Ruby is a dynamic, open-source programming language that emphasizes simplicity and productivity. Created in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, Ruby has a syntax that is natural to read and easy to write. It is an object-oriented language, meaning everything in Ruby—from numbers and strings to more complex data structures—is treated as an object with its own properties and actions.

Ruby is perhaps best known for powering the Ruby on Rails web framework, which has been used to build popular websites like GitHub, Shopify, and Airbnb. This association makes Ruby a popular choice for web development, particularly for startups, due to Rails' convention-over-configuration philosophy that allows for rapid application development.

Key characteristics of Ruby include:

• Readable Syntax: Designed to be intuitive and close to natural language.
• Flexibility: Allows programmers to freely alter its parts as needed.
• Large Ecosystem: Benefits from a vast collection of open-source libraries, called gems, available through RubyGems.
• Developer Happiness: A core philosophy of the language is to make programming enjoyable and productive.

For hosting, Ruby applications typically require a specific server environment (like Passenger or Puma) and may have different resource needs compared to PHP or Node.js applications. Understanding Ruby is the first step to successfully deploying and managing a Ruby-based website on your hosting plan.