It might be include? (the question mark is part of the method name) An example of include?'s usage: irb(main):001:0> array = ["a", "b", "c"] => ["a", "b", "c"] irb(main):002:0> array.include? "a" => true irb(main):003:0> array.include? "z" => false Chad Thatcher wrote: > Hi, I am new to Ruby and still finding it very strange even though I am > enjoying learning it immensely. > > I have this code: > > if an_array.assoc(tag_name) == nil > ... > > and of course it doesn't work because I either get an array back or a > nil object. It makes it very difficult to have a simple if statement > like the above that can handle both eventualities. I don't need the > array returned, I just need to check to see if the element exists to > take a certain action. > > > What is the Ruby way of doing this? > > Thanks, > > Chad. >