More about Symbols

symbols.rb

# Symbols aren't anything special really, just use a colon in front of a word instead of quotes

:foo.class # => Symbol
"foo".class # => String

# They are easier to write and pass around than strings so we use them. That's all you really need to know about them.
# They also don't come with all the baggage methods strings do (which we wouldn't need for identifiers)

:foo.methods.count # => 50
"foo".methods.count # => 176

# They're great for known lists of things when you aren't dealing with user input

eye_colors = [ :blue, :brown, :green ]
your_eye_color = eye_colors.shuffle.first
case your_eye_color
when :blue
  puts "Like a beautiful sunny sky"
when :brown
  puts "Like poop"
when :green
  puts "Like a spring forest"
end

# >> Like poop