From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2004-02-22T18:02:23+09:00
Subject: Re: Beginner here, have some questions

On Sunday, February 22, 2004, 5:30:42 PM, Sang wrote:

> Ruby beginner here.  Heard of it before and on a whim decided to check
> it out a couple of days ago and I love it.  I friggin love it.
> I'm doing stuff that would take me a while to figure out with other 
> languages' syntax.  I've never seen a language that looks so "clean."

> Anyway, I have some questions I couldn't find in the FAQ

> sample code:

> x = 2
> puts x

> Now, is "puts" a class or instance method of Object?  What about "x"?
> Is that a class or instance variable of an Object?
> When you run a Ruby program, is the program an instance of Object?

Welcome.

x is a local variable, as opposed to @x, @@x (instance and class), X
(constant), $x (global).

puts is a method of the Kernel module, which is included in the Object
class, and therefore available anywhere.

The context of your program is the "top-level", which is an instance
of Object, and probably has some special features surrouding it.

Take a look at the standard textbook "Programming Ruby" for more juicy
goodness, although it seems you'll be able to pick up a fair bit on
your own :)

  http://phrogz.net/ProgrammingRuby

Cheers,
Gavin