"Hal E. Fulton" <hal9000 / hypermetrics.com> wrote in message
> The to_str method is used when an objects wants to "masquerade"
> as a string.

Meaning ?

> One common difference is that the latter will
> typically preserve all information, whereas the
> former may only present enough to render the object
> in a printable form. (At least I think I've seen
> that distinction somewhere.)

Forgive me for being dense. Can you please explain this more ?
Maybe with an example ? All I have is a reference from PickAxe:
______________________________________________________
C:\> ri to_str
This is a test 'ri'. Please report errors and omissions
on http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?RIOnePointEight

---------------------------------------------------------- String#to_str
     str.to_str -> str
------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Synonym for String#to_s. to_str is used by methods such as
     String#concat to convert their arguments to a string. Unlike to_s,
     which is supported by almost all classes, to_str is normally
     implemented only by those classes that act like strings. Of the
     built-in classes, only Exception and String implement to_str.
______________________________________________________

TIA,
--shanko