On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 10:59:28 -0400, Andres Salomon wrote: >> Since not sure what you want really, I cannot tell what is >> "better". At least, finalizers are different from destructors. > > Different how? Conceptually (according to the pickaxe 1st ed), they > appear to be similar; a method called when the object is destroyed. The > only difference I can see are scope issues, as apparently > finalizers may not be defined within a class. Nevermind; I just happened upon <http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?GCAndMemoryManagement>, which explained everything wonderfully. Thanks for your help.