Both MySQL and Ruby are huge subjects - the former being an excellent database engine and the latter a superb programming language. Yet although each individually is a huge subject, linking the two (i.e. accessing data stored in a MySQL database via a Ruby program) is so each that it's almost trivial.

Here's one way of doing it - my "Hello MySQL in Ruby" if you like.

1. Download the Ruby/MySQL module from http://www.tmtm.org/en/ruby/mysql/

2. Add the following lines (or equivalent) into your code:

require "mysql"
myconnect = Mysql::new("192.168.200.67", "trainee", "abc123", "forsale")
 
res = myconnect.query("select * from agents")
res.each do |row|

3. Enjoy!

The code loads in the module that you've downloaded (require), connects to the database engine and database (Mysql::new), runs the query (the query method on the connection object) and iterates through the result set.

The full source code of this example is here, and we cover the topic on our Ruby Programming course.
(written 2008-11-16)

 R119 - Ruby Miscellany
  [1181] Good Programming practise - where to initialise variables - (2007-05-09)
  [1586] Variable types in Ruby - (2008-03-21)
  [1720] Some Ruby lesser used functions - (2008-07-26)
  [1889] Ruby mixins, modules, require and include - (2008-11-16)
  [3155] Rake - a build system using code written in Ruby - (2011-02-03)
  [3428] How many days to Christmas? - (2011-09-09)
  [3622] Loading Ruby classes - where does Ruby look? - (2012-02-24)
  [3783] Load path, load and require in Ruby, and a change from 1.8 to 1.9 - (2012-06-24)
  [3799] Ruby Documentation through rdoc - (2012-07-07)

R117 - Ruby GUIs, XML, SQL Database Connectivity
  [2714] A simple example - XML from a Ruby program - (2010-04-10)
  [4006] Ruby / SQLite3 example program, showing JOIN v LEFT JOIN - (2013-02-16)
  [4679] Reading in XML in Ruby with xmlsimple - (2016-05-18)

Back to Ruby mixins, modules, require and include

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Forward to Ruby to access web services

Shopping in Melksham
Some Linux and Unix tips
Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Ruby to access web services
MySQL database from Ruby - an example
Find the link
Ruby Programming Course - Saturday and Sunday
Keys to friendless churches
Hiding a MySQL database behind a web page