Tips and Techniques to Improve Your Ruby Programming Skills for Interview

Tricks and shortcuts in Ruby can be important for interviews because they demonstrate your proficiency in the language and your ability to write clean, efficient code. In an interview, you may be asked to solve a problem or write a program using Ruby, and the interviewer will be looking for evidence of your skill and experience with the language.

Knowing tricks and shortcuts in Ruby can help you write code more quickly and effectively, which can be a valuable asset in an interview setting where time is often limited. Additionally, showing a deep understanding of the language can impress interviewers and give them confidence in your ability to work with Ruby in a professional setting.

However, it’s important to note that relying too heavily on tricks and shortcuts can backfire if you’re not careful. It’s important to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of the language, as well as a willingness to learn and adapt as needed, in order to truly excel as a Ruby developer.

Here are more than 20 ruby tricks and shortcuts for beginners

• puts and print – Both puts and print are used to output text, but puts automatically adds a newline at the end of the text while print does not.

puts "Hello, world!"
print "Hello, "
print "world!"

• Arrays – Arrays are a collection of data that can be accessed by their index value. You can create an array in Ruby by using square brackets, like so: array = [1, 2, 3].

array = [1, 2, 3]
puts array[0] # Output: 1

1. Hashes – Hashes are a collection of key-value pairs, also known as dictionaries or maps in other programming languages. You can create a hash in Ruby by using curly braces, like so: hash = {key1: value1, key2: value2}.

hash = {name: "John", age: 30}
puts hash[:name] # Output: "John"

• if statements – if statements are used for conditional branching in Ruby. For example, you can use an if statement to check if a variable is equal to a certain value, and then execute code based on the result of that check.

x = 10
if x > 5
  puts "x is greater than 5"
end

• elsif statements – elsif statements are used in conjunction with if statements to check multiple conditions. If the first if statement fails, Ruby will check the next elsif statement.

x = 10
if x > 15
  puts "x is greater than 15"
elsif x > 5
  puts "x is greater than 5 but less than or equal to 15"
else
  puts "x is less than or equal to 5"
end

• unless statements – unless statements are the opposite of if statements, and are used to execute code only if a certain condition is not true. For example: puts "It's not raining" unless raining.

raining = false
puts "It's not raining" unless raining

• case statements – case statements are used to check multiple conditions in a single block of code. They are similar to if and elsif statements, but can be more readable when dealing with multiple conditions.

day = "Monday"
case day
when "Monday"
  puts "It's Monday!"
when "Tuesday"
  puts "It's Tuesday!"
else
  puts "It's another day"
end

• Loops – Ruby has several types of loops, including while, until, for, and each. Loops are used to execute a block of code multiple times.

i = 0
while i < 10
  puts i
  i += 1
end

• break and next – break is used to exit a loop prematurely, while next is used to skip the current iteration of a loop and move to the next one.

i = 0
while i < 10
  if i == 5
    break
  elsif i == 3
    i += 1
    next
  end
  puts i
  i += 1
end

• begin and end – begin and end are used to mark the beginning and end of a block of code. They are often used in conjunction with rescue statements to handle errors.

begin
  # some code that might raise an error
rescue
  puts "An error occurred"
end

• String interpolation – String interpolation is a way to embed Ruby code within a string. You can use the #{} syntax to interpolate a variable or expression within a string, like so: puts "My name is #{name}".

name = "Alice"
puts "Hello, #{name}!"

• Symbols – Symbols are similar to strings, but are immutable and are often used as keys in hashes. You can create a symbol in Ruby by using a colon before the symbol name, like so: :symbol.

hash = {:name => "Alice", :age => 30}
puts hash[:name] # Output: "Alice"

• Methods – Methods are reusable blocks of code that can be called from anywhere in your program. You can define a method in Ruby by using the def keyword, like so: def method_name(parameter1, parameter2).

def say_hello(name)
  puts "Hello, #{name}!"
end

say_hello("Alice") # Output: "Hello, Alice!"

• Default parameter values – You can give a method’s parameters default values, which will be used if no value is provided when the method is called. For example: def greet(name = "world").

def say_hello(name = "world")
  puts "Hello, #{name}!"
end

say_hello # Output: "Hello, world!"
say_hello("Alice") # Output: "Hello, Alice!"

• Named parameters – Named parameters are a way to pass parameters to a method by name, rather than by position. For example: def greet(name:, age:).

def say_hello(name:, age:)
  puts "Hello, #{name}! You are #{age} years old."
end

say_hello(name: "Alice", age: 30) # Output: "Hello, Alice! You are 30 years old."

• Variable scope – Variable scope refers to where a variable can be accessed in your program. In Ruby, variables have different scopes depending on where they are defined.

x = 10
3.times do
  x += 1
  y = 20
end
puts x # Output: 13
puts y # Output: undefined local variable or method `y' for main:Object (NameError)

• Blocks – Blocks are a way to pass a chunk of code to a method. They are often used in conjunction with methods like each or map to iterate over an array or hash. Blocks are defined using the do and end keywords, or using curly braces, like so:

array.each do |item|
  puts item
end

or

array.each { |item| puts item }

• Lambdas – Lambdas are anonymous functions that can be stored in a variable and passed around like any other object. They are defined using the -> syntax, like so: my_lambda = ->(parameter) { puts parameter }.

my_lambda = ->(x) { x * 2 }
puts my_lambda.call(10) # Output: 20

• Modules – Modules are a way to group together related code in Ruby. They are often used as namespaces to avoid naming conflicts. You can define a module in Ruby using the module keyword, like so:

module MyModule
  def greet(name)
    puts "Hello, #{name}!"
  end
end

class MyClass
  include MyModule
end

my_object = MyClass.new
my_object.greet("Alice") # Output: "Hello, Alice!"

• Inheritance – Inheritance is a way to create a new class based on an existing class. The new class, known as the subclass, inherits all the methods and properties of the existing class, known as the superclass. You can define a subclass in Ruby using the < syntax, like so: class SubClass < SuperClass.

class Animal
  def eat
    puts "Nom nom nom"
  end
end

class Cat < Animal
  def meow
    puts "Meow"
  end
end

my_cat = Cat.new
my_cat.eat # Output: "Nom nom nom"
my_cat.meow # Output: "Meow"

• The &: shorthand

array = ["1", "2", "3"]
puts array.map(&:to_i) # Output: [1, 2, 3]

This shorthand allows you to call a method on every element of an array or hash. In this example, the map method is used to convert each element of the array from a string to an integer using the to_i method. The &: syntax is a shorthand way of writing map { |element| element.to_i }.

• The ||= shorthand

x = nil
x ||= 10
puts x # Output: 10

This shorthand is used to assign a variable a default value if it hasn’t been defined yet. In this example, the ||= operator is used to assign the value of 10 to the x variable only if x is nil.

• The unless statement

x = 10
puts "x is not greater than 5" unless x > 5

This statement is the opposite of the if statement, and is used to check if a condition is false. In this example, the puts statement is only executed if x is not greater than 5.

• The case statement

x = 1
case x
when 1
  puts "x is 1"
when 2
  puts "x is 2"
else
  puts "x is not 1 or 2"
end

This statement allows you to check multiple conditions in a single block of code. In this example, the value of x is checked against two cases, and a default case is provided for any other values of x.

• The .. and ... range operators

(1..5).each { |num| puts num } # Output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(1...5).each { |num| puts num } # Output: 1, 2, 3, 4

These operators create inclusive and exclusive ranges, respectively. In the first example, the range 1..5 includes the numbers 1 through 5, while in the second example, the range 1...5 includes the numbers 1 through 4.

• The += and -= shorthand

x = 10
x += 5
puts x # Output: 15

These shorthands allow you to increment or decrement a variable by a certain amount. In this example, the value of x is incremented by 5 using the += operator.

• The times method

3.times { puts "Hello, world!" } # Output: "Hello, world!" x3

This method allows you to execute a block of code a certain number of times. In this example, the puts statement is executed three times.

These are just a few examples of Ruby shortcuts that can help you write code more quickly and effectively in an interview setting. It’s important to use these shortcuts judiciously and in a way that enhances your code’s readability and maintainability.

• Safe navigation operator &.

# Example without the safe navigation operator
person = nil
puts person.name # Output: undefined method `name' for nil:NilClass

# Example with the safe navigation operator
person = nil
puts person&.name # Output: nil

This operator is used to avoid NoMethodError when calling a method on a nil object. In this example, the name method is called on a person object, which is nil. The first example raises a NoMethodError, while the second example returns nil because of the &. operator.

• Parallel assignment

x, y = 10, 20
puts x # Output: 10
puts y # Output: 20

This feature allows you to assign multiple variables at once using a comma-separated list of values. In this example, x is assigned the value of 10 and y is assigned the value of 20.

• Splat operator *

def sum(a, b, c)
  a + b + c
end

array = [1, 2, 3]
puts sum(*array) # Output: 6

This operator is used to convert an array into a list of arguments. In this example, the sum method takes three arguments, and the * operator is used to pass the elements of the array as arguments to the method.

• Ternary operator ?:

x = 10
puts x > 5 ? "x is greater than 5" : "x is less than or equal to 5"

This operator is a shorthand way of writing an if-else statement. In this example, the puts statement outputs a message depending on whether x is greater than 5 or not.

• One-liner conditionals

puts "Hello, world!" if true

This is a shorthand way of writing an if statement that only has one line of code. In this example, the puts statement is executed only if the condition true is met.

• One-liner blocks

array = [1, 2, 3]
puts array.map { |num| num * 2 } # Output: [2, 4, 6]

This is a shorthand way of writing a block that only has one line of code. In this example, the map method is used to double each element of the array using a one-liner block.

• do..end vs curly braces {..}

array = [1, 2, 3]
puts array.map { |num| num * 2 } # Output: [2, 4, 6]
puts array.map do |num|
  num * 2
end # Output: [2, 4, 6]

Both do..end and curly braces {..} can be used to define blocks of code. In this example, the two styles are used interchangeably to achieve the same result.

Conclusion

Ruby is a powerful and versatile programming language that is widely used in web development, scientific computing, and other areas.

When preparing for a Ruby interview, it’s important to have a solid understanding of the language’s core concepts, including data types, control structures, methods, and object-oriented programming principles.

It’s also helpful to know some tricks and shortcuts that can help you write code more efficiently and effectively, such as the puts and print statements, array and hash manipulation, conditional statements, loops, lambdas, and modules. By mastering these concepts and techniques, you’ll be better equipped to demonstrate your skills and problem-solving abilities in a Ruby interview setting.

It’s also helpful to know some tricks and shortcuts that can help you write code more efficiently and effectively, such as the puts and print statements, array and hash manipulation, conditional statements, loops, lambdas, and modules. By mastering these concepts and techniques, you’ll be better equipped to demonstrate your skills and problem-solving abilities in a Ruby interview setting.