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April 2026

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[ruby-core:125156] [Ruby Feature#21972] Add Date.birthday and Date.age to track Ruby's milestones
by jinroq (Jinroq SAITOH) 01 Apr '26

01 Apr '26

Issue #21972 has been reported by jinroq (Jinroq SAITOH). ---------------------------------------- Feature #21972: Add Date.birthday and Date.age to track Ruby's milestones https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/21972 * Author: jinroq (Jinroq SAITOH) * Status: Open ---------------------------------------- Since its inception in 1993, Ruby has grown beyond a mere programming language to become a rich culture beloved by developers worldwide. However, the standard `date` library surprisingly lacks a formal interface to commemorate Ruby's own historical milestones. The fact that developers cannot programmatically reference Ruby’s heritage is a missed opportunity to foster affection and respect for the language's identity. To rectify this historical oversight, I propose adding the following methods to reference Ruby's key anniversaries and calculate the elapsed years. #### New Features * **`Date.birthday(version = nil)`** Returns the "birthday" of significant moments in Ruby's history. * `nil` (default): **1993-02-24** (The day the name "Ruby" was decided). * `0.95`: **1995-12-21** (The first public release date). * `1.0`: **1996-12-25** (The first stable release date). * **`Date.age(version = nil)`** Calculates the current age (in full years) based on today's date and the specified milestone. * `Date.age`: Years since the name "Ruby" was born. * `Date.age(0.95)`: Years since Ruby was first introduced to the public as OSS. * `Date.age(1.0)`: Years since Ruby began its journey as a stable language. #### Usage Example ```ruby # Check the "age" of each edition puts "Name age: #{Date.age}" # => 33 (as of 2026) puts "OSS age: #{Date.age(0.95)}" # => 30 puts "Stable: #{Date.age(1.0)}" # => 29 # Perform a special action on a specific anniversary if Date.today == Date.birthday(1.0) celebrate_stable_anniversary! end ``` #### Implementation and Testing The attached patch (`birthday_and_age.patch`) includes the implementation of these methods along with a rigorous test suite (`test/date/test_date_birthday.rb`). The tests cover argument dispatching, `ArgumentError` for invalid inputs, and edge cases for age calculation (e.g., boundaries before and after the actual birthday), ensuring production-level quality. Equipping Ruby with the intelligence to reflect upon its own origins is a vital step toward the next 30 or 40 years of its evolution. (Note: This proposal was submitted on a special day that encourages looking at our history with both deep respect and a touch of creative imagination, as is traditional for such a significant date in the calendar.) ---Files-------------------------------- birthday_and_age.patch (8.08 KB) -- https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/

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