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title: "Ruby Compendium - Versions and Implementations"
content-type: page
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<p>One thing that may appear unusual and even discouraging to newcomers is the different versions and implementations of
	the language. Ruby has two version branches:</p>
<ul>
	<li><strong>1.8</strong> &ndash; The former stable version, which is still widely used in production and it is still
		updated.</li>
	<li><strong>1.9</strong> &ndash; As of release 1.9.2, this is considered the current stable and recommended version
		of the language. Although most third-party libraries work with it, some old and now unmaintained libraries may
		not. The good news is that there are normally newer and better libraries available instead.</li>
</ul>
<p>Different implementations of Ruby offer different degrees of support to one or the other version. Compared to 1.8,
	Ruby 1.9 has some additional syntax for certain expressions, improved character encoding support and a few new
	bundled libraries and features.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re new to Ruby and you have no particular restrictions or needs, you should start learning Ruby using
	version 1.9 (either <a href="#yarv">the official implementation</a>, <a href="#jruby">JRuby</a> or <a
		href="#macruby">MacRuby</a>)!</p>
<aside class="box">
	<div class="box-title">If you want to know more...</div>
	<p>There are many articles and presentations online outlining the changes in Ruby 1.9, for example:</p>
	<ul>
		<li><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/komrade/piterrb-2-ruby-18-vs-ruby-19">Piter.rb #2 &#8211; Ruby 1.8 vs
				Ruby 1.9</a></li>
		<li><a href="http://eigenclass.org/hiki/Changes+in+Ruby+1.9">Changes in Ruby 1.9</a></li>
		<li><a href="http://slideshow.rubyforge.org/ruby19.html#1">Ruby 1.9: What to Expect</a></li>
	</ul>

</aside>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="h_6" class="notoc">Official Ruby 1.8 Implementation</h3>
	</header>
	<p>The official Ruby 1.8 implementation was written in C by Yukihiru Matsumoto, the creator of Ruby.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>1.8.7-p352</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/downloads/">Official Ruby Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="yarv" class="notoc">Official Ruby 1.9 Implementation</h3>
	</header>
	<p>The official Ruby 1.9 implementation is based on a bytecode interpreter written Koichi Sasada.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>1.9.2-p200</strong></li>
		<li>Preview Version: <strong>1.9.2-preview1</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/downloads/">Official Ruby Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="jruby" class="notoc">JRuby</h3>
	</header>
	<p>An implementation of the Ruby language running on the Java Virtual Machine, mature and usable in production. It
		offers real threading, performance improvements, and Java interoperability. Fully-compatible with both Ruby 1.8
		and 1.9.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>1.6.3</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://jruby.org/">JRuby Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="h_9" class="notoc">Rubinius</h3>
	</header>
	<p>A C++ and <a href="http://llvm.org/"><span class="caps">LLVM</span></a>-powered Ruby implementation. Although
		still not as mature as <span class="caps">YARV</span> or JRuby, it&#8217;s getting there. It currently aims at
		being compatible with Ruby 1.8.7, although support for Ruby 1.9 is planned.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>1.2.4</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://rubini.us/">Rubinius Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="macruby" class="notoc">MacRuby</h3>
	</header>
	<p>A Mac-only Ruby implementation compatible with Ruby 1.9, specifically tuned for Mac OS X operating systems.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>0.10</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://www.macruby.org/">MacRuby Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<section class="section">
	<header>
		<h3 id="h_11" class="notoc">IronRuby</h3>
	</header>
	<p>A .<span class="caps">NET</span> implementation of the Ruby Programming Language, compatible with Ruby 1.8.6
		(IronRuby 1.0) and 1.9 (IronRuby 1.1.1 onwards). Not as mature as the other implementations.</p>
	<ul>
		<li>Current Version: <strong>1.1.3</strong></li>
		<li>Download: <a href="http://www.ironruby.net/">IronRuby Web Site</a></li>
	</ul>

</section>
<aside class="box">
	<div class="box-title">Try'em All!</div>
	<p>Don&#8217;t know which Ruby to choose? You don&#8217;t have to! <a
			href="/ruby-compendium/book/rubyists.html#wayneeseguin"></a> created <a
			href="https://rvm.beginrescueend.com/">Ruby Version Manager</a> (<span class="caps">RVM</span>) to allow you
		to install, upgrade and manage several Ruby installation seamlessly on the same computer. If you&#8217;re on OS
		X or Linux, that is. If you&#8217;re on a Windows computer, <a href="https://github.com/vertiginous/pik">Pik</a>
		provides something similar.</p>

</aside>
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