This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and
comes with full source code. It's available for free download from
http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
Enjoy!
best wishes
Huw
···
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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
I haven't really delved in to the content much, but the first thing that hits
me is the typeface used for code examples - Comic Sans MS or something
similar. I dislike this sort of typeface anyway, but when it's used as a code
example (which would normally be given in some monospace typeface), it's
especially jarring. At first glance, it looks like a fairly solid tutorial to
get people up to speed with the basics.
Flicking through, I couldn't see any mention of regular expressions. An
explanation of regular expression syntax is outside of the scope of this
tutorial, but it should be noted that /regex/ is a standard type. Perhaps I
missed it.
I think the Moving On... section at the end should link to ruby-doc.org, and
in my opinion ruby.outertrack.com. Once you know the basics, the API
documentation provide a lot of useful information. Perhaps mention
Programming Ruby as a book that looks at some more advanced ruby programming
techniques?
Just some initial thoughts. I'd get very excited over this if it was CC or
GFDL licensed, but it's not something I'd want to start an argument about.
Regards,
Alex
···
On Saturday 17 June 2006 13:41, Huw Collingbourne wrote:
This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and
comes with full source code. It's available for free download from
http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
FWIW,
I find that font quite acceptable for Ruby code. Something like 'C' you
expect it to be straightlaced and boring, but this font gives a hint of
Ruby's character without going overboard and making it hard to read. I
just imagined what that same code would look like with semi-colons at
the end of each line and it was "all wrong". 'C' would not work with
this font, but Ruby does, IMO.
Thanks for giving me yet another pdf to read on the plane today!
jp
Huw Collingbourne wrote:
···
This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and
comes with full source code. It's available for free download from
http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Enjoy!
best wishes
Huw
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.
It's nice to see a name I recognise from British computer magazines of
old! I've had a brief scan through the book. I think there's been a
gap for a straightforward, simplistic introduction to Ruby, and the
Little Book does a good job of filling it.
I noticed one example of particularly un-idiomatic usage: you define
get_name and set_name methods in chapter 2. More Rubyish would be to
define name and name=. The seamless handling of getter/setter is one
of the joys of Ruby, in my opinion.
Paul
···
On 17/06/06, Huw Collingbourne <huw@darkneon.com> wrote:
This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and
comes with full source code. It's available for free download from
http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
Huw Collingbourne wrote:
This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and
comes with full source code. It's available for free download from
http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
Very nice and concise eBook!
It goes into just enough details to get a great enough understanding
about what is available and how to use it.
I have the Programming Ruby book, but this eBook explained some things
that my large "paid-for-book" doesn't!
GREAT JOB!!
···
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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.
No, I do not cover regular expressions in The Little Book. There will be
more tutorials online later looking in more depth at specific subjects.
As for the choice of Comic Sans. That was absolutely deliberate as this
font is close to the ones used in some older books on Smalltalk. The
modern tradition is to use fixed fonts such as Courier for code samples
(this is the font I have used myself in the many Java, Delphi and C#
columns which I've written for computing magazines over the years). It's
all a matter of taste, I guess, but I have to say that I've just got a
bit fed up of the 'formal' (i.e. dull) look of Courier type fonts for
code samples and wanted to get back to a slightly more frivolous font
that evokes the old Smalltalk books.
best wishes
Huw
···
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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
Paul Battley wrote:
I noticed one example of particularly un-idiomatic usage: you define
get_name and set_name methods in chapter 2. More Rubyish would be to
define name and name=. The seamless handling of getter/setter is one
of the joys of Ruby, in my opinion.
That's in Chapter Four 
best wishes
Huw
···
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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.