Now that we have installed Ruby on the computer, the next step is to write a simple program and run it.

To write code, we’ll need a code editor. I recommend using Visual Studio Code. Unless you already have your favorite editor, download VS Code from its website.

We’re now ready to start writing awesome Ruby code.

Let’s create a new directory called ‘learn-to-code’ on your computer and open it in VS Code.

$ mkdir learn-to-code

Now create a new file in this directory called code.rb. This is the file where our Ruby code will live.

Let’s write the first line of Ruby code that prints a greeting when executed.

print 'Hello World'

That’s it. We’re done. This is a complete Ruby programin. Nothing else is needed. No require or include statements, no public static void main(), no semi-colons, no indentations, nothing.

Let’s run it.

In the terminal window, navigate to your directory and run the following command.

$ ruby code.rb

Ruby will execute our program and print ‘Hello World’ on the screen. Amazing, right?

Congratulations, that was your first Ruby program.

Next: Basics of Ruby