Ruby is "an interpreted scripting language for quick and easy object-oriented programming" -- what does this mean?

interpreted scripting language:

• ability to make operating system calls directly
• powerful string operations and regular expressions
• immediate feedback during development

quick and easy:

• variable declarations are unnecessary
• variables are not typed
• syntax is simple and consistent
• memory management is automatic

object oriented programming:

• everything is an object
• classes, methods, inheritance, etc.
• singleton methods
• "mixin" functionality by module
• iterators and closures

also:

• multiple precision integers
• convenient exception processing
• dynamic loading
• threading support

If you are unfamiliar with some of the concepts above, read on, and don't worry. The mantra of the ruby language is quick and easy.