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

title
Ruby Arrays

Ruby Arrays

An array represents a list of values. The individual values are often called "elements" of the array. To make an array in Ruby, use square brackets and separate values with commas:

my_array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

You can also create an empty array by using the 'new' method in the 'Array' class:

my_array = Array.new

That first example is an array of numbers, but a Ruby array can contain values of different types, even other arrays:

mixed_array = [5, "Hello World", true, [1,2,3]]

You can access the elements of an array with square brackets and numerical indexes. Notice that the first element is at index 0, not 1:

mixed_array[0] # 5
mixed_array[1] # "Hello World"
mixed_array[2] # true

You can check how many elements an array has with the length method:

mixed_array.length # 3
[].length # 0

You can check the first element of an array with the first method:

mixed_array.first # 5

You can check the last element of an array with the last method:

mixed_array.last # true

More Information:

Ruby array documentation