**Data types** in Ruby represent different categories of data such as text, string, numbers, etc. Since Ruby is an object-oriented language, all its supported data types are implemented as classes.

Have a look at the various data types supported by Ruby in the illustration below:

# Strings

A string is made up of multiple characters. They are defined by enclosing a set of characters within single ('x') or double (“x”) quotes.

puts "Hello World!"
puts "I work at Educative"
puts "My ID is 3110"

# Numbers

A number is a series of digits that use a dot as a decimal mark (where one is required). **Integers** and **floats** are the two main kinds of numbers; Ruby can handle them both. 

my_int = 34
my_flt = 3.142

puts (my_flt * my_int)
puts (my_flt + my_int)
puts (my_flt / my_int)
puts (my_int - my_flt)

# Booleans

The Boolean data type represents only one bit of information that says whether the value is  *true* or *false*. A value of this data type is returned when two values are compared.


my_str_1 = "Hello"
my_str_2 = "World"

bool_1 = false
bool_2 = false

if my_str_1 == my_str_2
  bool_1 = true
  puts "It is True!"
else
  puts "It is False!"
end

if my_str_1 == my_str_1
  bool_2 = true
  puts "It is True!"
else
  puts "It is False!"
end

# Arrays

An array can store multiple data items of all types. Items in an array are separated by a comma in-between them and enclosed within square brackets. The first item of the array has an index of $0$.

my_array = [ "Apple", "Hi", 3.1242, true, 56, ]

# printing all elements of the array
my_array.each do |x| 
 puts (x)
end

# Hashes

A hash stores key-value pairs. Assigning a value to a key is done by using the `=>` sign. Key-value pairs are separated by commas,​ and all the pairs are enclosed within curly braces.

Fruits_hash = { "Apple" => 10, "Banana" => 20, "Kiwi" => 30 } 
Fruits_hash.each do |key, value| 
 print "Key: ", key, " | Value: ", value, "\n"
end

# Symbols

Symbols are a lighter form of strings. They are preceded by a colon (`:`), and used *instead* of strings because they take up less memory space and have a​ better performance.

my_symbols = {:ap => "Apple", :bn => "Banana", :mg => "Mango"} 
  
puts my_symbols[:ap] 
puts my_symbols[:bn] 
puts my_symbols[:mg] 

Data types in Ruby

Ruby data types include strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, hashes, and symbols, all implemented as classes.