Hello,
I have about 5 years of work experience in programming websites, and
would like to learn Ruby. I would like to learn Ruby first, and then
will eventually go on to learning Rails.
Which book would you recommend on buying & reading?
Thank you.
Kamil Chmielewski wrote:
Hello,
I have about 5 years of work experience in programming websites, and
would like to learn Ruby. I would like to learn Ruby first, and then
will eventually go on to learning Rails.Which book would you recommend on buying & reading?
Thank you.
In addition, my work experience is primarily in Java, and JSP, with the
Spring framework
I’ve been looking at this book:
It seems to do a pretty good job. A good way to learn the language is
to participate in the site: http://rubyquiz.com/
Joe
Kamil Chmielewski wrote:
Hello,
I have about 5 years of work experience in programming websites, and
would like to learn Ruby. I would like to learn Ruby first, and then
will eventually go on to learning Rails.Which book would you recommend on buying & reading?
Thank you.
The canonical Ruby book is Programming_Ruby by Dave T… It’s now
nearing its 3rd edition. For Ruby and Rails, Ruby_For_Rails by David
A. Black.
I have about 5 years of work experience in programming websites, and
would like to learn Ruby. I would like to learn Ruby first, and then
will eventually go on to learning Rails.Which book would you recommend on buying & reading?
coming from a similar background, i really enjoyed “the ruby way”
http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Way-Second-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/
0672328844/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199491338&sr=8-1
On Jan 5, 1:02 am, Evan H. [email protected] wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Way-Second-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/
0672328844/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199491338&sr=8-1
I would recommend “The Ruby Way” as well. I think it will suit you
better than “Programming Ruby”.
I have a dozen or so Ruby books, although I am still trying to learn the
language.
Programming Ruby and The Ruby Way are among the one I use the most.
Lately,
however, I am making use of Teach Yourself *Ruby in 21 Days. *This
book
gives you exercises at the end of each chapter.
I make extensive use of the forum by posting my questions and monitoring
others Q&A.
Jari W. wrote:
Bjørn Arild Mæland wrote:
I would recommend “The Ruby Way” as well.
I have the first edition of “The Ruby Way”. Does anyone know if there
are substantial differences between the 1st and 2nd editions? If so, in
what areas?
It’s bigger.
Also, it has a kick-ass (albeit increasingly outdated) section on Web
frameworks .
Seriously, it really does cover much more material, and it’s a real
improvement over the 1st ed.
Go get it!
–
James B.
www.ruby-doc.org - Ruby Help & Documentation
www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff
www.risingtidesoftware.com - Wicked Cool Coding
Bjørn Arild Mæland wrote:
I would recommend “The Ruby Way” as well.
I have the first edition of “The Ruby Way”. Does anyone know if there
are substantial differences between the 1st and 2nd editions? If so, in
what areas?
Best regards,
Jari W.
Jari W. wrote:
Bjørn Arild Mæland wrote:
I would recommend “The Ruby Way” as well.
I have the first edition of “The Ruby Way”. Does anyone know if there
are substantial differences between the 1st and 2nd editions? If so, in
what areas?
Well, the 2nd edition has a huge section about RMagick. That right there
is worth the price 
On Jan 5, 2008 1:31 PM, Tim H. [email protected] wrote:
Well, the 2nd edition has a huge section about RMagick. That right there
is worth the price
The Ruby Way certainly covers a lot of material, and is a formidable
tome.
On the other hand, and I’ve hesitated about saying this for some time
because I respect Hal’s accomplishment and the effort, it’s riddled
with lots of mostly small errors. There’s a small official list of
errata, but it hasn’t been kept up. I’d sent Hal quite a few and he
said that he had gotten quite a few more and intended to update the
errata, but doesn’t seem to have gotten around to it. The new book
“The Rails Way” in the same series, seems to have fewer errors and
Obie is keeping a fairly active errata list using lighthouse for use
in preparing new printings.
I found that the Rails Way was good to read once, as a way to come up
to speed on the breadth of the Ruby scene at least as it was in early
2007 when the 2nd edition was published, and I’ve no doubt that it’s
still valuable in that way. But I’ve found resources like following
and contributing to mailing lists like this, google, blogs, and
reading code to be the most valuable ways to keep up with Ruby.
It’s very hard for printed books to keep up with technologies like
Ruby these days, they tend to be obsolete almost as soon as they are
published.
–
Rick DeNatale
My blog on Ruby
http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/
Personally I found “The Ruby Way” the most useful book, “Ruby For
Rails” the best explanation of metaprogramming and Ruby OOP, and
“Programming Ruby” I mostly use for its reference section (sorry) and
detail on things like Gems and IRB.
–
Giles B.
Podcast: http://hollywoodgrit.blogspot.com
Blog: http://gilesbowkett.blogspot.com
Portfolio: http://www.gilesgoatboy.org
Tumblelog: http://giles.tumblr.com
Victor R. wrote:
On Jan 5, 1:02am, Evan H. [email protected] wrote:
I would recommend “The Ruby Way” as well. I think it will suit you
better than “Programming Ruby”.
As far as I’m concerned, for an experienced programmer who wants to
learn Ruby, there is only one book – the Pickaxe aka Programming
Ruby. The others are all good/great in their own way, but the Pickaxe
is the definitive reference manual (in English, anyhow) on the language.
Going on to Rails is another thing entirely. Agile Web D. with
Rails is probably the best place to start, but for Rails, I personally
think you’re much better off with live classroom training than trying
to pick it up from a book or bunch of books.
explanations.
I’m a book hoe. I may pick that up just for the DSL stuff. I need some
good stuff on DSLs, this thingy I’m working on is mega stalled due to
lack of DSL fu.
I got a new book which I hesitate to recommend YET because I haven’t
worked through it all and I want to cherish my secret weapon, but for
the hell of it, it’s “Practical Ruby Projects,” and if it rocks even
just half as much as it looks like, it’s quite a book. It’s all
projects, obviously - build this, build that - and the projects
include a Lisp interpreter and a live MIDI code generator (or possibly
semi-live - hopefully I’ll be able to tell you for sure later today).
–
Giles B.
Podcast: http://hollywoodgrit.blogspot.com
Blog: http://gilesbowkett.blogspot.com
Portfolio: http://www.gilesgoatboy.org
Tumblelog: http://giles.tumblr.com
Giles B. wrote:
“Programming Ruby” I mostly use for its reference section (sorry) and
detail on things like Gems and IRB.
Same here… yet I’d really like a printed version of the complete API
and library. I know I have it electronically but I can browse a book
away from the computer … and yeah, I guess I am that geeky, to browse
a programming reference book for “fun”
Overall I’d have to say the “best” book for a seasoned programmer has
yet to appear… one is sort of stuck gleaning the best bits from
several sources unfortunately.
BTW, are there any good books or other sources that deal with creating C
extensions?
Tim F. wrote:
BTW, are there any good books or other sources that deal with creating C
extensions?
The best source seems to be Chapter 21 of the Pickaxe, combined with
reading the Ruby source code.
The Pickaxe is a vital reference book for anybody doing anything with
Ruby.
After you read it and do some things, you can keep going back to it.
(until you’re an expert on Ruby, but even then…)
The tutorial/example section could use some clean up and I wouldn’t
expect anyone to rely on that alone, as it doesn’t go deep into
anything but the basics fo Ruby.
Beginning Ruby more than makes up for this, as a great tutorial of
Ruby in many different use-scenarios.
The Ruby Cookbook can’t be denied either.
As for Rails, AWDWR’s second half should be had as a reference, but
not until Rails 2 version is out. The tutorial portion is a mess but
informative if you’ve first read other books on Rails.
I would recommend this as a reference, but to get your hands dirty
and get a good clear picture of the core day-to-day Rails life, get
the SitePoint publishing book on Rails. It’s quick, and clear and
concise.
Rails Solutions is another good one for the quick and dirty.
Honestly, I haven’t met a Ruby book I didn’t like yet.
Giles B. wrote:
Personally I found “The Ruby Way” the most useful book, “Ruby For
Rails” the best explanation of metaprogramming and Ruby OOP, and
“Programming Ruby” I mostly use for its reference section (sorry) and
detail on things like Gems and IRB.
I have also just gotten Design Patterns In Ruby. I picked it up
because it covers an area of practice where I have little experience,
and does it in Ruby. I think if you’re an old OOP hand, you can probably
live without it. The chapters on DSLs and metaprogramming are excellent,
though I think you’re right about Ruby for Rails being the best
explanations.
John J. wrote:
Honestly, I haven’t met a Ruby book I didn’t like yet.
I have, but it was so bad I’ve forgotten which one it was.
No, seriously, they’re all mostly good and despite the large amount of
overlap, there’s room for a few more. But the Pickaxe is a must have for
just about everyone, and I think AWDR and Ruby for Rails are both must
haves for Rails developers.
Softmind,
The book is available at Amazon. Here is a link:
I have the printed version only. I never had the PDF version nor I know
if
they have one for sell or download.
I find the book to have a very good intro to Ruby, as it covers many
subjects and it test you at the end of each chapter. It also provides
the
answers.
Regards,
Victor
On Jan 7, 2008 1:42 AM, Softmind T.
[email protected]
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