Ruby is one of the most important programming languages in use for web development. It powers the Rails framework, which is the backing of some of the most important sites on the web. The Pickaxe Book, named for the tool on the cover, is the definitive reference on Ruby, a highly-regarded, fully object-oriented programming language. This updated edition is a comprehensive reference on the language itself, with a tutorial on the most important features of Ruby - including pattern matching and Ractors - and describes the language through Ruby 3.3.

Would you like to go from first idea to working code much, much faster? Do you currently spend more time satisfying the compiler instead of your clients or end users? Are you frustrated with demanding languages that seem to get in your way instead of helping you get the work done? Are you using Rails and want to dig deeper into the underlying Ruby language? If so, then we've got a language and book for you!

Ruby is a fully object-oriented language. The combination of the power of a pure object-oriented language with the convenience of a scripting language makes Ruby a favorite tool of programmers that want to get things done quickly and cleanly.

This comprehensive reference manual for Ruby includes a description of the most important standard library modules, built-in classes, and modules. It also includes all the new and changed syntax and semantics introduced through Ruby 3.3, including pattern matching and Ractors, and describes the language through Ruby 3.3.

Table of Contents

Part I-Facets of Ruby

1. Getting Started

2. Ruby.new

3. Classes, Objects, and Variables

4. Collections, Blocks, and Iterators

5. More about Methods

6. Sharing Functionality: Inheritance, Modules, and Mixins

7. Basic Types: Numbers, Strings, and Ranges

8. Regular Expressions

9. Expressions

10. Exceptions

11. Basic Input and Output

12. Threads, Fibers, and Ractors

13. Testing Ruby Code

Part II—Ruby in Its Setting

14. Ruby from the Command Line

15. Ruby Gems

16. Interactive Ruby

17. Debugging Ruby

18. Typed Ruby

19. Documenting Ruby

Part III-Ruby Crystallized

20. Ruby and the Web

21. Ruby Style

22. The Ruby Object Model and Metaprogramming

23. Reflection and Object Space

Part IV-Ruby Language Reference

24. Language Reference: Literal Types and Expressions

25. Language Reference: Objects and Classes

Part V-Ruby Library Reference

26. Library Reference: Core Data Types

27. Library Reference: Ruby's Object Model

28. Library Reference: Enumerators and Containers

29. Library Reference: Input, Output, Files, and Formats

30. Library Reference: Ruby on Ruby

Part VI-Appendixes

A1. Troubleshooting Ruby

A2. I Can't Look It Up!

A3. Command-Line Basics

A4. Ruby Runtimes

A5. Ruby Changes

What You Need:

This book assumes you have a basic understanding of object-oriented programming.

In general, Ruby programmers tend to favor the the command line for running their code, and they tend to use text editors rather than IDEs.

Ruby runs on Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

About the Author

Noel Rappin is a Staff Software Engineer at Chime Financial. He is the author of multiple technical books including Rails 5 Test Prescriptions and Modern Front End Development With Rails, Second Edition,, and was the host of the Tech Done Right Podcast. Follow Noel on Twitter @noelrap, and online at noel.rappin.com.

Dave Thomas, is a cornerstone of the Ruby community, and is personally responsible for many of its innovative directions and initiatives. He is one of the founders of the Pragmatic Programmers and the Pragmatic Bookshelf.