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TextMate: Execute Ruby Code

In my day-to-day development I keep IRB handy just to sketch some statement or check how some method works with a given data set. It’s all quick and helpful, but working in TextMate, I always forget about it also has a tiny small feature that lets us do the same in much more comfortable fashion. The next time I need to check something, I will:

  • Open an empty text document
  • Set type to Ruby with ⌃⌥⇧R
  • Enter my ruby code just like this: 
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    a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [2, 3]
a + b # =>

a - b # =>
  • Finally, run it with ⌃⌘⇧E and get this as the result: 
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    a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [2, 3]
a + b # => [1, 2, 3, 2, 3]

a - b # => [1]

See? Handy.

By the way, I may have noticed that this format is frequently used in Ruby docs. Now you know how do they do it, right?