>>>>> "H" == Hal E Fulton <hal9000 / hypermetrics.com> writes:

H> I know it's been discussed before, but I
H> can't find it now.

 use #Integer if you want an error

pigeon% ruby -e 'Integer("")'
-e:1:in `Integer': invalid value for Integer: "" (ArgumentError)
        from -e:1
pigeon% 


Guy Decoux