Ruby is the fastest growing and most exciting dynamic language out there. If you need to get working programs delivered fast you should add Ruby to your toolbox. This book is the only complete reference for both Ruby 1.9 and Ruby 2.0 the very latest version of Ruby. 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the Ruby language. Were proud that throughout its history weve continued to cover the latest version of Ruby. 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 getting the work done Are you using Rails and want to dig deeper into the underlying Ruby language If so then weve got a language and book for you Ruby is a fully objectoriented language much like the classic objectoriented language Smalltalk. Like Smalltalk it is dynamically typed as opposed to Java or C but unlike Smalltalk Ruby features the same conveniences found in modern scripting languages such as Perl and Python. The combination of the power of a pure objectoriented language with the convenience of a scripting language makes Ruby a favorite tool of intelligent forwardthinking programmers. The Pickaxe contains four major sections An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby. The definitive reference to the language. Complete documentation of all builtin classes modules and methods. Complete descriptions of all 97 standard libraries. This is the reference manual for Ruby including a description of all the standard library modules a complete reference to all builtin classes and modules including all the new and changed methods introduced by Ruby 1.9 1.9.2 1.9.3 and 2.0. It also includes all the new and changed syntax and semantics introduced since Ruby 1.8. Learn about the new parameter passing rules local variable scoping in blocks fibers and the new block declaration syntax among other exciting new features