本书介绍Ruby最重要的功能特性；示例说明如何使用条件语句以及如何使用Ruby字符串；涵盖正则表达式；解释如何使用Ruby的操作符、算术表达式、Math模块的函数、有理数等等；详细介绍Ruby数组和hash功能；讲解使用Ruby进行文件处理；对Ruby类和mixin模块的细节展开讨论，包括对面向对象编程的简要介绍；介绍XML处理、Tk工具包、RubyGems、反射机制(reflection)、RDoc、嵌入式Ruby、元编程；(metaprogramming)、异常处理等内容。

每一章都有一组问题回顾，附录中有Ruby编程的名词对照表和书中用到的参考资料的出处。如果您想带着Ruby开车兜风，那么《学习Ruby》就是您的车钥匙。

正如您在开车的时候并不需要知道关于汽车的一切；当您开始使用Ruby进行编程的时候，也不需要立刻了解关于Ruby的一切。无论对于Ruby的新手还是老手，《学习Ruby》都是一本即学即用的实用教材。它提供了非常多的Ruby程序，并且解释了这些程序如何运行以及这样运行的原因。这些内容已经足以让您开始您的Ruby之旅。

由于网络开发框架Ruby on Rails的流行和大受欢迎，Ruby已经引起了很多Java和PHP开发人员的兴趣。但除了Rails之外，Ruby还有其他广泛的用途，而学习这些用法的最好方法就是动手尝试编写代码。在本书中，几乎每一页都可以找到代码例子，您可以仿照或者改写这些例子，生成您自己的代码。

Preface

 1. Ruby Basics

Hello, Matz

Interactive Ruby

Resources

Installing Ruby

Permission Denied

Associating File Types on Windows

Review Questions

 2. A Quick Tour of Ruby

Ruby Is Object-Oriented

Ruby's Reserved Words

Comments

Variables

Strings

Numbers and Operators

Conditional Statements

Arrays and Hashes

Methods

Blocks

Symbols

Exception Handling

Ruby Documentation

Review Questions

 3. Conditional Love

The if Statement

The case Statement

The while Loop

The loop Method

The for loop

Execution Before or After a Program

Review Questions

 4. Strings

Creating Strings

Concatenating Strings

Accessing Strings

Comparing Strings

Manipulating Strings

Case Conversion

Managing Whitespace, etc.

Incrementing Strings

Converting Strings

Regular Expressions

1.9 and Beyond

Review Questions

 5. Math

Class Hierarchy and Included Modules

Converting Numbers

Basic Math Operations

Ranges

Inquiring About Numbers

More Math Methods

Math Functions

Rational Numbers

Prime Numbers

Review Questions

 6. Arrays

Creating Arrays

Accessing Elements

Concatenation

Set Operations

Unique Elements

Blow Your Stack

Comparing Arrays

Changing Elements

Deleting Elements

Arrays and Blocks

Sorting Things and About Face

Multidimensional Arrays

1.9 and Beyond

Other Array Methods

Review Questions

 7. Hashes

Creating Hashes

Accessing Hashes

Iterating over Hashes

Changing Hashes

Converting Hashes to Other Classes

1.9 and Beyond

Other Hash Methods

Review Questions

 8. Working with Files

Directories

Creating a New File

Opening an Existing File

Deleting and Renaming Files

File Inquiries

Changing File Modes and Owner

The IO Class

Review Questions

 9. Classes

Defining the Class

Instance Variables

Accessors

Class Variables

Class Methods

Inheritance

Modules

public, private, or protected

Review Questions

  10. More Fun with Ruby

 Formatting Output with sprintf

 Processing XML

 Date and Time

 Reflection

 Using Tk

 Metaprogramming

 RubyGems

 Exception Handling

 Creating Documentation with RDoc

 Embedded Ruby

 Review Questions

  11. A Short Guide to Ruby on Rails

 Where Did Rails Come From?

 Why Rails?

 What Have Other Folks Done with Rails?

 Hosting Rails

 Installing Rails

 Learning Rails

 A Brief Tutorial

 Review Questions

A. Ruby Reference

B. Answers to Review Questions

Glossary

Index