Interactive Ruby Shell

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Interactive Ruby Shell

Screenshot The screenshot session as same as the article example
Developer(s)
Stable release	1.2.4 / May 2, 2020; 21 months ago (2020-05-02)[1]
Repository	github.com/ruby/irb
Written in	Ruby
Operating system	Cross-platform
Platform	Ruby interpreter
Type	Ruby shell
License	Ruby License BSD License
Website	www.ruby-lang.org/en/

Interactive Ruby Shell (IRB or irb) is a REPL for programming in the object-oriented scripting language Ruby. The abbreviation irb is a portmanteau of the word "interactive" and the filename extension for Ruby files, ".rb".

The program is launched from a command line and allows the execution of Ruby commands with immediate response, experimenting in real-time. It features command history, line editing capabilities, and job control, and is able to communicate directly as a shell script over the Internet and interact with a live server. It was developed by .

Syntax and use[]

Syntax:

irb [ options ] [ programfile ] [ argument... ]

Example:

irb(main):001:0> n = 5
=> 5
irb(main):002:0> def fact(n)
irb(main):003:1>   if n <= 1
irb(main):004:2>     1
irb(main):005:2>   else
irb(main):006:2*     n * fact(n - 1)
irb(main):007:2>   end
irb(main):008:1> end
=> :fact
irb(main):009:0> fact(n)
=> 120

irb(main):001:0> class Cat
irb(main):002:1>   def meow
irb(main):003:2>     puts 'Meow!'
irb(main):004:2>   end
irb(main):005:1> end
=> :meow

irb(main):006:0> Cat.new.meow
Meow!

See also[]

• Comparison of computer shells

References[]

External links[]

• "Code and run Ruby online" A powerful interactive Ruby shell
• "Try Ruby" Online IRB
• "When Trouble Strikes" chapter from Programming Ruby
• "Interactive Ruby Shell" chapter from Programming Ruby

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