I'm not clear on the differences between the "current" version of Ruby (1.8) and the "new" version (1.9). Is there an "easy" or a "simple" explanation of the differences and why it is so different?
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            Sam Ruby has a cool slideshow that outline the differences.
HTH!
                  Tim Sullivan
                   2008-08-22 01:53:44
                
              
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            One huge difference would be the move from Matz's interpreter to YARV, a bytecode virtual machine that helps significantly with performance.
                  Sören Kuklau
                   2008-08-22 03:11:30
                
              
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            Many now recommend The Ruby Programming Language over the Pickaxe - more to the point, it has all the details of the 1.8/1.9 differences.
                  Dave Everitt
                   2009-09-15 09:31:30