# Accessing strings

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [July 7, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432 "2006-07-07T01:56:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/e99b99/32.png) [@zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zanoni)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432/1 "2006-07-07T01:56:59Z")

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If I something like word = “ruby”  
can’t I do something like (I thought it was possible)

word[0] -\> r  
word[1] -\> u  
word[2] -\> b  
word[3] -\> y

Trying something like that now and it’s giving me “weird” numbers

Yet I’m trying it (both program and irb) and it gives me weird numbers

irb(main):010:0\> word = “ruby”  
=\> “ruby”  
irb(main):011:0\> puts word[0]  
114  
=\> nil  
irb(main):012:0\> puts word[2]  
98  
=\> nil  
irb(main):013:0\> puts word[3]  
121  
=\> nil

So what am I doing wrong ?  
TIA  
Stuart

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**Author:** ![zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/e99b99/32.png) [@zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zanoni)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432/2 "2006-07-07T02:03:07Z")

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Dark A. wrote:

> Yet I’m trying it (both program and irb) and it gives me weird numbers  
> 121  
> =\> nil
> 
> So what am I doing wrong ?  
> TIA  
> Stuart

We _just_ discussed this:  
[http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/200453](http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/200453)

Also check the documentation.  
[http://ruby-doc.org/core/classes/String.html#M001843](http://ruby-doc.org/core/classes/String.html#M001843)

-Justin

-Justin

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**Author:** ![zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/e99b99/32.png) [@zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zanoni)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432/3 "2006-07-07T02:12:26Z")

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On Jul 6, 2006, at 5:01 PM, Justin C. wrote:

> > Yet I’m trying it (both program and irb) and it gives me weird  
> > numbers
> > 
> > irb(main):010:0\> word = “ruby”  
> > =\> “ruby”  
> > irb(main):011:0\> puts word[0]  
> > 114
> 
> Also check the documentation.  
> [class String - RDoc Documentation](http://ruby-doc.org/core/classes/String.html#M001843)

Or even on your own machine:

$ ri String#[]  
… ri output

–  
Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net)  
This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant

[http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com)

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**Author:** ![zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/e99b99/32.png) [@zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zanoni)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432/4 "2006-07-07T03:33:11Z")

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On Jul 6, 2006, at 5:17 PM, Dark A. wrote:

> Ahh…so those numbers are the character codes ?  
> $ ri String#[]  
> […]  
> Element Reference—If passed a single +Fixnum+, returns the code  
> of the character at that position. If passed two +Fixnum+ objects,  
> […]

See also Integer#chr.

–  
Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net)  
This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant

[http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/e99b99/32.png) [@zanoni](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/zanoni)\
**Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/accessing-strings/97432/5 "2006-07-07T02:18:45Z")

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Ahh…so those numbers are the character codes ?

Stuart