Primary Resources for Getting Started

• Ruby-lang.org: primary website for the Ruby language
  • Downloading Ruby
  • Ruby in Twenty Minutes: a quick guide to covers key features
  • Switching to Ruby from...   Java;   C/C++
• Online Books
  • Programming Ruby
    • See especially the chapter "Built-in Classes and Methods" for a list of classes provided by Ruby
  • Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby - maybe not the fastest way to learn Ruby, but probably the most entertaining!
• Ruby Cookbook - code from the Ruby Cookbook; you'll need the book for the explanations

Other Useful Documentation

• Ruby problems and their solution
• Data Structures and Algorithms with Object-Oriented Design Patterns in Ruby (Bruno Preiss) - source for various algorithms including multi-dimensional arrays
• Using NetBeans to edit and debug Ruby programs
• Debugging Ruby programs on Io
• Try running fxri (Start->Programs->Ruby...->fxri) installed on the CSSE lab machines.
• Ruby Quick-Reference Guide
• Ruby 19 release info
• Ruby-doc.org: a collection of useful documents
• Core classes from Ruby-doc.org: "built-in" classes; see especially Array, Bignum, Fixnum, Float, Hash, Kernel, Math, Range, Regexp, Set String, Test::Unit, Time

Sample Programs

• grades.rb: simple program to convert numeric scores to letter grades

• gpa.rb: A slightly more complex program illustrating using arrays, functions, and blocks to process lists of grades.

• hicscore.rb: a full program illustrating Ruby. Running it on lab0.dat by the command

          ruby hicscore.rb <lab0.dat
  

  gives the output lab0.out
• hist.rb: read lines from standard input and prints a table showing how often each line occurs. Illustrates basic reading from standard input.
• common.rb: Prints lines that are in common to two files. Illustrates command-line arguments and reading data from files as lines.