Method declaration with def in Ruby - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Method declaration with def in Ruby

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple calculator program that can add two numbers.

🎯 Goal: Build a Ruby method that takes two numbers and returns their sum.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a method named add_numbers that takes two parameters: num1 and num2.

Inside the method, return the sum of num1 and num2.

Call the method with the numbers 5 and 7 and print the result.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Methods help organize code into reusable blocks, like a calculator that can add many pairs of numbers without rewriting code.

💼 Career

Knowing how to write methods is essential for any programming job, as it helps keep code clean and easy to maintain.

1

Create the method declaration

Write a method declaration named add_numbers that takes two parameters: num1 and num2. Do not add any code inside the method yet.

Ruby

def add_numbers(num1, num2)
  # Your code here
end

Need a hint?

Use def to start the method and end to finish it.

2

Add the return statement inside the method

Inside the add_numbers method, write a line that returns the sum of num1 and num2.

Ruby

def add_numbers(num1, num2)
  # Your code here
end

Need a hint?

Use return num1 + num2 to send back the sum.

3

Call the method with two numbers

Call the method add_numbers with the arguments 5 and 7, and save the result in a variable named result.

Ruby

def add_numbers(num1, num2)
  return num1 + num2
end

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use result = add_numbers(5, 7) to call the method and store the answer.

4

Print the result

Write a line to print the value of the variable result.

Ruby

def add_numbers(num1, num2)
  return num1 + num2
end

result = add_numbers(5, 7)
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use puts result to show the sum on the screen.