# The Pickaxe

> The nickname for the first big English Ruby book (there is a pickaxe on the cover).

- 2000: Published, around 2000 (some accounts say 2001)

When Rubyists say **"the Pickaxe,"** they mean **Programming Ruby**, the book by Dave Thomas and Andrew Hunt that introduced most of the English-speaking world to Ruby around 2000 (some accounts say 2001). The cover has a pickaxe on it, so the nickname stuck. For years it was *the* reference, and the name is still shorthand for "the canonical Ruby book."

*Related:* <a href="/timeline/">the Ruby timeline</a>

## Sources
- Programming Ruby (the Pickaxe): https://pragprog.com/titles/ruby5/programming-ruby-3-3-5th-edition/

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Source: https://chunkybacon.dev/glossary/the-pickaxe/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)