Variables

Published Jul 27, 2021Updated Sep 9, 2021
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A variable is a label that Ruby assigns to a particular object. There are four different types of variables in Ruby. Each type starts with a special character to indicate the type of variable it is.

Local Variables

Local variables must begin with a lowercase letter or _. These variables are local to the code block of the method they are declared in.

color = "green"
_person = "Shannon"

There is nothing special about the word color in this line of code. It’s just a variable name. You could set pizza = "green". While that variable name choice might be misleading to the human reading it, the value would still be "green".

Instance Variables

Instance variables begin with an @ symbol. Instance variables are variables that belong to an object.

class Person
def initialize(first, middle, last)
# Instance Variables
@first_name = first
@middle_name = middle
@last_name = last
end
# Displaying result
def display_full_name()
puts "Full name: #@first_name #@middle_name #@last_name"
end
end
# Create Objects
person1 = Person.new("Alexandra", "Smith", "Johnson")
person2 = Person.new("Marcus", "Alonzo", "Thomas")
# Call Methods
person1.display_full_name()
person2.display_full_name()
# Output: Full name: Alexandra Smith Johnson
# Output: Full name: Marcus Alonzo Thomas

Class Variables

Class variables begin with an @@ sign. Class variables are available across different objects shared by all the descendants of the class. They must be initialized before use.

class Person
# Class variable
@@number_of_people = 0
def initialize(first, middle, last)
@first_name = first
@middle_name = middle
@last_name = last
end
# displaying result
def display_full_name()
puts "Full name: #@first_name #@middle_name #@last_name"
end
def total_no_of_people()
# class variable
@@number_of_people += 1
puts "Total number of people: #@@number_of_people"
end
end
# Create Objects
person1 = Person.new("Alexandra", "Smith", "Johnson")
person2 = Person.new("Marcus", "Alonzo", "Thomas")
# Call Methods
person1.display_full_name()
person1.total_no_of_people()
person2.display_full_name()
person2.total_no_of_people()
# Output: Full name: Alexandra Smith Johnson
# Output: Total number of people: 1
# Output: Full name: Marcus Alonzo Thomas
# Output: Total number of people: 2

Global Variables

Global variables begin with an $ symbol. While Class variables are not available across different classes, global variables are. Its scope is global, meaning that it can be accessed from anywhere in the program.

# Global variable
$global_variable_starting_score = 0
class Class1
def print_global_starting_score
# Access global variable
puts "The starting score in Class1 is #$global_variable_starting_score"
end
end
class Class2
def print_global_starting_score
# Access global variable
puts "The starting score in Class2 is #$global_variable_starting_score"
end
end
class1obj = Class1.new
class1obj.print_global_starting_score
class2obj = Class2.new
class2obj.print_global_starting_score
# Output: The starting score in Class1 is 0
# Output: The starting score in Class2 is 0

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