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String Data Type

Part of the Fundamentals section of Coddy's Ruby journey — lesson 5 of 88.

In Ruby, strings are used to store text data. A string is a sequence of characters that can include letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces. Strings are one of the most commonly used data types in programming.

In Ruby, you create strings by enclosing text in quotation marks (either single ' or double " quotes). You then assign them to variables using the assignment operator =:

variable_name = "text"

For example, to store the text "Hello" in a variable called greeting, you would write:

greeting = "Hello"

The quotation marks tell Ruby that this is text, not a variable name or number. Without quotes, Ruby would look for a variable or method named Hello.

Examples of strings:

name = "Alice"           # Text with letters
message = 'Welcome!'     # Single quotes work too
address = "123 Main St"  # Text with numbers
empty = ""               # Empty string
challenge icon

Challenge

Easy

Create a variable called city and assign it the string value "Paris". Then create another variable called country and assign it the string value "France". Finally, display both variables using the puts command.

Cheat sheet

In Ruby, strings store text data and are created by enclosing text in quotation marks (single ' or double "):

variable_name = "text"

Examples:

name = "Alice"           # Text with letters
message = 'Welcome!'     # Single quotes work too
address = "123 Main St"  # Text with numbers
empty = ""               # Empty string

Without quotes, Ruby would look for a variable or method instead of treating it as text.

Try it yourself

# TODO: Write the variables below


# Don't delete the rows below
puts city
puts country
quiz iconTest yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Fundamentals

1Introduction to Ruby

What is Ruby?Hello WorldComments in Ruby

4Operators Part 2

Logical Operators Part 1Logical Operators Part 2Recap - Simple LogicLogical Operators Part 3Logical Operators Part 4

7Bill Split Calculator

Welcome MessageGetting User InputProject lessonCalculating Tip And TotalProject lessonSplitting The BillProject lessonFormatted OutputProject lesson

10FizzBuzz with a Twist

Game OverviewThe FizzBuzz MethodProject lessonLooping Through NumbersProject lessonAdding The TwistProject lesson

13Arrays Advanced

Array Slicing with RangesArray Slicing with IndexesArray OperatorsInclude? Method

16Final Challenges

Flat Asterisk PyramidPattern FinderWhat To Buy

2Variables and Data Types

Numbers and VariablesString Data TypeBoolean Data TypeSymbol Data TypeChecking Data TypesNaming ConventionsRecap - Variable Creation

5Decision Making

If StatementIf - ElseRecap - Simple CalculatorNested If - ElseUnless Statement

8Loops

For Loop with RangesWhile LoopBreakNextRecap - FactorialTimes LoopUntil LoopNested LoopsRecap - Dynamic Input

11Arrays

Creating ArraysAccessing Array ElementsModifying ArraysArray MethodsRecap - Product ArrayRecap - Reversed ArrayArray Shortcuts

14Hashes

Creating HashesAccessing Hash ElementsModifying HashesHash MethodsRecap - Product HashSymbols as Hash Keys

3Operators Part 1

Arithmetic OperatorsModulo OperatorArithmetic ShortcutsRecap - Simple MathComparison Operators

6Basic IO

Output with putsOutput with print and pOutput With VariablesInput with getsChomp MethodType ConversionRecap - Age CalculatorRecap - True or False

9Methods

Defining a MethodMethod ParametersReturn ValuesRecap - Sigma MethodRecap - Validation MethodDefault Parameter Values

12Iterating Over Collections

Each IteratorEach with IndexIterating Over StringsMap and Collect

15Daily Expense Tracker

Project OverviewExit The ProgramProject lessonAdd ExpenseProject lessonView All ExpensesProject lessonTotal And AverageProject lessonClear AllProject lessonError HandlingProject lesson