Ruby Convert Hash to JSON

1. Introduction

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format that's easy to read and write for humans, and easy to parse and generate for machines. In Ruby, converting a hash (which is similar to a JSON object) into a JSON string involves serializing the hash into a format that can be transmitted or stored.

2. Program Steps

1. Make sure the JSON library is available in your Ruby environment.

2. Define the hash that you want to convert to JSON.

3. Serialize the hash to a JSON string using the JSON library.

4. Output the serialized string.

3. Code Program

# Step 1: Load the JSON library
require 'json'
# Step 2: Define the hash
hash_to_convert = {name: "John Doe", age: 30, city: "New York"}
# Step 3: Serialize the hash to a JSON string
json_string = hash_to_convert.to_json
# Step 4: Output the result
puts json_string

Output:

{"name":"John Doe","age":30,"city":"New York"}

Explanation:

1. require 'json' ensures that the methods for converting to JSON are available.

2. hash_to_convert is the hash containing the data structure we want to convert.

3. hash_to_convert.to_json is the method provided by the JSON library that serializes the hash into a JSON string.

4. puts json_string is used to output the resulting JSON string, showing how the hash has been converted to JSON.