Ruby String Extensions

string.rb

# Extensions to the String class
class String
  # converts a string to a symbol with spaces converted to underscores
  def symbolize
    self.downcase.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z ]/, '').gsub(" ", "_").to_sym
  end

  # converts a string to a machine-safe version
  def machinize
    self.downcase.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z ]/, '').gsub(" ", "_")
  end

  # converts a string with spaces/underscores to a hyphenated string
  def hyphenize
    self.downcase.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z _]/, '').gsub(/[ _]/, "-")
  end

  # converts a string to a filename safe version
  # using hyphens in place of spaces
  def filenamify
    self.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z. ]/, '').gsub(" ", "-")
  end

  # converts a string to a filename safe version
  # using hyphens in place of spaces and replacing encoded
  # + character with an actual + (for Amazon S3 urls)
  def s3_filenamify
    self.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z. ]/, '').gsub("%2B", '+').gsub(" ", "-")
  end

  # converts a string to a model constant
  def modelize
    self.titleize.singularize.gsub(/[^0-9A-Za-z ]/, '').gsub(" ", "").constantize
  end

  # quick check to determine if a string is a number
  # see: http://railsforum.com/viewtopic.php?id=19081
  def number?
    true if Float(self) rescue false
  end

end