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Class: ARGF

Relationships & Source Files
Super Chains via Extension / Inclusion / Inheritance
Instance Chain:
self, ::Enumerable
Inherits: Object
Defined in: io.c,
io.c

Overview

ARGF and ARGV

The ARGF object works with the array at global variable ARGV to make $stdin and file streams available in the Ruby program:

  • ARGV may be thought of as the argument vector array.

    Initially, it contains the command-line arguments and options that are passed to the Ruby program; the program can modify that array as it likes.

  • ARGF may be thought of as the argument files object.

    It can access file streams and/or the $stdin stream, based on what it finds in ARGV. This provides a convenient way for the command line to specify streams for a Ruby program to read.

Reading

ARGF may read from source streams, which at any particular time are determined by the content of ARGV.

Simplest Case

When the very first ARGF read occurs with an empty ARGV ([]), the source is $stdin:

  • File t.rb:

    p ['ARGV', ARGV]
    p ['ARGF.read', ARGF.read]
  • Commands and outputs (see below for the content of files foo.txt and bar.txt):

    $ echo "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." | ruby t.rb
    ["ARGV", []]
    ["ARGF.read", "Open the pod bay doors, Hal.\n"]
    
    $ cat foo.txt bar.txt | ruby t.rb
    ["ARGV", []]
    ["ARGF.read", "Foo 0\nFoo 1\nBar 0\nBar 1\nBar 2\nBar 3\n"]

About the Examples

Many examples here assume the existence of files foo.txt and bar.txt:

$ cat foo.txt
Foo 0
Foo 1
$ cat bar.txt
Bar 0
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3

Sources in ARGV

For any ARGF read except the simplest case (that is, except for the very first ARGF read with an empty ARGV), the sources are found in ARGV.

ARGF assumes that each element in array ARGV is a potential source, and is one of:

  • The string path to a file that may be opened as a stream.

  • The character '-', meaning stream $stdin.

Each element that is not one of these should be removed from ARGV before ARGF accesses that source.

In the following example:

  • Filepaths foo.txt and bar.txt may be retained as potential sources.

  • Options --xyzzy and --mojo should be removed.

Example:

  • File t.rb:

    # Print arguments (and options, if any) found on command line.
    p ['ARGV', ARGV]
  • Command and output:

    $ ruby t.rb --xyzzy --mojo foo.txt bar.txt
    ["ARGV", ["--xyzzy", "--mojo", "foo.txt", "bar.txt"]]

ARGF’s stream access considers the elements of ARGV, left to right:

  • File t.rb:

    p "ARGV: #{ARGV}"
    p "Line: #{ARGF.read}" # Read everything from all specified streams.
  • Command and output:

    $ ruby t.rb foo.txt bar.txt
    "ARGV: [\"foo.txt\", \"bar.txt\"]"
    "Read: Foo 0\nFoo 1\nBar 0\nBar 1\nBar 2\nBar 3\n"

Because the value at ARGV is an ordinary array, you can manipulate it to control which sources ARGF considers:

  • If you remove an element from ARGV, ARGF will not consider the corresponding source.

  • If you add an element to ARGV, ARGF will consider the corresponding source.

Each element in ARGV is removed when its corresponding source is accessed; when all sources have been accessed, the array is empty:

  • File t.rb:

    until ARGV.empty? && ARGF.eof?
      p "ARGV: #{ARGV}"
      p "Line: #{ARGF.readline}" # Read each line from each specified stream.
    end
  • Command and output:

    $ ruby t.rb foo.txt bar.txt
    "ARGV: [\"foo.txt\", \"bar.txt\"]"
    "Line: Foo 0\n"
    "ARGV: [\"bar.txt\"]"
    "Line: Foo 1\n"
    "ARGV: [\"bar.txt\"]"
    "Line: Bar 0\n"
    "ARGV: []"
    "Line: Bar 1\n"
    "ARGV: []"
    "Line: Bar 2\n"
    "ARGV: []"
    "Line: Bar 3\n"
Filepaths in ARGV

The ARGV array may contain filepaths the specify sources for ARGF reading.

This program prints what it reads from files at the paths specified on the command line:

  • File t.rb:

    p ['ARGV', ARGV]
    # Read and print all content from the specified sources.
    p ['ARGF.read', ARGF.read]
  • Command and output:

    $ ruby t.rb foo.txt bar.txt
    ["ARGV", [foo.txt, bar.txt]
    ["ARGF.read", "Foo 0\nFoo 1\nBar 0\nBar 1\nBar 2\nBar 3\n"]
Specifying $stdin in ARGV

To specify stream $stdin in ARGV, us the character '-':

  • File t.rb:

    p ['ARGV', ARGV]
    p ['ARGF.read', ARGF.read]
  • Command and output:

    $ echo "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." | ruby t.rb -
    ["ARGV", ["-"]]
    ["ARGF.read", "Open the pod bay doors, Hal.\n"]

When no character '-' is given, stream $stdin is ignored (exception: see Specifying $stdin in ARGV):

  • Command and output:

    $ echo "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." | ruby t.rb foo.txt bar.txt
    "ARGV: [\"foo.txt\", \"bar.txt\"]"
    "Read: Foo 0\nFoo 1\nBar 0\nBar 1\nBar 2\nBar 3\n"
Mixtures and Repetitions in ARGV

For an ARGF reader, ARGV may contain any mixture of filepaths and character '-', including repetitions.

Modifications to ARGV

The running Ruby program may make any modifications to the ARGV array; the current value of ARGV affects ARGF reading.

Empty ARGV

For an empty ARGV, an ARGF read method either returns nil or raises an exception, depending on the specific method.

More Read Methods

As seen above, method #read reads the content of all sources into a single string. Other ARGF methods provide other ways to access that content; these include:

About Enumerable

ARGF includes module ::Enumerable. Virtually all methods in Enumerable call method #each in the including class.

Note well: In ARGF, method #each returns data from the sources, not from ARGV; therefore, for example, ARGF#entries returns an array of lines from the sources, not an array of the strings from ARGV:

  • File t.rb:

    p ['ARGV', ARGV]
    p ['ARGF.entries', ARGF.entries]
  • Command and output:

    $ ruby t.rb foo.txt bar.txt
    ["ARGV", ["foo.txt", "bar.txt"]]
    ["ARGF.entries", ["Foo 0\n", "Foo 1\n", "Bar 0\n", "Bar 1\n", "Bar 2\n", "Bar 3\n"]]

Writing

If inplace mode is in effect, ARGF may write to target streams, which at any particular time are determined by the content of ARGV.

Methods about inplace mode:

Methods for writing:

Class Method Summary

Instance Attribute Summary

Instance Method Summary

::Enumerable - Included

#all?

Returns whether every element meets a given criterion.

#any?

Returns whether any element meets a given criterion.

#chain

Returns an enumerator object generated from this enumerator and given enumerables.

#chunk

Each element in the returned enumerator is a 2-element array consisting of:

#chunk_while

Creates an enumerator for each chunked elements.

#collect

Alias for Enumerable#map.

#collect_concat
#compact

Returns an array of all non-nil elements:

#count

Returns the count of elements, based on an argument or block criterion, if given.

#cycle

When called with positive integer argument n and a block, calls the block with each element, then does so again, until it has done so n times; returns nil:

#detect

Alias for Enumerable#find.

#drop

For positive integer n, returns an array containing all but the first n elements:

#drop_while

Calls the block with successive elements as long as the block returns a truthy value; returns an array of all elements after that point:

#each_cons

Calls the block with each successive overlapped n-tuple of elements; returns self:

#each_entry

Calls the given block with each element, converting multiple values from yield to an array; returns self:

#each_slice

Calls the block with each successive disjoint n-tuple of elements; returns self:

#each_with_index

With a block given, calls the block with each element and its index; returns self:

#each_with_object

Calls the block once for each element, passing both the element and the given object:

#entries

Alias for Enumerable#to_a.

#filter

Returns an array containing elements selected by the block.

#filter_map

Returns an array containing truthy elements returned by the block.

#find

Returns the first element for which the block returns a truthy value.

#find_all
#find_index

Returns the index of the first element that meets a specified criterion, or nil if no such element is found.

#first

Returns the first element or elements.

#flat_map

Returns an array of flattened objects returned by the block.

#grep

Returns an array of objects based elements of self that match the given pattern.

#grep_v

Returns an array of objects based on elements of self that don’t match the given pattern.

#group_by

With a block given returns a hash:

#include?
#inject

Returns an object formed from operands via either:

#lazy

Returns an ::Enumerator::Lazy, which redefines most ::Enumerable methods to postpone enumeration and enumerate values only on an as-needed basis.

#map

Returns an array of objects returned by the block.

#max

Returns the element with the maximum element according to a given criterion.

#max_by

Returns the elements for which the block returns the maximum values.

#member?

Returns whether for any element object == element:

#min

Returns the element with the minimum element according to a given criterion.

#min_by

Returns the elements for which the block returns the minimum values.

#minmax

Returns a 2-element array containing the minimum and maximum elements according to a given criterion.

#minmax_by

Returns a 2-element array containing the elements for which the block returns minimum and maximum values:

#none?

Returns whether no element meets a given criterion.

#one?

Returns whether exactly one element meets a given criterion.

#partition

With a block given, returns an array of two arrays:

#reduce
#reject

Returns an array of objects rejected by the block.

#reverse_each

With a block given, calls the block with each element, but in reverse order; returns self:

#select
#slice_after

Creates an enumerator for each chunked elements.

#slice_before

With argument pattern, returns an enumerator that uses the pattern to partition elements into arrays (“slices”).

#slice_when

Creates an enumerator for each chunked elements.

#sort

Returns an array containing the sorted elements of self.

#sort_by

With a block given, returns an array of elements of self, sorted according to the value returned by the block for each element.

#sum

With no block given, returns the sum of initial_value and the elements:

#take

For non-negative integer n, returns the first n elements:

#take_while

Calls the block with successive elements as long as the block returns a truthy value; returns an array of all elements up to that point:

#tally

Returns a hash containing the counts of equal elements:

#to_a

Returns an array containing the items in self:

#to_h

When self consists of 2-element arrays, returns a hash each of whose entries is the key-value pair formed from one of those arrays:

#to_set

Makes a set from the enumerable object with given arguments.

#uniq

With no block, returns a new array containing only unique elements; the array has no two elements e0 and e1 such that e0.eql?(e1):

#zip

With no block given, returns a new array new_array of size self.size whose elements are arrays.

Constructor Details

.new(argv)

This method is for internal use only.
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 9933

static VALUE
argf_initialize(VALUE argf, VALUE argv)
{
    memset(&ARGF, 0, sizeof(ARGF));
    argf_init(&ARGF, argv);

    return argf;
}

Instance Attribute Details

#binmodeARGF (readonly)

Puts ARGF into binary mode. Once a stream is in binary mode, it cannot be reset to non-binary mode. This option has the following effects:

  • Newline conversion is disabled.

  • ::Encoding conversion is disabled.

  • Content is treated as ASCII-8BIT.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14345

static VALUE
argf_binmode_m(VALUE argf)
{
    ARGF.binmode = 1;
    next_argv();
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    rb_io_ascii8bit_binmode(ARGF.current_file);
    return argf;
}

#binmode?Boolean (readonly)

Returns true if ARGF is being read in binary mode; false otherwise. To enable binary mode use #binmode.

For example:

ARGF.binmode?  #=> false
ARGF.binmode
ARGF.binmode?  #=> true
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14368

static VALUE
argf_binmode_p(VALUE argf)
{
    return RBOOL(ARGF.binmode);
}

#closed?Boolean (readonly)

Returns true if the current file has been closed; false otherwise. Use #close to actually close the current file.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14434

static VALUE
argf_closed(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    return rb_io_closed_p(ARGF.current_file);
}

#eof?Boolean (readonly) #eofBoolean
Also known as: #eof?

Returns true if the current file in ARGF is at end of file, i.e. it has no data to read. The stream must be opened for reading or an ::IOError will be raised.

$ echo "eof" | ruby argf.rb

ARGF.eof?                 #=> false
3.times { ARGF.readchar }
ARGF.eof?                 #=> false
ARGF.readchar             #=> "\n"
ARGF.eof?                 #=> true
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13726

static VALUE
argf_eof(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    if (RTEST(ARGF.current_file)) {
        if (ARGF.init_p == 0) return Qtrue;
        next_argv();
        ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
        if (rb_io_eof(ARGF.current_file)) {
            return Qtrue;
        }
    }
    return Qfalse;
}

#eof?Boolean (readonly) #eofBoolean

Alias for #eof.

#inplace_modeString (rw)

Returns the file extension appended to the names of backup copies of modified files under in-place edit mode. This value can be set using #inplace_mode= or passing the -i switch to the Ruby binary.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14462

static VALUE
argf_inplace_mode_get(VALUE argf)
{
    if (!ARGF.inplace) return Qnil;
    if (NIL_P(ARGF.inplace)) return rb_str_new(0, 0);
    return rb_str_dup(ARGF.inplace);
}

#inplace_mode=(ext) ⇒ ARGF (rw)

Sets the filename extension for in-place editing mode to the given ::String. The backup copy of each file being edited has this value appended to its filename.

For example:

$ ruby argf.rb file.txt

ARGF.inplace_mode = '.bak'
ARGF.each_line do |line|
  print line.sub("foo","bar")
end

First, file.txt.bak is created as a backup copy of file.txt. Then, each line of file.txt has the first occurrence of “foo” replaced with “bar”.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14497

static VALUE
argf_inplace_mode_set(VALUE argf, VALUE val)
{
    if (!RTEST(val)) {
        ARGF.inplace = Qfalse;
    }
    else if (StringValueCStr(val), !RSTRING_LEN(val)) {
        ARGF.inplace = Qnil;
    }
    else {
        ARGF.inplace = rb_str_new_frozen(val);
    }
    return argf;
}

#linenoInteger (rw)

Returns the current line number of ARGF as a whole. This value can be set manually with #lineno=.

For example:

ARGF.lineno   #=> 0
ARGF.readline #=> "This is line 1\n"
ARGF.lineno   #=> 1
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 9991

static VALUE
argf_lineno(VALUE argf)
{
    return INT2FIX(ARGF.lineno);
}

#lineno=(integer) ⇒ Integer (rw)

Sets the line number of ARGF as a whole to the given ::Integer.

ARGF sets the line number automatically as you read data, so normally you will not need to set it explicitly. To access the current line number use #lineno.

For example:

ARGF.lineno      #=> 0
ARGF.readline    #=> "This is line 1\n"
ARGF.lineno      #=> 1
ARGF.lineno = 0  #=> 0
ARGF.lineno      #=> 0
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 9970

static VALUE
argf_set_lineno(VALUE argf, VALUE val)
{
    ARGF.lineno = NUM2INT(val);
    ARGF.last_lineno = ARGF.lineno;
    return val;
}

#tellInteger (rw) #posInteger
Also known as: #tell

Returns the current offset (in bytes) of the current file in ARGF.

ARGF.pos    #=> 0
ARGF.gets   #=> "This is line one\n"
ARGF.pos    #=> 17
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13590

static VALUE
argf_tell(VALUE argf)
{
    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream to tell");
    }
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    return rb_io_tell(ARGF.current_file);
}

#pos=(position) ⇒ Integer (rw)

Seeks to the position given by position (in bytes) in ARGF.

For example:

ARGF.pos = 17
ARGF.gets   #=> "This is line two\n"
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13628

static VALUE
argf_set_pos(VALUE argf, VALUE offset)
{
    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream to set position");
    }
    ARGF_FORWARD(1, &offset);
    return rb_io_set_pos(ARGF.current_file, offset);
}

#tellInteger (readonly) #posInteger

Alias for #pos.

Instance Method Details

#argvARGV

Returns the ARGV array, which contains the arguments passed to your script, one per element.

For example:

$ ruby argf.rb -v glark.txt

ARGF.argv   #=> ["-v", "glark.txt"]
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14538

static VALUE
argf_argv(VALUE argf)
{
    return ARGF.argv;
}

#closeARGF

Closes the current file and skips to the next file in ARGV. If there are no more files to open, just closes the current file. STDIN will not be closed.

For example:

$ ruby argf.rb foo bar

ARGF.filename  #=> "foo"
ARGF.close
ARGF.filename  #=> "bar"
ARGF.close
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14415

static VALUE
argf_close_m(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    argf_close(argf);
    if (ARGF.next_p != -1) {
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
    }
    ARGF.lineno = 0;
    return argf;
}

#each(sep = $/) {|line| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each(sep = $/, limit) {|line| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each(...) ⇒ Enumerator
Also known as: #each_line

ARGF.each_line(sep=$/) {|line| block } -> ARGF

ARGF.each_line(sep=$/, limit) {|line| block }  -> ARGF
ARGF.each_line(...)                            -> an_enumerator

Returns an enumerator which iterates over each line (separated by sep, which defaults to your platform’s newline character) of each file in ARGV. If a block is supplied, each line in turn will be yielded to the block, otherwise an enumerator is returned. The optional limit argument is an ::Integer specifying the maximum length of each line; longer lines will be split according to this limit.

This method allows you to treat the files supplied on the command line as a single file consisting of the concatenation of each named file. After the last line of the first file has been returned, the first line of the second file is returned. The #filename and #lineno methods can be used to determine the filename of the current line and line number of the whole input, respectively.

For example, the following code prints out each line of each named file prefixed with its line number, displaying the filename once per file:

ARGF.each_line do |line|
  puts ARGF.filename if ARGF.file.lineno == 1
  puts "#{ARGF.file.lineno}: #{line}"
end

While the following code prints only the first file’s name at first, and the contents with line number counted through all named files.

ARGF.each_line do |line|
  puts ARGF.filename if ARGF.lineno == 1
  puts "#{ARGF.lineno}: #{line}"
end
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14181

static VALUE
argf_each_line(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(argf, argc, argv);
    FOREACH_ARGF() {
        argf_block_call_line(rb_intern("each_line"), argc, argv, argf);
    }
    return argf;
}

#each_byte {|byte| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each_byteEnumerator

Iterates over each byte of each file in ARGV. A byte is returned as an ::Integer in the range 0..255.

This method allows you to treat the files supplied on the command line as a single file consisting of the concatenation of each named file. After the last byte of the first file has been returned, the first byte of the second file is returned. The #filename method can be used to determine the filename of the current byte.

If no block is given, an enumerator is returned instead.

For example:

ARGF.bytes.to_a  #=> [35, 32, ... 95, 10]
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14212

static VALUE
argf_each_byte(VALUE argf)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(argf, 0, 0);
    FOREACH_ARGF() {
        argf_block_call(rb_intern("each_byte"), 0, 0, argf);
    }
    return argf;
}

#each_char {|char| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each_charEnumerator

Iterates over each character of each file in ARGF.

This method allows you to treat the files supplied on the command line as a single file consisting of the concatenation of each named file. After the last character of the first file has been returned, the first character of the second file is returned. The #filename method can be used to determine the name of the file in which the current character appears.

If no block is given, an enumerator is returned instead.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14238

static VALUE
argf_each_char(VALUE argf)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(argf, 0, 0);
    FOREACH_ARGF() {
        argf_block_call(rb_intern("each_char"), 0, 0, argf);
    }
    return argf;
}

#each_codepoint {|codepoint| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each_codepointEnumerator

Iterates over each codepoint of each file in ARGF.

This method allows you to treat the files supplied on the command line as a single file consisting of the concatenation of each named file. After the last codepoint of the first file has been returned, the first codepoint of the second file is returned. The #filename method can be used to determine the name of the file in which the current codepoint appears.

If no block is given, an enumerator is returned instead.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14264

static VALUE
argf_each_codepoint(VALUE argf)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(argf, 0, 0);
    FOREACH_ARGF() {
        argf_block_call(rb_intern("each_codepoint"), 0, 0, argf);
    }
    return argf;
}

#each(sep = $/) {|line| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each(sep = $/, limit) {|line| ... } ⇒ ARGF #each(...) ⇒ Enumerator

Alias for #each.

#external_encodingEncoding

Returns the external encoding for files read from ARGF as an ::Encoding object. The external encoding is the encoding of the text as stored in a file. Contrast with #internal_encoding, which is the encoding used to represent this text within Ruby.

To set the external encoding use #set_encoding.

For example:

ARGF.external_encoding  #=>  #<Encoding:UTF-8>
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13508

static VALUE
argf_external_encoding(VALUE argf)
{
    return argf_encoding(argf, rb_io_external_encoding);
}

#fileIO, File object

Returns the current file as an ::IO or ::File object. $stdin is returned when the current file is STDIN.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > foo
$ echo "bar" > bar

$ ruby argf.rb foo bar

ARGF.file      #=> #<File:foo>
ARGF.read(5)   #=> "foo\nb"
ARGF.file      #=> #<File:bar>
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14327

static VALUE
argf_file(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    return ARGF.current_file;
}

#filenameString #pathString

Alias for #path.

#filenoInteger #to_iInteger

Alias for #to_i.

#getbyteInteger?

Gets the next 8-bit byte (0..255) from ARGF. Returns nil if called at the end of the stream.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > file
$ ruby argf.rb file

ARGF.getbyte #=> 102
ARGF.getbyte #=> 111
ARGF.getbyte #=> 111
ARGF.getbyte #=> 10
ARGF.getbyte #=> nil
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14008

static VALUE
argf_getbyte(VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE ch;

  retry:
    if (!next_argv()) return Qnil;
    if (!RB_TYPE_P(ARGF.current_file, T_FILE)) {
        ch = forward_current(rb_intern("getbyte"), 0, 0);
    }
    else {
        ch = rb_io_getbyte(ARGF.current_file);
    }
    if (NIL_P(ch) && ARGF.next_p != -1) {
        argf_close(argf);
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
        goto retry;
    }

    return ch;
}

#getcString?

Reads the next character from ARGF and returns it as a ::String. Returns nil at the end of the stream.

ARGF treats the files named on the command line as a single file created by concatenating their contents. After returning the last character of the first file, it returns the first character of the second file, and so on.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > file
$ ruby argf.rb file

ARGF.getc  #=> "f"
ARGF.getc  #=> "o"
ARGF.getc  #=> "o"
ARGF.getc  #=> "\n"
ARGF.getc  #=> nil
ARGF.getc  #=> nil
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13968

static VALUE
argf_getc(VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE ch;

  retry:
    if (!next_argv()) return Qnil;
    if (ARGF_GENERIC_INPUT_P()) {
        ch = forward_current(rb_intern("getc"), 0, 0);
    }
    else {
        ch = rb_io_getc(ARGF.current_file);
    }
    if (NIL_P(ch) && ARGF.next_p != -1) {
        argf_close(argf);
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
        goto retry;
    }

    return ch;
}

#gets(sep=$/ [, getline_args]) ⇒ String? #gets(limit [, getline_args]) ⇒ String? #gets(sep, limit [, getline_args]) ⇒ String?

Returns the next line from the current file in ARGF.

By default lines are assumed to be separated by $/; to use a different character as a separator, supply it as a ::String for the sep argument.

The optional limit argument specifies how many characters of each line to return. By default all characters are returned.

See IO.readlines for details about getline_args.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 10320

static VALUE
argf_gets(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE line;

    line = argf_getline(argc, argv, argf);
    rb_lastline_set(line);

    return line;
}

#initialize_copy(orig)

This method is for internal use only.
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 9943

static VALUE
argf_initialize_copy(VALUE argf, VALUE orig)
{
    if (!OBJ_INIT_COPY(argf, orig)) return argf;
    ARGF = argf_of(orig);
    ARGF.argv = rb_obj_dup(ARGF.argv);
    return argf;
}

#to_sString #inspectString

Alias for #to_s.

#internal_encodingEncoding

Returns the internal encoding for strings read from ARGF as an ::Encoding object.

If #set_encoding has been called with two encoding names, the second is returned. Otherwise, if Encoding.default_external has been set, that value is returned. Failing that, if a default external encoding was specified on the command-line, that value is used. If the encoding is unknown, nil is returned.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13527

static VALUE
argf_internal_encoding(VALUE argf)
{
    return argf_encoding(argf, rb_io_internal_encoding);
}

#filenameString #pathString
Also known as: #filename

Returns the current filename. “-” is returned when the current file is STDIN.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > foo
$ echo "bar" > bar
$ echo "glark" > glark

$ ruby argf.rb foo bar glark

ARGF.filename  #=> "foo"
ARGF.read(5)   #=> "foo\nb"
ARGF.filename  #=> "bar"
ARGF.skip
ARGF.filename  #=> "glark"
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14296

static VALUE
argf_filename(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    return ARGF.filename;
}

#printf(format_string, *objects) ⇒ nil

Alias for IO#printf.

#putc(object) ⇒ Object

Alias for IO#putc.

#puts(*objects) ⇒ nil

Alias for IO#puts.

#read([length [, outbuf]]) ⇒ String, ...

Reads length bytes from ARGF. The files named on the command line are concatenated and treated as a single file by this method, so when called without arguments the contents of this pseudo file are returned in their entirety.

length must be a non-negative integer or nil.

If length is a positive integer, read tries to read length bytes without any conversion (binary mode). It returns nil if an EOF is encountered before anything can be read. Fewer than length bytes are returned if an EOF is encountered during the read. In the case of an integer length, the resulting string is always in ASCII-8BIT encoding.

If length is omitted or is nil, it reads until EOF and the encoding conversion is applied, if applicable. A string is returned even if EOF is encountered before any data is read.

If length is zero, it returns an empty string ("").

If the optional outbuf argument is present, it must reference a ::String, which will receive the data. The outbuf will contain only the received data after the method call even if it is not empty at the beginning.

For example:

$ echo "small" > small.txt
$ echo "large" > large.txt
$ ./glark.rb small.txt large.txt

ARGF.read      #=> "small\nlarge"
ARGF.read(200) #=> "small\nlarge"
ARGF.read(2)   #=> "sm"
ARGF.read(0)   #=> ""

Note that this method behaves like the fread() function in C. This means it retries to invoke read(2) system calls to read data with the specified length. If you need the behavior like a single read(2) system call, consider #readpartial or #read_nonblock.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13789

static VALUE
argf_read(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE tmp, str, length;
    long len = 0;

    rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "02", &length, &str);
    if (!NIL_P(length)) {
        len = NUM2LONG(argv[0]);
    }
    if (!NIL_P(str)) {
        StringValue(str);
        rb_str_resize(str,0);
        argv[1] = Qnil;
    }

  retry:
    if (!next_argv()) {
        return str;
    }
    if (ARGF_GENERIC_INPUT_P()) {
        tmp = argf_forward(argc, argv, argf);
    }
    else {
        tmp = io_read(argc, argv, ARGF.current_file);
    }
    if (NIL_P(str)) str = tmp;
    else if (!NIL_P(tmp)) rb_str_append(str, tmp);
    if (NIL_P(tmp) || NIL_P(length)) {
        if (ARGF.next_p != -1) {
            argf_close(argf);
            ARGF.next_p = 1;
            goto retry;
        }
    }
    else if (argc >= 1) {
        long slen = RSTRING_LEN(str);
        if (slen < len) {
            argv[0] = LONG2NUM(len - slen);
            goto retry;
        }
    }
    return str;
}

#read_nonblock(maxlen[, options]) ⇒ String #read_nonblock(maxlen, outbuf[, options]) ⇒ outbuf

Reads at most maxlen bytes from the ARGF stream in non-blocking mode.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13885

static VALUE
argf_read_nonblock(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE opts;

    rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "11:", NULL, NULL, &opts);

    if (!NIL_P(opts))
        argc--;

    return argf_getpartial(argc, argv, argf, opts, 1);
}

#readbyteInteger

Reads the next 8-bit byte from ARGF and returns it as an ::Integer. Raises an ::EOFError after the last byte of the last file has been read.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > file
$ ruby argf.rb file

ARGF.readbyte  #=> 102
ARGF.readbyte  #=> 111
ARGF.readbyte  #=> 111
ARGF.readbyte  #=> 10
ARGF.readbyte  #=> end of file reached (EOFError)
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14088

static VALUE
argf_readbyte(VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE c;

    NEXT_ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    c = argf_getbyte(argf);
    if (NIL_P(c)) {
        rb_eof_error();
    }
    return c;
}

#readcharString?

Reads the next character from ARGF and returns it as a ::String. Raises an ::EOFError after the last character of the last file has been read.

For example:

$ echo "foo" > file
$ ruby argf.rb file

ARGF.readchar  #=> "f"
ARGF.readchar  #=> "o"
ARGF.readchar  #=> "o"
ARGF.readchar  #=> "\n"
ARGF.readchar  #=> end of file reached (EOFError)
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14048

static VALUE
argf_readchar(VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE ch;

  retry:
    if (!next_argv()) rb_eof_error();
    if (!RB_TYPE_P(ARGF.current_file, T_FILE)) {
        ch = forward_current(rb_intern("getc"), 0, 0);
    }
    else {
        ch = rb_io_getc(ARGF.current_file);
    }
    if (NIL_P(ch) && ARGF.next_p != -1) {
        argf_close(argf);
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
        goto retry;
    }

    return ch;
}

#readline(sep = $/) ⇒ String #readline(limit) ⇒ String #readline(sep, limit) ⇒ String

Returns the next line from the current file in ARGF.

By default lines are assumed to be separated by $/; to use a different character as a separator, supply it as a ::String for the sep argument.

The optional limit argument specifies how many characters of each line to return. By default all characters are returned.

An EOFError is raised at the end of the file.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 10403

static VALUE
argf_readline(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE line;

    if (!next_argv()) rb_eof_error();
    ARGF_FORWARD(argc, argv);
    line = argf_gets(argc, argv, argf);
    if (NIL_P(line)) {
        rb_eof_error();
    }

    return line;
}

#readlines(sep = $/, chomp: false) ⇒ Array #readlines(limit, chomp: false) ⇒ Array #readlines(sep, limit, chomp: false) ⇒ Array

Alias for #to_a.

#readpartial(maxlen) ⇒ String #readpartial(maxlen, outbuf) ⇒ outbuf

Reads at most maxlen bytes from the ARGF stream.

If the optional outbuf argument is present, it must reference a ::String, which will receive the data. The outbuf will contain only the received data after the method call even if it is not empty at the beginning.

It raises ::EOFError on end of ARGF stream. Since ARGF stream is a concatenation of multiple files, internally EOF is occur for each file. #readpartial returns empty strings for EOFs except the last one and raises ::EOFError for the last one.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13871

static VALUE
argf_readpartial(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    return argf_getpartial(argc, argv, argf, Qnil, 0);
}

#rewind0

Positions the current file to the beginning of input, resetting #lineno to zero.

ARGF.readline   #=> "This is line one\n"
ARGF.rewind     #=> 0
ARGF.lineno     #=> 0
ARGF.readline   #=> "This is line one\n"
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13650

static VALUE
argf_rewind(VALUE argf)
{
    VALUE ret;
    int old_lineno;

    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream to rewind");
    }
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    old_lineno = RFILE(ARGF.current_file)->fptr->lineno;
    ret = rb_io_rewind(ARGF.current_file);
    if (!global_argf_p(argf)) {
        ARGF.last_lineno = ARGF.lineno -= old_lineno;
    }
    return ret;
}

#seek(amount, whence = IO::SEEK_SET) ⇒ 0

Seeks to offset amount (an ::Integer) in the ARGF stream according to the value of whence. See IO#seek for further details.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13607

static VALUE
argf_seek_m(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream to seek");
    }
    ARGF_FORWARD(argc, argv);
    return rb_io_seek_m(argc, argv, ARGF.current_file);
}

#set_encoding(ext_enc) ⇒ ARGF #set_encoding("ext_enc:int_enc") ⇒ ARGF #set_encoding(ext_enc, int_enc) ⇒ ARGF #set_encoding("ext_enc:int_enc", opt) ⇒ ARGF #set_encoding(ext_enc, int_enc, opt) ⇒ ARGF

If single argument is specified, strings read from ARGF are tagged with the encoding specified.

If two encoding names separated by a colon are given, e.g. “ascii:utf-8”, the read string is converted from the first encoding (external encoding) to the second encoding (internal encoding), then tagged with the second encoding.

If two arguments are specified, they must be encoding objects or encoding names. Again, the first specifies the external encoding; the second specifies the internal encoding.

If the external encoding and the internal encoding are specified, the optional ::Hash argument can be used to adjust the conversion process. The structure of this hash is explained in the String#encode documentation.

For example:

ARGF.set_encoding('ascii')         # Tag the input as US-ASCII text
ARGF.set_encoding(Encoding::UTF_8) # Tag the input as UTF-8 text
ARGF.set_encoding('utf-8','ascii') # Transcode the input from US-ASCII
                                   # to UTF-8.
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13564

static VALUE
argf_set_encoding(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    rb_io_t *fptr;

    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream to set encoding");
    }
    rb_io_set_encoding(argc, argv, ARGF.current_file);
    GetOpenFile(ARGF.current_file, fptr);
    ARGF.encs = fptr->encs;
    return argf;
}

#skipARGF

Sets the current file to the next file in ARGV. If there aren’t any more files it has no effect.

For example:

$ ruby argf.rb foo bar
ARGF.filename  #=> "foo"
ARGF.skip
ARGF.filename  #=> "bar"
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14388

static VALUE
argf_skip(VALUE argf)
{
    if (ARGF.init_p && ARGF.next_p == 0) {
        argf_close(argf);
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
    }
    return argf;
}

#readlines(sep = $/, chomp: false) ⇒ Array #readlines(limit, chomp: false) ⇒ Array #readlines(sep, limit, chomp: false) ⇒ Array
Also known as: #readlines

ARGF.to_a(sep = $/, chomp: false) -> array

ARGF.to_a(limit, chomp: false)      -> array
ARGF.to_a(sep, limit, chomp: false) -> array

Reads each file in ARGF in its entirety, returning an ::Array containing lines from the files. Lines are assumed to be separated by sep.

lines = ARGF.readlines
lines[0]                #=> "This is line one\n"

See IO.readlines for a full description of all options.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 10506

static VALUE
argf_readlines(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    long lineno = ARGF.lineno;
    VALUE lines, ary;

    ary = rb_ary_new();
    while (next_argv()) {
        if (ARGF_GENERIC_INPUT_P()) {
            lines = forward_current(rb_intern("readlines"), argc, argv);
        }
        else {
            lines = rb_io_readlines(argc, argv, ARGF.current_file);
            argf_close(argf);
        }
        ARGF.next_p = 1;
        rb_ary_concat(ary, lines);
        ARGF.lineno = lineno + RARRAY_LEN(ary);
        ARGF.last_lineno = ARGF.lineno;
    }
    ARGF.init_p = 0;
    return ary;
}

#filenoInteger #to_iInteger
Also known as: #fileno

Returns an integer representing the numeric file descriptor for the current file. Raises an ::ArgumentError if there isn’t a current file.

ARGF.fileno    #=> 3
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13678

static VALUE
argf_fileno(VALUE argf)
{
    if (!next_argv()) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "no stream");
    }
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    return rb_io_fileno(ARGF.current_file);
}

#to_ioIO

Returns an ::IO object representing the current file. This will be a ::File object unless the current file is a stream such as STDIN.

For example:

ARGF.to_io    #=> #<File:glark.txt>
ARGF.to_io    #=> #<IO:<STDIN>>
[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 13700

static VALUE
argf_to_io(VALUE argf)
{
    next_argv();
    ARGF_FORWARD(0, 0);
    return ARGF.current_file;
}

#to_sString Also known as: #inspect

Returns “ARGF”.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14448

static VALUE
argf_to_s(VALUE argf)
{
    return rb_str_new2("ARGF");
}

#to_write_ioIO

Returns IO instance tied to ARGF for writing if inplace mode is enabled.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14563

static VALUE
argf_write_io(VALUE argf)
{
    if (!RTEST(ARGF.current_file)) {
        rb_raise(rb_eIOError, "not opened for writing");
    }
    return GetWriteIO(ARGF.current_file);
}

#write(*objects) ⇒ Integer

Writes each of the given objects if inplace mode.

[ GitHub ]

  
# File 'io.c', line 14578

static VALUE
argf_write(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE argf)
{
    return rb_io_writev(argf_write_io(argf), argc, argv);
}