ascii_table.rb

class Array
  require 'terminal-table/import'
  
  # Convert an array of instances to an ascii table using the "terminal-table" gem on gemcutter.org
  def to_ascii_table(attributes_set = [])
    begin
      raise "All items must be of the same class, found #{self.collect(&:class).uniq.to_sentence}" if self.collect(&:class).uniq.size != 1
      
      # Get a list of all existing attributes from the list.
      if attributes_set.blank?
        include_attributes = self.first.attributes.stringify_keys!.keys
      else
        include_attributes = attributes_set.collect(&:to_s) & self.first.methods
      end
      
      ascii_table = table do |t|
        t.headings = include_attributes.collect(&:humanize)
        self.each do |item|
          new_row = []
          include_attributes.each do |attr_name|
            new_row << item.send(attr_name.to_sym)
          end
          t.add_row new_row
        end
      end
      
      ascii_table
    rescue Exception => e
      puts "Error: #{e}"
    end
  end
end