Introduction

Programming should be like driving a good car: Buttons are clearly labeled and easy to reach; you're comfortable as soon as you get inside; there are always a couple of nuances, but soon, the machine becomes an extension of yourself; you zig, you zag, and you always get where you're going. Welcome to the Porsche of programming languages. Perhaps you come from the world of C++ or Java, but would like something easier on the eyes and the fingers. Perhaps you program in Perl, and would like to avoid bending over backwards for re-usability. Congratulations, you've found Ruby, an object-oriented language that's easy to write and easy to read.

Ruby usage is growing daily. For instance, Ruby is spreading like wildfire in Japan, ever since Yukihiro 'Matz' Matsumoto's posting of version 0.95 on Japanese domestic newsgroups. There, Ruby surpasses Python in popularity. In 2000, technical references began introducing and championing Ruby to the English-speaking markets as an alternative programming language, and Ruby growth became an international phenomenon. By adding Ruby to your language repository, you join a burgeoning rank of developers that know an easier, faster, and more enjoyable way to get the job done.

An Overview of Ruby

Ruby's design philosophy is known as the Principle of Least Surprise. That means that Ruby works the way that you expect it to work. The more you develop with Ruby, the more you're going to realize that you're spending time producing code. Real code, which works, is readable, and solves...