Error when printing string.length

Question

Why can't I print the length of a constant string? This is my code:

#!/usr/bin/ruby
Name = "Edgar Wallace"
name = "123456"

puts "Hello, my name is " + Name
puts "My name has " + Name.to_s.length + " characters."

I've already read "How do I determine the length of a Fixnum in Ruby?", but unfortunately it didn't help me.

After trying, this error is thrown:

./hello.rb:7:in `+': can't convert Fixnum into String (TypeError)
          from ./hello.rb:7:in `<main>'

Answer 1

Use interpolation "#{}" in Ruby. It will evaluate your expression and print your string:

#!/usr/bin/ruby
Name = "Edgar Wallace"
name = "123456"

puts "My name has #{Name.length} characters."

Note: You can not use interpolation if you are using a string with single quotes('). Use it with double quotes.

Answer 2

You cannot concatenate to a String with a Fixnum:

>> "A" + 1
TypeError: can't convert Fixnum into String
    from (irb):1:in `+'
    from (irb):1
    from /usr/bin/irb:12:in `<main>'
>> "A" + 1.to_s
=> "A1"

And, you don't need Name.to_s, because Name is already a String object. Just Name is enough.

Convert the Fixnum (length) to String:

puts "My name has " + Name.length.to_s + " characters."

Or, as an alternative:

puts "My name has #{Name.length} characters."