Replace nils by empty strings?

[manuelmeurer]

One requirement for the API I'm writing with Rabl is that there should be no nil/null values in the JSON response. I quickly did this by monkeypatching Rabl::Builder#compile_hash.
Would you accept a pull request that implements this propery and adds a config.replace_nil_by_empty_string configuration option?

[nesquena]

Yes, that would be a welcome property that can be enabled in configuration

[manuelmeurer]

Ok, I will work on that as soon as I have some time. (famous last words)

For now, here's my monkeypatch:

class Rabl::Builder
  def compile_hash_with_replace_nil_by_empty_string(options = {})
    result = compile_hash_without_replace_nil_by_empty_string(options)
    @_result = @_result.each_with_object({}) do |(k, v), hash|
      hash[k] = v.nil? ? '' : v
    end
    @_root_name ? { @_root_name => @_result } : @_result
  end

  alias_method_chain :compile_hash, :replace_nil_by_empty_string
end