useful section 10.6 Should I feel uneasy if I don't close a file :

There are at least four good ways of ensuring that you do close a file:

1. Use close (remembering to catch exceptions).

   f = open "file"
   begin
     f.each {|l| print l}
   ensure
     f.close
   end
   

2. Use the block form of open

   File.open("file") do |f|
     f.readlines.each { |l| print l }
   end
   

3. Use foreach

   IO.foreach("file") {|l| print l}
   

4. Use readlines.

   IO.readlines("file").each {|l| print l}
   

Labels: ruby