Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language. It was designed and developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto in Japan. 

According to its creator, Ruby was influenced by Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp. It supports multiple programming paradigms, including functional, object-oriented, and imperative. It also has a dynamic type system and automatic memory management. 

Ruby was conceived on February 24, 1993. In a 1999 post to the "ruby-talk" mailing list, Ruby author Yukihiro Matsumoto describes some of his early ideas about the language: 

Matsumoto describes the design of Ruby as being like a simple Lisp language at its core, with an object system like that of Smalltalk, blocks inspired by higher-order functions, and practical utility like that of Perl. 

The name "Ruby" originated during an online chat session between Matsumoto and Keiju Ishitsuka on February 24, 1993, before any code had been written for the language. Initially two names were proposed: "Coral" and "Ruby". Matsumoto chose the latter in a later e-mail to Ishitsuka. Matsumoto later noted a factor in choosing the name "Ruby" – it was the birthstone of one of his colleagues. 

The first public release of Ruby 0.95 was announced on Japanese domestic newsgroups on December 21, 1995. Subsequently, three more versions of Ruby were released in two days. The release coincided with the launch of the Japanese-language "ruby-list" mailing list, which was the first mailing list for the new language.
What is Ruby?
who created it?
where is he from?
what other name was considered for it?
What made him decide on Ruby?
When did he first think about creating it?
when was it first available to the public?
were more versions made available?
what did he call the mailing list?
what influenced him when creating the language?
did it have automoatic memory management?
What characteristic of Perl did he want to emulate?
a programming language
Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language
Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto
t was designed and developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto in Japan. 

Japan.
It was designed and developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto in Japan. 

"Coral"
Initially two names were proposed: "Coral" and "Ruby".
it was the birthstone of one of his colleagues
a factor in choosing the name "Ruby" – it was the birthstone of one of his colleagues
on February 24, 1993
Ruby was conceived on February 24, 1993
on December 21, 1995
The first public release of Ruby 0.95 was announced on Japanese domestic newsgroups on December 21, 1995
yes
Subsequently, three more versions of Ruby were released in two days.
"ruby-talk" mailing list
In a 1999 post to the "ruby-talk" mailing list
Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp
Ruby was influenced by Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp
yes
It also has a dynamic type system and automatic memory management. 
practical utility
Matsumoto describes the design of Ruby as being like a simple Lisp language at its core, with an object system like that of Smalltalk, blocks inspired by higher-order functions, and practical utility like that of Perl. 