The Ruby Way assumes that the reader is already familiar with the subject matter. Using many code samples it focuses on "how-to use Ruby" for specific applications, either as a stand-alone language, or in conjunction with other languages.
Topics covered include:
- Simple data tasks;
- Manipulating structured data;
- External data manipulation;
- User interfaces;
- Handling threads;
- System programming;
- Network and web programming;
- Tools and utilities.
Note: The appendices offer instruction on migrating from Perl and Python to Ruby, and extending Ruby in C and C++.
Hal Fulton has two degrees in computer science. He has taught at the community college level and also has more than a decade of industry experience as a programmer. He is a member of the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society.