What is ruby?
Ruby User's Guide
What is ruby?
> What is ruby?
 
Getting started
 
Simple examples
 
Strings
 
Regular expressions
 
Arrays
 
Back to the simple examples
 
Control structures
 
Iterators
 
Object-oriented thinking
 
Methods
 
Classes
 
Inheritance
 
Redefinition of methods
 
Access control
 
Singleton methods
 
Modules
 
Procedure objects
 
Variables
 
Global variables
 
Instance variables
 
Local variables
 
Class constants
 
Exception processing: rescue
 
Exception processing: ensure
 
Accessors
Ruby is "an interpreted scripting language for quick and easy 
object-oriented programming" -- what does this mean?
interpreted scripting language:
●     ability to make operating system calls directly
●     powerful string operations and regular expressions
●     immediate feedback during development
quick and easy:
●     variable declarations are unnecessary
●     variables are not typed
●     syntax is simple and consistent
●     memory management is automatic
object oriented programming:
●     everything is an object
●     classes, methods, inheritance, etc.
●     singleton methods
●     "mixin" functionality by module
●     iterators and closures
http://www.rubyist.net/~slagell/ruby/index.html (1 of 2)2006-3-15 16:53:05

What is ruby?

Object initialization

Nuts and bolts

About the guide

Ruby homepage

Library reference

Technical reference (old)

FAQ

also:

● multiple precision integers

● convenient exception processing

● dynamic loading

● threading support

If you are unfamiliar with some of the concepts above, read on, and

don't worry. The mantra of the ruby language is quick and easy.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the

terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version

published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no

Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free

Documentation License."

http://www.rubyist.net/~slagell/ruby/index.html (2 of 2)2006-3-15 16:53:05

Getting started
Ruby User's Guide
Getting started
 
What is ruby?
> Getting started
 
Simple examples
 
Strings
 
Regular expressions
 
Arrays
 
Back to the simple examples
 
Control structures
 
Iterators
 
Object-oriented thinking
 
Methods
 
Classes
 
Inheritance
 
Redefinition of methods
 
Access control
 
Singleton methods
 
Modules
 
Procedure objects
 
Variables
 
Global variables
 
Instance variables
 
Local variables
 
Class constants
 
Exception processing: rescue
 
Exception processing: ensure
 
Accessors
First, you'll want to check whether ruby is installed. From the 
shell prompt (denoted here by "%", so don't type the %), type
% ruby -v
(-v tells the interpreter to print the version of ruby), then press 
the Enter key. If ruby is installed, you will see a message 
something like the following:
% ruby -v 
ruby 1.8.3 (2005-09-21) [i586-linux]
If ruby is not installed, you can ask your administrator to install 
it, or you can do it yourself, since ruby is free software with no 
restrictions on its installation or use.
Now, let's play with ruby. You can place a ruby program 
directly on the command line using the -e option: 
% ruby -e 'puts "hello world"' 
hello world
http://www.rubyist.net/~slagell/ruby/getstarted.html (1 of 3)2006-3-15 16:53:15