Compare number and its string representation
Convert either to the other, so either:
val1.to_s == val2 # returns trueOr:
val1 == val2.to_i # returns trueAlthough ruby is dynamically typed (the type is known at runtime), it is also strongly typed (the type doesn't get implicitly typecast)
Assuming you don't know if either one would be nil, an alpha-numeric string or an empty string, I suggest converting both sides to strings and then comparing.
val1.to_str == val2.to_str => truenil.to_str == "".to_str => true"ab123".to_str == 123.to_str => false
An important addition to this question:
Integer(val1) == Integer(val2)I came here looking for a short solution, not as explicit, but this is as far as I know the safest way.
Integer("123a") # ArgumentError: invalid value for Integer(): "123a"