an ongoing quick reference list of things i've learned

Methods are like verbs. It's like you're telling the code to do an action on something.

You use def method to define a method. Obviously.

to_s converts to a string.

to_i converts to an integer.

to_a converts to an array.

Hashes are ways of storing variables (like an array, but not in any specific order) and they use curlies: {}

class names must be capitalized. Learned that the hard way!

Variables with an @ are global variables (used throughout the entire program); otherwise, they are local variables (exclusive to the method).

Parameters are the things inside parentheses when you define a method: def like_this_here(parameter)

arg is a great abbreviation of the word "argument," which can be a placeholder for parameters. It also happens to sound like a pirate. def ahoy_mateys(arg)

A colon in front of a word makes it a symbol, which uses less memory than a string.

To insert an apostrophe, you can type \'. Like, "The bacon\'s burning!" And \n inserts a line break. These are called escape sequences. I guess because sometimes, you just need to get out?

<<NAME . . .  NAME allows you to type a multi-line paragraph. NAME can be anything!

Everything in Ruby is an object. Everything. (How many times have I heard this? Maybe repetition is the key.)

Good resources:
Ruby in 100 Minutes
String methods
Learn Ruby the Hard Way