TypeError: Cannot convert Builder :: XmlMarkup to an array

Question

I'm having problems accessing a raw XML object from a Builder :: XmlMarkup object.

irb> xml = Builder::XmlMarkup.new(:target => '') => <pretty_inspect/> irb> xml.foo("bar") => "<pretty_inspect/><foo>bar</foo>" irb> puts xml TypeError: can't convert Builder::XmlMarkup to Array (Builder::XmlMarkup#to_ary gives String) from (pry):122:in `puts' 

In the script where I use Builder to create XML, I pass @xml POST:

  response = HTTParty.post(API_ENDPOINT, :body => @xml) 

This gives the same error:

 TypeError (can't convert Builder::XmlMarkup to Array (Builder::XmlMarkup#to_ary gives String)): 

Of course, if I do @ xml.to_xml, it does not return an error, but adds </to_xml> to xml, that is, it does not actually convert the XML object to xml. This is not what I want.

So, how can I access xml to pass it to my post without adding additional nodes to my XML?

Edit: Possible Solution

Doing @xml.target! seems like a solution to the problem, but I'm not sure I understand why.

 response = HTTParty.post(API_ENDPOINT, :body => @xml.target!) 

Perhaps someone can help me understand what is happening here.

Answer 1

Using

 puts xml 

outputs the Builder :: XmlMarkup object and therefore gives an error

Using

 puts xml.target! 

prints the current xml string what you want