How to Use the Ruby chomp Method

In this article, you will learn how to use the Ruby chomp method.

Using the chomp method

The chomp method is a built-in method in the Ruby programming language. It is commonly used to remove the newline character from the end of a string.

When you read input from a user or a file, the input is often followed by a newline character (\n). This can cause problems when you try to process the input because the newline character can interfere with the logic of your program.

The chomp method provides a simple way to remove the newline character from the end of a string.

Here’s how you can use the chomp method:

input = gets.chomp

In this example, gets is a built-in method that reads input from the user. The chomp method is called on the result of gets, which removes the newline character from the end of the input string.

If you don’t use chomp, the newline character will be included in the input string:

input = gets
puts input # This will print the input string with the newline character at the end

The chomp method can also be used on a string that you have already created:

string_with_newline = "hello\n"
string_without_newline = string_with_newline.chomp
puts string_without_newline # This will print "hello" without the newline character

In this example, string_with_newline contains a newline character at the end. The chomp method is called on the string to remove the newline character, and the resulting string is stored in string_without_newline.

The chomp method also accepts an argument, which specifies the character or string to remove from the end of the string. For example:

string = "hello world\n"
string_without_newline = string.chomp("\n")
puts string_without_newline # This will print "hello world" without the newline character

In this example, the chomp method is called with the argument “\n”, which removes the newline character from the end of the string.

You can also use the chomp method with other characters or strings:

string = "hello world!"
string_without_exclamation = string.chomp("!")
puts string_without_exclamation # This will print "hello world" without the exclamation mark

In this example, the chomp method is called with the argument “!”, which removes the exclamation mark from the end of the string.