TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Part I: INTRODUCING RUBY -- Chapter 1 RUBY BASICS -- Project Preview: The Ruby Joke Game -- Introducing Ruby -- Getting Ready to Work with Ruby -- Working with Ruby Interactively -- Developing Ruby Scripts -- Back to the Ruby Joke Game -- Summary -- Chapter 2 INTERACTING WITH RUBY -- Project Preview: The Ruby Tall Tale Game -- Getting to Know the irb -- Accessing the irb Online -- Working with the irb -- Using the irb to Perform Mathematical Calculations -- Accessing Ruby Documentation -- Back to the Ruby Tall Tale Game -- Summary -- Part II: LEARNING HOW TO WRITE RUBY SCRIPTS -- Chapter 3 WORKING WITH OBJECTS, STRINGS AND VARIABLES -- Project Preview: The Ruby Virtual Crazy 8 Ball Game -- Working with Text Strings -- Other Options for Manipulating Strings -- Working with String Class Methods -- Object-Oriented Programming -- Converting from One Class to Another -- Storing and Retrieving Data -- Storing Data That Does Not Change -- Back to the Ruby Virtual Crazy 8 Ball Game -- Summary -- Chapter 4 IMPLEMENTING CONDITIONAL LOGIC -- Project Preview: The Ruby Typing Challenge Game -- Using Conditional Logic to Create Adaptive Scripts -- Performing Alternative Types of Comparisons -- Conditional Logic Modifiers -- Working with if and unless Expressions -- Using Case Blocks to Analyze Data -- Using the Ternary Operator -- Nesting Conditional Statements -- Combining and Negating Logical Comparison Operations -- Back to the Ruby Typing Challenge Game -- Summary -- Chapter 5 WORKING WITH LOOPS -- Project Preview: The Superman Movie Trivia Quiz -- Getting Loopy -- Repeating Things Using Loops -- Using Loop Modifiers -- Executing Looping Methods -- Altering Loop Execution -- Back to the Superman Movie Trivia Quiz -- Summary -- Chapter 6 WORKING WITH COLLECTIONS OF DATA -- Project Preview: The Ruby Number Guessing Game.

Processing Related Data as a Unit -- Storing Lists Using Arrays -- Storing Data Using Hashes -- Back to the Ruby Number Guessing Game -- Summary -- Part III: ADVANCED TOPICS -- Chapter 7 WORKING WITH REGULAR EXPRESSIONS -- Project Preview: The Word Guessing Game -- The Basics of Working with Regular Expressions -- Learning How to Match Basic Patterns -- Understanding How to Work with Metacharacters -- Other Common Uses of Regular Expressions -- Back to the Word Guessing Game -- Summary -- Chapter 8 OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING -- Project Preview: The Ruby Rock, Paper, Scissors Game -- Understanding Key Object-Oriented Terms -- Initializing Objects upon Instantiation -- Understanding Variable Scope -- Taking Advantage of Ruby's Built-in Classes -- Modifying Ruby Classes -- Back to the Ruby Rock, Paper, Scissors Game -- Summary -- Chapter 9 FILE AND FOLDER ADMINISTRATION -- Project Preview: The Ruby Blackjack Game -- Understanding File Input and Output -- Administering Text Files and Folders -- Working with Files and Folders on Different Operating Systems -- Reading from and Writing to Text Files -- Back to the Ruby Blackjack Game -- Summary -- Chapter 10 DEBUGGING -- Project Preview: The Ruby Tic-Tac-Toe Game -- Analyzing Different Types of Script Errors -- Handling Exceptions -- Tracking the Logical Flow of Your Scripts -- Finding Bugs Using the Ruby Debugger -- Back to the Ruby Tic-Tac-Toe Game -- Summary -- Part IV: APPENDICES -- Appendix A: WHAT'S ON THE COMPANION WEBSITE? -- Appendix B: WHAT NEXT? -- Recommended Reading -- Ruby Web Pages -- Ruby Mailing Lists -- Ruby Newsgroups -- Ruby Blogs -- GLOSSARY -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.