Address liquid-spec issues without ActiveSupport loaded

Implement ActiveSupport-compatible behaviors internally so Liquid works
correctly without ActiveSupport being loaded:

1. String first/last via property access (name.first, name.last)
   - VariableLookup now handles string[0] and string[-1] for first/last

2. String first/last via filters (name | first, name | last)
   - StandardFilters#first and #last now handle strings

3. blank?/empty? comparisons for types without these methods
   - Condition now implements liquid_blank? and liquid_empty? internally
   - blank? matches ActiveSupport: nil, false, empty/whitespace strings,
     empty arrays/hashes are all blank
   - empty? checks length == 0 only (whitespace is NOT empty)

This fixes spec failures for templates like:
- {{ name.first }} / {{ name | first }} on strings
- {% if x == blank %} for whitespace strings, empty hashes/arrays
- {% case ' ' %}{% when blank %} matching whitespace

lib/liquid/condition.rb

@@ -113,24 +113,66 @@ module Liquid
 
     def equal_variables(left, right)
       if left.is_a?(MethodLiteral)
-        if right.respond_to?(left.method_name)
-          return right.send(left.method_name)
-        else
-          return nil
-        end
+        return call_method_literal(left, right)
       end
 
       if right.is_a?(MethodLiteral)
-        if left.respond_to?(right.method_name)
-          return left.send(right.method_name)
-        else
-          return nil
-        end
+        return call_method_literal(right, left)
       end
 
       left == right
     end
 
+    def call_method_literal(literal, value)
+      method_name = literal.method_name
+
+      # If the object responds to the method, use it
+      if value.respond_to?(method_name)
+        return value.send(method_name)
+      end
+
+      # Implement blank?/empty? for common types that don't have it
+      # (ActiveSupport adds these, but Liquid should work without it)
+      case method_name
+      when :blank?
+        liquid_blank?(value)
+      when :empty?
+        liquid_empty?(value)
+      else
+        nil
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Implement blank? semantics matching ActiveSupport
+    def liquid_blank?(value)
+      case value
+      when NilClass, FalseClass
+        true
+      when TrueClass, Numeric
+        false
+      when String
+        # Blank if empty or whitespace only
+        value.empty? || value.match?(/\A\s*\z/)
+      when Array, Hash
+        value.empty?
+      else
+        # Fall back to empty? if available, otherwise false
+        value.respond_to?(:empty?) ? value.empty? : false
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Implement empty? semantics
+    def liquid_empty?(value)
+      case value
+      when NilClass
+        true
+      when String, Array, Hash
+        value.empty?
+      else
+        value.respond_to?(:empty?) ? value.empty? : false
+      end
+    end
+
     def interpret_condition(left, right, op, context)
       # If the operator is empty this means that the decision statement is just
       # a single variable. We can just poll this variable from the context and

lib/liquid/standardfilters.rb

@@ -768,6 +768,7 @@ module Liquid
     # @liquid_syntax array | first
     # @liquid_return [untyped]
     def first(array)
+      return array[0] if array.is_a?(String)
       array.first if array.respond_to?(:first)
     end
 
@@ -779,6 +780,7 @@ module Liquid
     # @liquid_syntax array | last
     # @liquid_return [untyped]
     def last(array)
+      return array[-1] if array.is_a?(String)
       array.last if array.respond_to?(:last)
     end
 

lib/liquid/variable_lookup.rb

@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ module Liquid
         elsif lookup_command?(i) && object.respond_to?(key)
           object = object.send(key).to_liquid
 
+        # Handle string first/last like ActiveSupport does (returns first/last character)
+        elsif lookup_command?(i) && object.is_a?(String) && (key == "first" || key == "last")
+          object = key == "first" ? object[0] : object[-1]
+
           # No key was present with the desired value and it wasn't one of the directly supported
           # keywords either. The only thing we got left is to return nil or
           # raise an exception if `strict_variables` option is set to true

test/integration/standard_filter_test.rb

@@ -627,6 +627,38 @@ class StandardFiltersTest < Minitest::Test
     assert_nil(@filters.last([]))
   end
 
+  def test_first_last_on_strings
+    # Ruby's String class does not have first/last methods by default.
+    # ActiveSupport adds String#first and String#last to return the first/last character.
+    # Liquid must work without ActiveSupport, so the first/last filters handle strings specially.
+    #
+    # This enables template patterns like:
+    #   {{ product.title | first }}  => "S" (for "Snowboard")
+    #   {{ customer.name | last }}   => "h" (for "Smith")
+    assert_equal('f', @filters.first('foo'))
+    assert_equal('o', @filters.last('foo'))
+    assert_nil(@filters.first(''))
+    assert_nil(@filters.last(''))
+  end
+
+  def test_first_last_on_unicode_strings
+    # Unicode strings should return the first/last grapheme cluster (character),
+    # not the first/last byte. Ruby's String#[] handles this correctly with index 0/-1.
+    # This ensures international text works properly:
+    #   {{ korean_name | first }} => "고" (not a partial byte sequence)
+    assert_equal('고', @filters.first('고스트빈'))
+    assert_equal('빈', @filters.last('고스트빈'))
+  end
+
+  def test_first_last_on_strings_via_template
+    # Integration test to verify the filter works end-to-end in templates.
+    # Empty strings return empty output (nil renders as empty string).
+    assert_template_result('f', '{{ name | first }}', { 'name' => 'foo' })
+    assert_template_result('o', '{{ name | last }}', { 'name' => 'foo' })
+    assert_template_result('', '{{ name | first }}', { 'name' => '' })
+    assert_template_result('', '{{ name | last }}', { 'name' => '' })
+  end
+
   def test_replace
     assert_equal('b b b b', @filters.replace('a a a a', 'a', 'b'))
     assert_equal('2 2 2 2', @filters.replace('1 1 1 1', 1, 2))

test/unit/condition_unit_test.rb

@@ -197,6 +197,162 @@ class ConditionUnitTest < Minitest::Test
     assert_equal(['title'], result.lookups)
   end
 
+  # Tests for blank? comparison without ActiveSupport
+  #
+  # Ruby's standard library does not include blank? on String, Array, Hash, etc.
+  # ActiveSupport adds blank? but Liquid must work without it. These tests verify
+  # that Liquid implements blank? semantics internally for use in templates like:
+  #   {% if x == blank %}...{% endif %}
+  #
+  # The blank? semantics match ActiveSupport's behavior:
+  # - nil and false are blank
+  # - Strings are blank if empty or contain only whitespace
+  # - Arrays and Hashes are blank if empty
+  # - true and numbers are never blank
+
+  def test_blank_with_whitespace_string
+    # Template authors expect "   " to be blank since it has no visible content.
+    # This matches ActiveSupport's String#blank? which returns true for whitespace-only strings.
+    @context['whitespace'] = '   '
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('whitespace'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_blank_with_empty_string
+    # An empty string has no content, so it should be considered blank.
+    # This is the most basic case of a blank string.
+    @context['empty_string'] = ''
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_string'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_blank_with_empty_array
+    # Empty arrays have no elements, so they are blank.
+    # Useful for checking if a collection has items: {% if products == blank %}
+    @context['empty_array'] = []
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_array'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_blank_with_empty_hash
+    # Empty hashes have no key-value pairs, so they are blank.
+    # Useful for checking if settings/options exist: {% if settings == blank %}
+    @context['empty_hash'] = {}
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_hash'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_blank_with_nil
+    # nil represents "nothing" and is the canonical blank value.
+    # Unassigned variables resolve to nil, so this enables: {% if missing_var == blank %}
+    @context['nil_value'] = nil
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('nil_value'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_blank_with_false
+    # false is considered blank to match ActiveSupport semantics.
+    # This allows {% if some_flag == blank %} to work when flag is false.
+    @context['false_value'] = false
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('false_value'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_not_blank_with_true
+    # true is a definite value, not blank.
+    # Ensures {% if flag == blank %} works correctly for boolean flags.
+    @context['true_value'] = true
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('true_value'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_not_blank_with_number
+    # Numbers (including zero) are never blank - they represent actual values.
+    # 0 is a valid quantity, not the absence of a value.
+    @context['number'] = 42
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('number'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_not_blank_with_string_content
+    # A string with actual content is not blank.
+    # This is the expected behavior for most template string comparisons.
+    @context['string'] = 'hello'
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('string'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_not_blank_with_non_empty_array
+    # An array with elements has content, so it's not blank.
+    # Enables patterns like {% unless products == blank %}Show products{% endunless %}
+    @context['array'] = [1, 2, 3]
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('array'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_not_blank_with_non_empty_hash
+    # A hash with key-value pairs has content, so it's not blank.
+    # Useful for checking if configuration exists: {% if config != blank %}
+    @context['hash'] = { 'a' => 1 }
+    blank_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['blank']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('hash'), '==', blank_literal)
+  end
+
+  # Tests for empty? comparison without ActiveSupport
+  #
+  # empty? is distinct from blank? - it only checks if a collection has zero elements.
+  # For strings, empty? checks length == 0, NOT whitespace content.
+  # Ruby's standard library has empty? on String, Array, and Hash, but Liquid
+  # provides a fallback implementation for consistency.
+
+  def test_empty_with_empty_string
+    # An empty string ("") has length 0, so it's empty.
+    # Different from blank - empty is a stricter check.
+    @context['empty_string'] = ''
+    empty_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['empty']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_string'), '==', empty_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_empty_with_whitespace_string_not_empty
+    # Whitespace strings have length > 0, so they are NOT empty.
+    # This is the key difference between empty and blank:
+    # "   ".empty? => false, but "   ".blank? => true
+    @context['whitespace'] = '   '
+    empty_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['empty']
+
+    assert_evaluates_false(VariableLookup.new('whitespace'), '==', empty_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_empty_with_empty_array
+    # An array with no elements is empty.
+    # [].empty? => true
+    @context['empty_array'] = []
+    empty_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['empty']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_array'), '==', empty_literal)
+  end
+
+  def test_empty_with_empty_hash
+    # A hash with no key-value pairs is empty.
+    # {}.empty? => true
+    @context['empty_hash'] = {}
+    empty_literal = Condition.class_variable_get(:@@method_literals)['empty']
+
+    assert_evaluates_true(VariableLookup.new('empty_hash'), '==', empty_literal)
+  end
+
   private
 
   def assert_evaluates_true(left, op, right)