The Ruby Way assumes that the reader is already familiar with the subject matter. Using many code samples it focuses on "how-to use Ruby" for specific applications, either as a stand-alone language, or in conjunction with other languages.

Topics covered include:

• Simple data tasks;
• Manipulating structured data;
• External data manipulation;
• User interfaces;
• Handling threads;
• System programming;
• Network and web programming;
• Tools and utilities.

Note: The appendices offer instruction on migrating from Perl and Python to Ruby, and extending Ruby in C and C++.