Operators in Ruby are symbols or keywords used to perform operations on variables and values.
They are categorized based on their functionality, such as arithmetic, comparison, assignment, logical, and more.
What You’ll Learn
1. Introduction to Operators
Operators allow you to perform operations like addition, subtraction, comparison, and logical checks. Ruby supports operator overloading, allowing you to define the behavior of operators for custom objects.
2. Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators perform basic mathematical operations.
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| + | Addition | a + b |
| – | Subtraction | a – b |
| * | Multiplication | a * b |
| / | Division | a / b |
| % | Modulus | a % b |
| ** | Exponentiation | a ** b |
Examples
a = 10 b = 3 puts a + b # Output: 13 puts a - b # Output: 7 puts a * b # Output: 30 puts a / b # Output: 3 puts a % b # Output: 1 puts a ** b # Output: 1000 (10^3)
3. Comparison Operators
Comparison operators compare two values and return a boolean (true or false).
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| == | Equal to | a == b |
| != | Not equal to | a != b |
| > | Greater than | a > b |
| < | Less than | a < b |
| >= | Greater than or equal to | a >= b |
| <= | Less than or equal to | a <= b |
| <=> | Combined comparison (spaceship) | a <=> b |
Examples
a = 10 b = 20 puts a == b # Output: false puts a != b # Output: true puts a > b # Output: false puts a < b # Output: true puts a >= 10 # Output: true puts a <=> b # Output: -1 (a is less than b)
4. Assignment Operators
Assignment operators assign values to variables and perform shorthand operations.
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| = | Assign | a = b |
| += | Add and assign | a += b |
| -= | Subtract and assign | a -= b |
| *= | Multiply and assign | a *= b |
| /= | Divide and assign | a /= b |
| %= | Modulus and assign | a %= b |
| **= | Exponentiate and assign | a **= b |
Examples
a = 10 b = 5 a += b puts a # Output: 15 a *= 2 puts a # Output: 30 a /= b puts a # Output: 6
5. Logical Operators
Logical operators combine or invert boolean expressions.
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| && | Logical AND | a && b |
| ` | ` | |
| ! | Logical NOT | !a |
Examples
a = true b = false puts a && b # Output: false puts a || b # Output: true puts !a # Output: false
6. Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operators perform operations on binary representations of integers.
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| & | Bitwise AND | a & b |
| ` | ` | Bitwise OR |
| ^ | Bitwise XOR | a ^ b |
| ~ | Bitwise Complement | ~a |
| << | Left shift | a << 2 |
| >> | Right shift | a >> 2 |
Examples
a = 6 # Binary: 110 b = 3 # Binary: 011 puts a & b # Output: 2 (Binary: 010) puts a | b # Output: 7 (Binary: 111) puts a ^ b # Output: 5 (Binary: 101) puts ~a # Output: -7 puts a << 1 # Output: 12 (Binary: 1100) puts a >> 1 # Output: 3 (Binary: 011)
7. Ternary Operators
A ternary operator is a compact form of an if-else statement.
Syntax
condition ? true_result : false_result
Example
age = 18 status = age >= 18 ? "Adult" : "Minor" puts status # Output: Adult
8. Range Operators
Range operators define sequences of numbers or characters.
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| .. | Inclusive range | (1..5) |
| … | Exclusive range | (1…5) |
Examples
inclusive_range = (1..5).to_a puts inclusive_range.inspect # Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] exclusive_range = (1...5).to_a puts exclusive_range.inspect # Output: [1, 2, 3, 4]
9. Practical Examples
9.1 Check for Even or Odd
number = 4 result = number.even? ? "Even" : "Odd" puts result # Output: Even
9.2 Find Maximum of Two Numbers
a, b = 10, 20
max = a > b ? a : b
puts "Maximum is #{max}" # Output: Maximum is 20
9.3 Logical Operator in Conditions
age = 25 citizen = true if age >= 18 && citizen puts "Eligible to vote" else puts "Not eligible to vote" end
9.4 Bitwise Masking
permissions = 0b1011 # Binary: 1011
read_mask = 0b0100 # Binary: 0100
can_read = (permissions & read_mask) != 0
puts "Read permission: #{can_read}" # Output: Read permission: true
10. Summary
Key Takeaways
- Ruby supports various operators for mathematical, logical, and bitwise operations.
- Use assignment operators for concise and readable code.
- Ternary operators provide a compact alternative to if-else statements.
- Range operators simplify working with sequences.
Best Practices
- Use descriptive variable names to improve readability.
- Leverage range operators for looping or slicing arrays.
- Use parentheses for complex logical expressions to avoid ambiguity.
By mastering Ruby operators, you can write concise and efficient code for a wide range of tasks!