
2 Chapter #
page goal header
The Ruby Philosophy
Back in the 1990's in Japan, a programmer named Yukihiro Matsumoto
("Matz" for short) was dreaming about his ideal programming language. He
wanted something that:
• Was easy to learn and use
• Was flexible enough to handle any programming task
• Let the programmer concentrate on the problem they were trying to solve
• Gave the programmer less stress
• Was object-oriented
He looked at the languages that were available, but felt that none of them was
exactly what he wanted. So, he set out to make his own. He called it Ruby.
After tinkering around with Ruby for his own work for a while, Matz released
it to the public in 1995. Since then, the Ruby community has done some
amazing things:
• Built out a vast collection of Ruby libraries that can help you do anything
from reading CSV files to controlling objects over a network
• Written alternate interpreters that can run your Ruby code faster or
integrate it with other languages
• Created Ruby on Rails, a hugely popular framework for web applications
This explosion of creativity and productivity was enabled by
the Ruby language itself. Flexibility and ease of use are core
principles of the language, meaning you can use Ruby to
accomplish any programming task, in fewer lines of code than
other languages.
Once you've got the basics down, you'll agree: Ruby is a joy to
use!
Flexibility and ease of use are
core principles of Ruby.
No, really, we mean ANY feedback! If you're
confused, other readers will be, too. We want to work
this stuff out before printing! E-mail us at:
feedback@headfirstruby.com
And thanks!
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