class NilClass def to_bool false end def blank? true end end class String def to_bool %w{1 true yes}.include? self.downcase end def blank? empty? end end class TrueClass def to_bool self end end class FalseClass def to_bool self end end class Array def to_hash_by key = nil, value = nil, &block elements = case when block_given? then self.collect(&block) when key.nil? then self.collect { |e| [ e, true ] } else self.collect { |e| e.is_a?(Hash) ? [ e[key], value.nil? ? e : e[value] ] : [ e.send(key), value.nil? ? e : e.send(value) ] } end return Hash[ *elements.flatten ] end end