I've learned programming in C++, Python and PHP at University. (also
learned HTML & CSS!!!)
Which book would you recommend for getting started with Ruby?
I plan on using the Ruby on Rails web-framework with MongoDB database,
and have already gotten myself the "Ruby and MongoDB Web Development
Beginner's Guide" book.
However this book has a prerequisite of Ruby knowledge, which is why
I'm asking for recommendations.
Thanks for all suggestions,
Alec Taylor
The Elegant Rubyist
The Ruby Way
Eloquent Ruby
Brandon Weaver
On Sep 28, 2012, at 12:19 AM, Alec Taylor <alec.taylor6@gmail.com> wrote:
I've learned programming in C++, Python and PHP at University. (also
learned HTML & CSS!!!)Which book would you recommend for getting started with Ruby?
I plan on using the Ruby on Rails web-framework with MongoDB database,
and have already gotten myself the "Ruby and MongoDB Web Development
Beginner's Guide" book.However this book has a prerequisite of Ruby knowledge, which is why
I'm asking for recommendations.Thanks for all suggestions,
Alec Taylor
Good question, there's many books about Ruby, now I'm apart from the
books(not in my house right now), but I never forget about two, the
first one you have to read is a masterpiece by _why and it's free:
>> why's poignant guide to ruby
And the one you should have is another masterpiece by Dave Thomas and
company.
>> Programming Ruby 1.9
Also the one that become with the ruby installer for windows(by Luis
Lavena) called The Book Of Ruby(by Huw Collingbourne) is good.
Have fun in this journey!
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
"Beginning Ruby" by Peter Cooper. It has a section on Rails, but it is
dated as Rails spits out new versions every day.
1) Programming Ruby sucks--but it has the docs in the back of the book,
so it is pretty much a mandatory first ruby book.
2) The Ruby Way is too advanced for a beginner, and it is pretty boring
reading at that. It's more of a recipe book.
Perhaps the best ruby book I've read is "The Well-Grounded Rubyist", but
it is a little more advanced than "Beginning Ruby". But you do have
programming experience, so if you feel up to the challenge, go for it.
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
If you already know some programming languages, just try to build simple
stuff. Project Euler is a good way to get acquainted with a new language,
learn its syntax and basic API, etc.
But Eloquent Ruby is my favorite book on Ruby, it really helps to
understand a lot of things.
Also, in my experience, the most importants APIs of Ruby are the ones from
Array, Hash and String classes. They're used virtually everywhere and you
should know them when using Rails.
Good luck! 
2012/9/27 Brandon Weaver <keystonelemur@gmail.com>
The Elegant Rubyist
The Ruby Way
Eloquent RubyBrandon Weaver
On Sep 28, 2012, at 12:19 AM, Alec Taylor <alec.taylor6@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've learned programming in C++, Python and PHP at University. (also
> learned HTML & CSS!!!)
>
> Which book would you recommend for getting started with Ruby?
>
> I plan on using the Ruby on Rails web-framework with MongoDB database,
> and have already gotten myself the "Ruby and MongoDB Web Development
> Beginner's Guide" book.
>
> However this book has a prerequisite of Ruby knowledge, which is why
> I'm asking for recommendations.
>
> Thanks for all suggestions,
>
> Alec Taylor
>
--
Carlos Agarie
Control engineering student
Polytechnic School
University of São Paulo
I haven't read The Elegant Rubyist, and have nothing substantive to say
about it. I do think that, coming from Python, a great couple books to
quickly get up to speed are:
1. Everyday Scripting with Ruby
2. Eloquent Ruby
. . . in that order. That's in order of reading them, and not in order
of how much I like them. The Ruby Way is also a great book, but I'm not
sure it is exactly the book I'd recommend for the question asked in this
case.
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 02:48:41PM +0900, Brandon Weaver wrote:
The Elegant Rubyist
The Ruby Way
Eloquent Ruby
--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
I have to disagree. The Book of Ruby is a bucket of bad habits presented
to unsuspecting new Rubyists as good practices. It should not be read by
anyone who has not already been a Rubyist for several years, involved
with the community at least to some degree, and competent to write
production code -- possibly with a couple of published gems to one's
credit. At that point, the person would probably see all the problems
with the book and refuse to read the whole thing, anyway.
. . . and I'm not just talking about the version that was delivered with
the installer. I'm talking about the version that was actually fixed up
and edited for publication by No Starch Press.
None of this should be taken as deprecating the Ruby Installer for
Windows at all. It and its developers are to be commended on quality
software, I believe.
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 11:05:25PM +0900, Damián M. González wrote:
Good question, there's many books about Ruby, now I'm apart from the
books(not in my house right now), but I never forget about two, the
first one you have to read is a masterpiece by _why and it's free:>> why's poignant guide to ruby
And the one you should have is another masterpiece by Dave Thomas and
company.>> Programming Ruby 1.9
Also the one that become with the ruby installer for windows(by Luis
Lavena) called The Book Of Ruby(by Huw Collingbourne) is good.Have fun in this journey!
--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
I really liked The Well Grounded Rubyist.
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Chad Perrin <code@apotheon.net> wrote:
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 11:05:25PM +0900, Damián M. González wrote:
> Good question, there's many books about Ruby, now I'm apart from the
> books(not in my house right now), but I never forget about two, the
> first one you have to read is a masterpiece by _why and it's free:
>
> >> why's poignant guide to ruby
>
> And the one you should have is another masterpiece by Dave Thomas and
> company.
>
> >> Programming Ruby 1.9
>
> Also the one that become with the ruby installer for windows(by Luis
> Lavena) called The Book Of Ruby(by Huw Collingbourne) is good.
>
> Have fun in this journey!I have to disagree. The Book of Ruby is a bucket of bad habits presented
to unsuspecting new Rubyists as good practices. It should not be read by
anyone who has not already been a Rubyist for several years, involved
with the community at least to some degree, and competent to write
production code -- possibly with a couple of published gems to one's
credit. At that point, the person would probably see all the problems
with the book and refuse to read the whole thing, anyway.. . . and I'm not just talking about the version that was delivered with
the installer. I'm talking about the version that was actually fixed up
and edited for publication by No Starch Press.None of this should be taken as deprecating the Ruby Installer for
Windows at all. It and its developers are to be commended on quality
software, I believe.--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
Cripes, I meant the Well Grounded Rubyist. My mistake.
I say the Ruby way because I came from a .NET background and didn't want a rehash of what a variable was. It is definitely on the list for more advanced programmers, as well as Metaprogramming Ruby.
Brandon
On Sep 28, 2012, at 10:45 AM, Chad Perrin <code@apotheon.net> wrote:
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 02:48:41PM +0900, Brandon Weaver wrote:
The Elegant Rubyist
The Ruby Way
Eloquent RubyI haven't read The Elegant Rubyist, and have nothing substantive to say
about it. I do think that, coming from Python, a great couple books to
quickly get up to speed are:1. Everyday Scripting with Ruby
2. Eloquent Ruby
. . . in that order. That's in order of reading them, and not in order
of how much I like them. The Ruby Way is also a great book, but I'm not
sure it is exactly the book I'd recommend for the question asked in this
case.--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
Re: Well grounded rubyist - Absolutely.
There are a number of fine tutorial books on Ruby, and you should go with the one that you find most helpful to your learning.
That said, David Black is simply a master teacher, and has insight about what's really going on in Ruby, and what's essential to learn, that I find simply unparalleled. Simply my favorite book on Ruby, hands down.
t.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Cloyd / tc@tomcloyd.com / (435) 272-3332
On 09/28/2012 10:30 AM, Russell wrote:
I really liked The Well Grounded Rubyist.
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Chad Perrin <code@apotheon.net > <mailto:code@apotheon.net>> wrote:
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 11:05:25PM +0900, Damián M. González wrote:
> Good question, there's many books about Ruby, now I'm apart from the
> books(not in my house right now), but I never forget about two, the
> first one you have to read is a masterpiece by _why and it's free:
>
> >> why's poignant guide to ruby
>
> And the one you should have is another masterpiece by Dave
Thomas and
> company.
>
> >> Programming Ruby 1.9
>
> Also the one that become with the ruby installer for windows(by
Luis
> Lavena) called The Book Of Ruby(by Huw Collingbourne) is good.
>
> Have fun in this journey!I have to disagree. The Book of Ruby is a bucket of bad habits
presented
to unsuspecting new Rubyists as good practices. It should not be
read by
anyone who has not already been a Rubyist for several years, involved
with the community at least to some degree, and competent to write
production code -- possibly with a couple of published gems to one's
credit. At that point, the person would probably see all the problems
with the book and refuse to read the whole thing, anyway.. . . and I'm not just talking about the version that was
delivered with
the installer. I'm talking about the version that was actually
fixed up
and edited for publication by No Starch Press.None of this should be taken as deprecating the Ruby Installer for
Windows at all. It and its developers are to be commended on quality
software, I believe.--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
I was also searching for a good starter book and I've recently bought
the pickaxe 1.9, which is a great reference, but now I came across the
Ruby by Example. I can't tell you what's it like, because I haven't read
it yet.
As the title says it's based on code examples and I hope it would be a
useful addition to the pickaxe.
Maybe someone who's used it before can give their opinion.
regards,
seba
--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
Metaprogramming Ruby is an awesome book, as is Ruby Best Practices. I
kinda consider them something like sibling books, to be read at about the
same point in one's development as a Rubyist. I'd set them later on the
path than Everyday Scripting with Ruby and Eloquent Ruby, though.
I think The Ruby Way is mostly useful to "have around" and thumb through
from time to time -- when stuck, bored, or curious -- rather than as an
instructional or introductory text, though.
I haven't read The Well-Grounded Rubyist, so I don't really have anything
to say about that, either.
On Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 02:09:49AM +0900, Brandon Weaver wrote:
On Sep 28, 2012, at 10:45 AM, Chad Perrin wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 02:48:41PM +0900, Brandon Weaver wrote:
>> The Elegant Rubyist
>> The Ruby Way
>> Eloquent Ruby
>
> I haven't read The Elegant Rubyist, and have nothing substantive to say
> about it. I do think that, coming from Python, a great couple books to
> quickly get up to speed are:
>
> 1. Everyday Scripting with Ruby
>
> 2. Eloquent Ruby
>
> . . . in that order. That's in order of reading them, and not in order
> of how much I like them. The Ruby Way is also a great book, but I'm not
> sure it is exactly the book I'd recommend for the question asked in this
> case.Cripes, I meant the Well Grounded Rubyist. My mistake.
I say the Ruby way because I came from a .NET background and didn't
want a rehash of what a variable was. It is definitely on the list for
more advanced programmers, as well as Metaprogramming Ruby.
--
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]