Chapter 8. Strings, symbols, and other scalar objects
This chapter covers
- String object creation and manipulation
- Methods for transforming strings
- Symbol semantics
- String/symbol comparison
- Integers and floats
- Time and date objects
The term scalar comes from mathematics, where it’s defined as an element that has magnitude but not a vector. For example, the temperature outside at any given time is a scalar element, whereas when temperature is measured every day for a month and plotted on a graph, the graph is a vector or non-scalar element.
In programming, scalar has a similar meaning. It refers to objects that represent single values, such as integers and strings, as opposed to collection or container objects that hold ...
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