freeCodeCamp/guide/english/ruby/ruby-hash/index.md

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2018-10-12 19:37:13 +00:00
---
title: Ruby Hash
---
## Ruby Hash
A hash represents a collection of distinct key, value pairs. It is also called associative arrays. To create a hash in Ruby , use curly brackets and separate each key-value pair with comma.
```ruby
my_hash = {:key1 => "value", :key2 => "value2"}
```
You can create a hash in the following ways
```ruby
my_hash = Hash.new # with empty hash
my_hash = {:key1 => "value", :key2 => "value2"} # with key's and value's defined
```
You can access the value of key in a hash with square brackets and key references
```ruby
my_hash[:key1] # value
my_hash[:key2] # value2
```
You can assign a new key and value for an already defined hash
```ruby
my_hash[:key3] = "value3" # {:key1=>"value", :key2=>"value2", :key3=>"value3"}
```
You can check how many elements a hash has with the `length` method:
```ruby
my_hash.length # 2
```
You can also create integers as hash key but the syntax is different from the usual one
```ruby
my_hash = {1: "value"} # will raise an exception
my_hash = {1 => "value"} # will create hash with corresponding key value pair
```