Ruby Best Practices

Appendix B. Leveraging Ruby’s Standard Library

Most of this book has emphasized that understanding how to use tools effectively is just as important as having a nice collection of tools. However, that’s not to say that knowing where to find the right tool for the job isn’t an invaluable skill to have. In this appendix, we’ll take a look at a small sampling of Ruby’s vast standard library. What you will find is that it is essentially a treasure chest of goodies designed to make your Ruby programs more enjoyable to write.

Why Do We Need a Standard Library?

Because of RubyGems, we tend to leverage a lot of third-party software. For this reason, we are often more likely to resort to a Google search instead of a search of Ruby’s API documentation when we want to solve a problem that isn’t immediately handled in core Ruby. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is important not to overlook the benefits that come with using a standard library when it is available. When all else is equal, the gains you’ll get from using standard Ruby are easy to enumerate:

• Ruby standard libraries are typically distributed with Ruby itself, which means that no extra software needs to be installed to make them work.

• Standard libraries don’t change rapidly. Their APIs tend to be stable and mature, and will likely outlast your application’s development cycle. This removes the need for frequent compatibility updates that you might experience with third-party software.

• Except for a few ...