# Different results with File.exists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [September 8, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124 "2009-09-08T13:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/1 "2009-09-08T13:30:05Z")
## when I use a string constant with File.exists? like the following ,it works fine: File.exists?("/home/sepehr") but when I get the string from user: path=gets if File.exists?(path) then * * * end it doesn’t work! what’s wrong with the string which is typed by the user? ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/2 "2009-09-08T13:50:59Z")
yeah,that was it! thanks 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/3 "2009-09-08T13:47:02Z")
Hi – On Tue, 8 Sep 2009, Mehdi K. wrote: > user? > It ends with a newline. Try path.chomp. David – David A. Black / Ruby Power and Light, LLC / [http://www.rubypal.com](http://www.rubypal.com) Ruby/Rails training, mentoring, consulting, code-review Latest book: The Well-Grounded Rubyist ([The Well-Grounded Rubyist](http://www.manning.com/black2)) September Ruby training in NJ has been POSTPONED. Details to follow. ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/4 "2009-09-08T15:00:47Z")
2009/9/8 Mehdi K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > yeah,that was it! thanks 😉 Additional hint: use p to debug output what you have. e.g. path=gets p path if File.exists?(path) then Cheers robert ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/5 "2009-09-09T12:48:02Z")
Hi – On Tue, 8 Sep 2009, Robert K. wrote: > 2009/9/8 Mehdi K. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > > > yeah,that was it! thanks 😉 > > Additional hint: use p to debug output what you have. e.g. > > path=gets > p path > if File.exists?(path) then Meta-additional hint: in 1.9, p returns its argument(s), so if you have: path = gets you can just change it to: p path = gets which makes for slightly easier back-and-forth between the p version and the non-p version. David – David A. Black / Ruby Power and Light, LLC / [http://www.rubypal.com](http://www.rubypal.com) Ruby/Rails training, mentoring, consulting, code-review Latest book: The Well-Grounded Rubyist ([The Well-Grounded Rubyist](http://www.manning.com/black2)) September Ruby training in NJ has been POSTPONED. Details to follow. ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/6 "2009-09-09T14:16:27Z")
2009/9/9 David A. Black [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > > path=gets > > p path = gets > > which makes for slightly easier back-and-forth between the p version > and the non-p version. David, did you rather mean “path = p gets”? Because “p path = gets” does work in pre 1.9 already. 🙂 Kind regards robert ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/7 "2009-09-08T16:30:27Z")
> Additional hint: use p to debug output Or use pp! With arrays and hashes pp beats p easily! :\> ---
**Author:** ![sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@sepehr](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sepehr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/different-results-with-file-exists/175124/8 "2009-09-09T15:23:46Z")
Hi – On Wed, 9 Sep 2009, Robert K. wrote: > > > > > > > Â p path = gets > > > > which makes for slightly easier back-and-forth between the p version > > and the non-p version. > > David, did you rather mean “path = p gets”? Because “p path = gets” > does work in pre 1.9 already. 🙂 I didn’t really mean path = p gets – I was thinking in general of the idiom of: p x instead of p x x but chose a bad example 🙂 David – David A. Black / Ruby Power and Light, LLC / [http://www.rubypal.com](http://www.rubypal.com) Ruby/Rails training, mentoring, consulting, code-review Latest book: The Well-Grounded Rubyist ([The Well-Grounded Rubyist](http://www.manning.com/black2)) September Ruby training in NJ has been POSTPONED. Details to follow.