# Speaking of free books **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840 "2008-05-16T20:46:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/1 "2008-05-16T20:46:40Z")
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Are there any plans to release Programming Ruby 2nd Edition as a free ebook, akin to the 1st Edition, once the 3rd Edition hits the stores (or some time after that)? That’d be a great boon to me, since I have misplaced my dead-tree edition. 😕 * * * Phillip G. Twitter: [twitter.com/cynicalryan](http://twitter.com/cynicalryan) Blog: [http://justarubyist.blogspot.com](http://justarubyist.blogspot.com) At the base of all these aristocratic races the predator is not to be mistaken, the splendorous blond beast, avidly rampant for plunder and victory. ~ – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - [http://enigmail.mozdev.org](http://enigmail.mozdev.org) iEYEARECAAYFAkgt1jQACgkQbtAgaoJTgL8wvwCfagcW038ThvCcneLIC9vGTYsS AF0AoJ/NrrdHvr5bFAcvYnF+3gohQEex =AUD+ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/2 "2008-05-16T20:54:58Z")
On May 16, 2008, at 1:45 PM, Phillip G. wrote: > Are there any plans to release Programming Ruby 2nd Edition as a free > ebook, akin to the 1st Edition, once the 3rd Edition hits the stores > (or > some time after that)? To be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m still waiting for Ruby 1.9 to settle down enough to even consider freezing the current version. (For example, the next beta will include the 'symbol is no longer going to be an immediate object (probably)) change.) There have been hundreds of new methods added to the built in libraries, changes and then more changes to numeric division, etc etc… Once the dust clears, we’ll think what our options are. Dave ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/3 "2008-05-16T21:06:43Z")
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Dave T. wrote: | To be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead. | | I’m still waiting for Ruby 1.9 to settle down enough to even consider | freezing the current version. (For example, the next beta will include | the 'symbol is no longer going to be an immediate object (probably)) | change.) There have been hundreds of new methods added to the built in | libraries, changes and then more changes to numeric division, etc etc… | Once the dust clears, we’ll think what our options are. Yeah, I read your little rant on the changes to Ruby 1.9 on your blog. As soon as the 3rd edition becomes available it’ll land in my shopping cart/ Speaking of which: It’d be ‘best’ to buy the book via the Pragmatic Bookshelf store to maximize your (as in: you, and the Pragmatic Bookshelf’s) cut of the sale? Oh well, I’ll just bide my time, and wait for the opportune moment to nag you about it. 😉 Thanks for the answer, Dave. * * * Phillip G. Twitter: [twitter.com/cynicalryan](http://twitter.com/cynicalryan) Blog: [http://justarubyist.blogspot.com](http://justarubyist.blogspot.com) ~ The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! – Calvin -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - [http://enigmail.mozdev.org](http://enigmail.mozdev.org) iEYEARECAAYFAkgt2xkACgkQbtAgaoJTgL8MqACfRCjqwMhIIqoSwZiHH6YesREH 7VEAnibW/fXyod95Tntu3EdrSE74RJhU =RrRY -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/4 "2008-05-17T00:39:53Z")
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Rick DeNatale wrote: | | There are some advantages to you to buy directly from the Prags. For | one, your purchase gets registered, something which they can’t do for | books you purchased elsewhere. That convinced me to buy any further | PragProg books directly. That is a good point. Though I fail to see why I should register a book. But that is probably a cultural difference between Germany and the US. 🙂 | Why not just go for the beta program now, you get the PDF version | right away, updated as available, and the paper copy when that’s | available as well. While I prefer to have a physical book, I also | really like to have the pdf available on my laptop. Because the beta program isn’t free, and I can’t afford to shell out that kind of money, as much as I’d like to. ☹ I;m pretty much left to what I can find online and for free (and it is tempting to grab a .torrent or so, but…). 😕 * * * Phillip G. Twitter: [twitter.com/cynicalryan](http://twitter.com/cynicalryan) Blog: [http://justarubyist.blogspot.com](http://justarubyist.blogspot.com) ~ - You know you’ve been hacking too long when… …in non-computer related situation you start thinking that whatever you are doing, it could be done more easily in a shell script. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - [http://enigmail.mozdev.org](http://enigmail.mozdev.org) iEYEARECAAYFAkguDQwACgkQbtAgaoJTgL8KCwCfUWeSuNVNDKwYIuQiCIMynBGq tLgAniIZGmauRsX5Q9jWn8e+kuhBb0hy =VGxf -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/5 "2008-05-17T00:29:21Z")
On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 3:06 PM, Phillip G. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > As soon as the 3rd edition becomes available it’ll land in my shopping > cart/ Speaking of which: It’d be ‘best’ to buy the book via the > Pragmatic Bookshelf store to maximize your (as in: you, and the > Pragmatic Bookshelf’s) cut of the sale? There are some advantages to you to buy directly from the Prags. For one, your purchase gets registered, something which they can’t do for books you purchased elsewhere. That convinced me to buy any further PragProg books directly. Why not just go for the beta program now, you get the PDF version right away, updated as available, and the paper copy when that’s available as well. While I prefer to have a physical book, I also really like to have the pdf available on my laptop. – Rick DeNatale My blog on Ruby [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/6 "2008-05-17T00:49:15Z")
On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 6:39 PM, Phillip G. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > That is a good point. Though I fail to see why I should register a book. > But that is probably a cultural difference between Germany and the US. 🙂 In order to get notified of updates and errata. And if you have the pdf versions they get refreshed occasionally even after release. > | Why not just go for the beta program now, you get the PDF version > | right away, updated as available, and the paper copy when that’s > | available as well. While I prefer to have a physical book, I also > | really like to have the pdf available on my laptop. > > Because the beta program isn’t free, and I can’t afford to shell out > that kind of money, as much as I’d like to. ☹ No more than buying it when it comes out, and perhaps less if the price goes up (I doubt it would be coming down). And since your paying in Euros rather than Dollars, it’s even less. – Rick DeNatale My blog on Ruby [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Phillip\_G](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Phillip_G)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/speaking-of-free-books/137840/7 "2008-05-17T01:55:22Z")
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Rick DeNatale wrote: | | In order to get notified of updates and errata. And if you have the | pdf versions they get refreshed occasionally even after release. Yeah, but I can do that manually, too. Though, automation is nice, I agree. | No more than buying it when it comes out, and perhaps less if the | price goes up (I doubt it would be coming down). Yeah, but I don’t have the money _now_ and I might have it when the book’s actually out. | And since your paying in Euros rather than Dollars, it’s even less. Still an issue of having the money or not. Though, this is absolutely off topic by now. 😉 * * * Phillip G. Twitter: [twitter.com/cynicalryan](http://twitter.com/cynicalryan) Blog: [http://justarubyist.blogspot.com](http://justarubyist.blogspot.com) Let the data structure the program. ~ - The Elements of Programming Style (Kernighan & Plaugher) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.8 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - [http://enigmail.mozdev.org](http://enigmail.mozdev.org) iEYEARECAAYFAkguHsAACgkQbtAgaoJTgL8Z1gCaA0H3ydLJKsbpdPD5TOI4rnL4 IREAnj+WbYE7iTTjGCrBNR6qp2kUTLD0 =cCUP -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----