Hashblock (tentative name) is a simple gem that converts free form blocks into hashes.

Here’s how to use it

---

-> parser = Hashblock::Parser.new
=> #<Hashblock::Parser ...> 
-> to_parse = Proc.new do
     foo :bar
     ping :pong
     nest_this do
       abra :cadabra
     end
   end
=> #<Proc:...>
-> parser.parse(to_parse)
=> {:foo=>:bar, :ping=>:pong, :nest_this=>{:abra=>:cadabra}}

This may be useful if you’re creating an acts_as_* type plugin, for example. Say you want your users to invoke your plugin thusly:

acts_as_whizbang do
  config do
    whiz :bang
  end
  other_config :foo
end

Youll want to handle that like this:

def acts_as_whizbang(&block)
  @config = Hashblock::Parser.new.parse(block)
end

Now, suppose you want the user to also be able to supply options via a Hash:

def acts_as_whizbang(hash, &block)
  if block_given?
    @config = Hashblock::Parser.new.parse(block)
  else
    @config = hash
  end
end

This allows users of your plugin to configure acts_as_whizbang via a hash, too:

acts_as_whizbang :config => { :whiz => :bang }, :other_config => :foo