Here are some suggestions I've since received from other sources. In essence there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

for r in (1..rows)
for c in (1..(rows - r))
print "."
end...

In learning Ruby I've dug out some old C++ exercises and one in particular which can be found here (http://prime357.net/node/80)deals with a for loop. I'm basically converting the C++ code to Ruby...

How do I configure SciTE so that when code ( gets() ) asks for user
input I can enter that input via the output console. At present, all
that happens is a 'Terminate' button appears in the output...

Thanks for the input so far. As regards JRuby, this is where, for me, it gets confusing. Is it Java or is it Ruby? Is is Java creating Ruby source code to be run entirely under the Ruby...

I dabbled in Ruby quite a while ago but only at the console level. I didn't take it any further at the time. I'm now considering treating it more seriously this time, though I'd have to start from...