Bug #17564
closed
Source command in irb exits after reading and evaluating the file
Description
In the irb of ruby 2.3.7 (the version that comes with Macos) the “source“ command allows ruby code to be fed to irb as if it were typed in by hand. This has a advantage over the “load” command because variables can be setup not just functions.
However, for ruby versions 2.7.2 and 3.0 irb’s “source” command exits after reading and evaluating everything. This is not very useful in an interactive environment.
I found what I think was a crucial difference between version 2.3.7 and later versions: in function "each_top_level_statement" of irb/ruby-lex.rb the statement
break unless l
was replaced by
break if @io.eof?
When I replaced “break if @io.eof?” by “break unless l” in version 3.0.0 the old behaviour of the “source” command returned! I can now read in ruby code, including variables, and use them.
See file patch for a unified diff of the change.
I don’t understand why this “fix” works, and realize it may not be valid, but I am submitting it in case it is legitimate and can be used.
A trivial file demonstrates the problem: file “a.rb” simply sets variable “a”. To test, invoke irb and issue the command “source ‘a.rb’”. The expected behaviour is you are left at the irb prompt and variable a is valid. The behaviour in verions 3.0.0 without the fix is irb exits.
See file a.rb and output with and without fix in file Log.
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