The nickname for the first big English Ruby book (there is a pickaxe on the cover).
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.” (Pragmatic Programmers)
Related: the Ruby timeline
Sources
Sources
- Programming Ruby (the Pickaxe): https://pragprog.com/titles/ruby5/programming-ruby-3-3-5th-edition/