Is there a 'variable_get' method? If not, how can I create my own?

Question

courtesy of irb:

2.0.0-p0 :006 > @instance_variable = \"from an instance variable\"
 => \"from an instance variable\" 
2.0.0-p0 :007 > variable = \"         


        

Answer 1

In Ruby 2.1 and later, you can use Binding#local_variable_get.

In prior versions of Ruby, you have to use eval. If you want to do some sanity-checking before evaluating a supposed variable name, you can check whether the named variable is in local_variables.

Answer 2

You could use eval:

irb(main):007:0> variable = "from a variable"
=> "from a variable"
irb(main):008:0> eval 'variable'
=> "from a variable"