Chapter 1: Getting the Most out of Core Classes

Ruby is shipped with a rich library of core classes. Almost all Ruby programmers are familiar with the most common core classes, and one of the easiest ways to make your code intuitive to most Ruby programmers is to use these classes.

In the rest of this chapter, you'll learn more about commonly encountered core classes, as well as principles for how to best use each class. We will cover the following topics:

• Learning when to use core classes
• Best uses for true, false, and nil objects
• Different numeric types for different needs
• Understanding how symbols differ from strings
• Learning how best to use arrays, hashes, and sets
• Working with Struct – one of the underappreciated core classes

By the end of this chapter, you'll have a better understanding of many of Ruby's core classes, and how best to use each of them.