How to pass optional parameter?

Hi All,        I have one method like def hello(int,string) Now i want that if user pass int value or string value then it should search on the basis of one of those.

means i want both as optional parameter. Please tell me how to do this in ROR. Thanks Varun

To make a parameter optional, it must have a default value.

def search(numeric_value = 0, textual_value = "")   ... end

Regards, Craig