Question

I have this class:

class Option
  # ORM's properties
  def self.get( id )
    # some ORM action
    "result of #{id}"
  end
end

And I can call Option.get :setting to receive a result. How do I write the class if I want to call Option(:setting) like in String(42) (which returns "42") to get the same result as Option#get?

Answer 1

String is actually a method in the Kernel module:

String(arg) → string

Converts arg to a String by calling its to_s method.

You’ll find Array, Float, and friends in the same place. Kernel is included in Object and that’s where all the methods that are used like plain global functions go. You could monkey patch Kernel:

module Kernel
  def Option(id)
    Option.get(id)
  end
end

Or make your own module with a method like that and make people include it if they want access to say Option(11).