# Why Ruby Is Well Suited for Advent of Code

DevFeed: [Why Ruby Is Well Suited for Advent of Code](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-ruby-is-the-best-language-for-advent-of-code-20121.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://hashrocket.com/blog/posts/why-ruby-is-the-best-language-for-advent-of-code>)

Author: Tony Yunker

Published: 2025-12-02T14:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Hashrocket](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/hashrocket.md>)

Topics: [Advent of Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/advent-of-code.md>), [Ruby](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ruby.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [Data structures](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-structures.md>)

Tags: [advent-of-code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/advent-of-code.md>), [data-structures](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-structures.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [ruby](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ruby.md>), [standard-library](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/standard-library.md>), [tooling](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tooling.md>)

## AI overview

This opinion article explains why the author prefers Ruby for Advent of Code programming puzzles, highlighting Ruby's flexibility, data structures, standard library, and tooling. It also notes that Ruby's metaprogramming can cause bugs in larger production codebases.

## Source excerpt

It's the most wonderful time of the year - Christmas Advent of Code time! Advent of Code is an Advent Calendar style series of programming puzzles put out each year, starting on December 1st leading up to Christmas. The puzzles are super festive and ramp up in difficulty over the course of the month. Programmers of every level can participate, and in researching some of the more difficult problems you'll probably learn something cool! It's a great way to finish out the year. I've been taking part in Advent of Code since 2019 (I've never completed a full year - and that's ok! You can participate for as long as it's fun and have the time) and have tried solving in multiple different languages - Advent is a great way to learn/skill up in a new language. But Ruby remains my favorite language in which to solve these puzzles. Many of Ruby's strengths - its flexibility, robust standard library, and tooling make it the ideal language for Advent of Code. Flexibility Ruby doesn't enforce any one way of writing code. Want to solve a problem with a procedural script? Go for it! Want to leverage object-oriented programming and send messages between classes? Can do! Want to write in a functional style and map and zip a data structure in one long chain? You can do that too! And you can mix and match paradigms between problems - whatever models each problem best. Ruby's data structures are super flexible as well. In many of the problems, Array and Hash allow you to very quickly model solutions. But if you find a hash isn't quite cutting it and you don't want to upgrade it to a full class, you can use the Data class to create value objects. This will lend you a bit more structure than a hash, and allow you to encapsulate some logic inside it without having to bring in the overhead of a Class. Some of Ruby's flexibility - metaprogramming in particular - can be...unpopular... in larger production codebases. It's the "magic" that can lead to some nasty bugs. But Advent is a great place