Why the Lucky Stiff, dynamo of the Ruby community and writer of the Poignant Guide to Ruby, has created Try Ruby, an interactive Ruby prompt that, though the magic of (you guessed it) AJAX runs right in your web browser. If you've ever wanted to try programming in Ruby but don't want to take the time to download and install it on your machine, this is your chance. Try Ruby even has a built-in Ruby tutorial, though Why says it's only half-finished, so if you run into a brick wall and want to keep learning try the Poignant Guide above, the Pickaxe, or, for the brand new programmer, Chris Pine's How to Program.

[Via Simon Willison]