Variables

To code along, make sure your irb session is still open from the previous chapter, or you can open a new irb session from your command prompt:

$ irb

irb(main)>

Assigning Expressions to Variables

It is often helpful to save the results of an expression into a named variable, so that you can use it later.

Here's a quick example. Code along, making sure you type the code exactly as shown:

irb(main)> name = "Alice"
=> "Alice"
irb(main)> "Hi, " + name
=> "Hi, Alice"

In the above example, we first assigned the text "Alice" to a variable called name. This is very similar to the memory facility in your calculator, but we're allowed to have as many variables as we want by giving them unique names.

Here are more examples of how to use variables:

irb(main)> sport = "Baseball"
=> "Baseball"
irb(main)> color = "Purple"
=> "Purple"
irb(main)> sport
=> "Baseball"
irb(main)> color
=> "Purple"

Notice how irb will parrot back the value of a variable when asked.

Rules

Before we continue, we must mention a few very important rules:

Variable names must always be lowercase.
If you want to use a name that consists of two English words, for example, "favorite color", you must use an underscore to combine the words into a single variable name: favorite_words. It's easier to read than favoritecolor.
Variable names may not contain spaces or punctuation in a variable name. You can use lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores, but the first character must always be a lowercase letter.

Reassignment

You can assign a new value to a variable at any time. The old value is simply discarded:

irb(main)> lucky_number = 5
=> 5
irb(main)> lucky_number = 10
=> 10
irb(main)> lucky_number * 2
=> 20

Practice

Here are some more examples for you to try:

PRO TIP: Use the up-arrow key to recall previous commands.

irb(main)> favorite_drink = "coffee"
irb(main)> favorite_drink.capitalize
irb(main)> favorite_drink + " cup"
irb(main)> favorite_drink = "tea"
irb(main)> favorite_drink.capitalize
irb(main)> favorite_flavor = "mint"
irb(main)> favorite_flavor + favorite_drink
irb(main)> favorite_flavor + "  " + favorite_drink