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How to Find the Type of a Variable in Ruby?

Published in Programming 2 mins read

You can determine the type of a variable in Ruby using the class method. Simply pass the variable as an argument to the class method, and it will return the class of the variable.

Here's an example:

my_string = "Hello, world!"
puts my_string.class  # Output: String

my_number = 123
puts my_number.class  # Output: Integer

my_array = [1, 2, 3]
puts my_array.class  # Output: Array

Practical Insights:

  • The class method is a powerful tool for understanding the data types you're working with in your Ruby code.
  • Knowing the type of a variable is essential for performing operations and ensuring that your code behaves as expected.

Additional Methods:

While the class method is the standard approach, you can also use the is_a? method to check if a variable belongs to a specific class. For example:

my_string = "Hello, world!"
puts my_string.is_a?(String)  # Output: true

Key Points:

  • Ruby is a dynamically typed language, meaning that you don't need to explicitly declare the type of a variable.
  • Ruby infers the type of a variable based on the value assigned to it.
  • The class method provides a way to determine the type of a variable after it has been assigned a value.

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