> Miracle of miracles! The pack-statement did the job! I took the
> example directly from the documentation, though (cut and paste).

I think this was probably just a typo in the book. The example that appears
immediately above that one does include the "pack" statement.

> But it will run exactly once. After that, I must shut down ruby
> and start again to run once more. Isn't there a 'clear' possibility?

I don't think so. IRB is indeed good for experimenting with things, but in
practice people usually just put their Ruby code into script files and run
them directly from the command line, e.g.

	C:\>ruby hello.rb

> And while *we're here:"  there's another graphic environment as
> well, Fox(?). Is that worth looking into?

Yes, I believe FXRuby (FOX) is a good one to look at, although some people
on this list might believe I am biased ;) Since you're using the Pragmatic
Programmers' Windows installer for Ruby 1.6.5 you should already have a
working FXRuby installation as well. Try running some of the samples in:

	C:\ruby\samples\FXRuby

Hope this helps,

Lyle