Start Coding

Subjects

JAVASCRIPTHTMLCSSPYTHONSQLJAVACPPCSHARPPHPTYPESCRIPTCRUBYGOSWIFTKOTLINRUSTRBASHSCALAOBJECTIVE-CDARTPERLLUAMATLABXMLJSONMARKDOWNASSEMBLYLATEXYAMLSOLIDITYBLOCKCHAIN

Topics

Ruby Basics

Introduction to RubyInstalling RubyRuby SyntaxRuby CommentsRuby VariablesRuby Data TypesRuby OperatorsRuby ConstantsRuby OutputRuby InputRuby String Interpolation

Control Structures

Ruby If-Else StatementsRuby Case StatementsRuby Unless StatementRuby While LoopsRuby For LoopsRuby Each IteratorRuby Break and NextRuby Redo and Retry

Ruby Methods

Defining Ruby MethodsRuby Method ArgumentsRuby Default ArgumentsRuby Keyword ArgumentsRuby Variable ArgumentsRuby Return ValuesRuby Method Aliases

Ruby Collections

Ruby ArraysRuby Array MethodsRuby HashesRuby Hash MethodsRuby RangesRuby Sets

Ruby OOP

Ruby ClassesRuby ObjectsRuby InheritanceRuby ModulesRuby MixinsRuby EncapsulationRuby PolymorphismRuby Method OverridingRuby Class VariablesRuby Instance VariablesRuby Getters and SettersRuby attr_* Methods

Ruby Advanced Concepts

Ruby BlocksRuby ProcsRuby LambdasRuby ClosuresRuby MetaprogrammingRuby ReflectionRuby Dynamic Method CreationRuby Singleton ClassesRuby Method MissingRuby Symbols

Ruby Exception Handling

Ruby Begin-Rescue-EndRuby Raise ExceptionsRuby Custom ExceptionsRuby Ensure ClauseRuby Retry Statement

Ruby File I/O

Ruby File Open and CloseRuby File Read OperationsRuby File Write OperationsRuby File ModesRuby Directory Operations

Ruby Modules and Gems

Ruby Module CreationRuby Module InclusionRuby NamespacesRuby Gem BasicsRuby Gem InstallationRuby Bundler

Ruby Testing

Ruby Unit TestingRuby Test::Unit FrameworkRuby RSpec BasicsRuby Mocking and Stubbing

Ruby Concurrency

Ruby ThreadsRuby FibersRuby GIL (Global Interpreter Lock)Ruby Parallel Processing

Ruby and the Web

Ruby CGI ProgrammingRuby ERB TemplatesRuby and HTTPRuby JSON ParsingRuby XML Parsing

Ruby Performance

Ruby ProfilingRuby BenchmarkingRuby Memory ManagementRuby Garbage Collection

Ruby Best Practices

Ruby Code Style GuideRuby Naming ConventionsRuby Design PatternsRuby Refactoring Techniques

Ruby Garbage Collection

Ruby's garbage collection (GC) is a crucial feature that automatically manages memory in Ruby programs. It frees developers from manual memory management, allowing them to focus on writing efficient code.

What is Garbage Collection?

Garbage collection is the process of automatically identifying and removing objects that are no longer needed by a program. In Ruby, the GC runs periodically to clean up unused objects and reclaim memory.

How Ruby Garbage Collection Works

Ruby employs a mark-and-sweep algorithm for garbage collection. This process involves two main steps:

  1. Mark: The GC identifies and marks all reachable objects.
  2. Sweep: It then removes unmarked objects and frees their memory.

This automatic process ensures efficient memory usage without manual intervention.

Triggering Garbage Collection

While Ruby's GC runs automatically, you can manually trigger it using the GC.start method:


GC.start

However, manual triggering is rarely necessary and should be used judiciously.

Garbage Collection and Performance

While GC is essential for memory management, it can impact performance. Ruby's GC pauses program execution during collection, which may affect response times in time-sensitive applications.

Best Practices

  • Avoid creating unnecessary objects to reduce GC frequency.
  • Use object pooling for frequently created and destroyed objects.
  • Consider using Ruby Memory Management techniques for optimizing memory usage.

Monitoring Garbage Collection

Ruby provides tools to monitor GC activity. Here's an example of how to print GC statistics:


require 'gc'

GC::Profiler.enable

# Your code here

GC::Profiler.report

GC::Profiler.disable

This code snippet enables GC profiling, runs your code, and then reports on GC activity.

Conclusion

Understanding Ruby's garbage collection mechanism is crucial for writing efficient and memory-friendly code. While it operates automatically, being aware of its workings can help you optimize your Ruby applications for better performance.

For more advanced memory management techniques, explore Ruby Memory Management and Ruby Benchmarking to fine-tune your applications.