| Developer(s) | Keiju Ishitsuka |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 0.9.6 / June 30, 2009; 10 years ago |
| Written in | Ruby |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | Ruby interpreter |
| Type | Ruby shell |
| License | Ruby License BSD License |
| Website | www |
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 Keiju Ishitsuka.
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 'The cat meows.' irb(main):004:2> end irb(main):005:1> end => :meow irb(main):006:0> Cat.new.meow The cat meows.
