Ruby turns 18
Thursday, 24 February 2011

On February 24th 1993 Matsumoto selected the name Ruby for his embryonic language and it is this date that he considers to be Ruby's birthday.

Ruby Inside's Peter Cooper has noted today's date as the Ruby language's 18th birthday as it was on February 24th 1993 that Matsumoto selected the name Ruby for his embryonic language.

According to Wikipedia:

The name "Ruby" was decided on during an online chat session between Matsumoto and Keiju Ishitsuka on February 24, 1993, before any code had been written for the language. Initially two names were proposed: "Coral" and "Ruby", with the latter being chosen by Matsumoto in a later email to Ishitsuka. Matsumoto has later stated that a factor in choosing the name "Ruby" was because it was the birthstone of one of his colleagues.

ruby

The first public release of Ruby wasn't until December 1995 but its founder Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto declared February 24th as the language's birthday. And presumably since 20 is the age of majority in Japan the official coming of age celebration will take place in 2013. 

Meanwhile Happy 18th Birthday to Ruby and may you continue to mature!

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 July 2011 )