cash_handler

cash_handler aims to be an intuitive (and useful) set of extensions and utilities to assist in handling money across different currencies for Ruby on Rails.

Requirements and Installation

• Install the hpricot gem (gem install hpricot)
• Install the cash_handler plugin (script/plugin install git://github.com/JamesBrooks/cash_handler.git)

Usage

  c = CashHandler::Base.new
  
  # Get the current exchange rate of the AUD against the USD (currency code strings are case in-sensitive, can also be symbols)
  c.get('AUD')
  => 0.619099
  
  # Get the current exchange rate of the AUD against the GBP
  c.get('AUD', :against => 'GBP')
  => 0.418621272567449
  
  # Convert
  c.convert(10, :aud, :usd)
  => 6.19099
  
  # Force the converstion rates cache to reload currencies
  c.cache.expire
  
  # The CashHandler::Cache has a default cache life of one day, this can be overridden in one of two ways
  # Upon creation
  c = CashHandler::Base.new(30.minutes)
  
  # During operation
  c.cache.ttl = 30.minutes

Backup rates in case x-rates.com is inaccessible

You may configure cash_handler to create a backup file every time it pulls rates from x-rates.com. In the event that x-rates.com is inaccessible, the rates stored in the backup file will be used.

  # Configure cash_handler to persist rates to our app's log directory
  c = CacheHandler::Base.new(1.day, "#{RAILS_ROOT}/log/rates_backup.yml")

Copyright and License

Copyright © 2008 James Brooks, released under the MIT license