Compare number and its string representation

Question

val1 = 1
val2 = "1"

if val1 == val2 #< Question is in this line
end

How to compare number and its string representation?

Solution 1

Convert either to the other, so either:

val1.to_s == val2 # returns true

Or:

val1 == val2.to_i # returns true

Although ruby is dynamically typed (the type is known at runtime), it is also strongly typed (the type doesn't get implicitly typecast)

Solution 2

Assuming you don't know if either one would be nil, an alpha-numeric string or an empty string, I suggest converting both sides to strings and then comparing.

val1.to_str    == val2.to_str => true
nil.to_str     == "".to_str   => true
"ab123".to_str == 123.to_str  => false