How to parse a string representation of a hash

Question

I have this string and I'm wondering how to convert it to a Hash.

"{:account_id=>4444, :deposit_id=>3333}"

Answer 1

The way suggested in miku's answer is indeed easiest and unsafest.

# DO NOT RUN IT
eval '{:surprise => "#{system \"rm -rf / \"}"}'
# SERIOUSLY, DON'T

Consider using a different string representation of your hashes, e.g. JSON or YAML. It's way more secure and at least equally robust.

Answer 2

With a little replacement, you may use YAML:

require 'yaml'

p YAML.load(
  "{:account_id=>4444, :deposit_id=>3333}".gsub(/=>/, ': ')
  )

But this works only for this specific, simple string. Depending on your real data you may get problems.