Ruby Arrays
Syntax
In Ruby, an array is a collection of elements, which can be of any data type including integers, strings, and objects. The syntax for creating an array is as follows:
array_name = [element1, element2, element3, ..., elementN]
Example
Creating an array of integers in Ruby:
ages = [20, 30, 40, 50]
Output
[20, 30, 40, 50]
Explanation
In the above example, we have created an array called ages
with four elements. Each element is an integer value.
Use
Arrays are useful for storing and manipulating collections of data in Ruby. Some common uses of arrays include:
- Storing a list of names, phone numbers, or addresses
- Storing a list of products in an online store
- Storing a list of student grades for a class
Arrays can be used to perform operations on collections of data, such as sorting or filtering.
Important Points
- Arrays in Ruby are zero-indexed, meaning that the first element is stored at index 0.
- Array indexes start at 0 and end at
array.length - 1
. - Arrays can be nested, meaning that an array can contain other arrays as elements.
- Arrays can be modified using various built-in methods.
Summary
Arrays are a fundamental data type in Ruby, used for storing and manipulating collections of data. They can contain any data type, and are ideal for performing operations on groups of related data. Remember that arrays are zero-indexed, and can be modified using built-in methods.