# Good exercises for beginner **URL:** \ **Category:** ruby-talk\ **Created:** [23 July 2008 11:38 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874 "2008-07-23T11:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Haskins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@Sam\_Haskins](https://rubytalk.org/u/Sam_Haskins)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 11:38 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/1 "2008-07-23T11:38:55Z")
Hello all, I am an unexperienced programer, and though things like why's guide and other tutorials do a good job of explaining syntax, I am trying to develop experience in making real projects. I have tried to do the ruby quizzes, but they are a bit too hard; I don't yet have a great feel for the best way to approach problems, and so I ended up having to consult how other people solved the quizzes to get over stuck points. Are there simpler exercises out there that would be good for a noob like me, or do you think that reading code for a while might do better for familiarizing me with technique? ---
**Author:** ![Chris7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Chris7](https://rubytalk.org/u/Chris7)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 11:59 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/2 "2008-07-23T11:59:25Z")
> I have tried to do the > ruby quizzes, but they are a bit too hard; There's some discussion on recommended "easier" ruby quizzes here: [http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse\_thread/thread/56715eaf2f9a657/5739f21adceca0d1?lnk=gst&q=easier+ruby+quiz#5739f21adceca0d1](http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse_thread/thread/56715eaf2f9a657/5739f21adceca0d1?lnk=gst&q=easier+ruby+quiz#5739f21adceca0d1) I don't think there's any shame in looking at "the answers" after you've given the quiz a good try yourself -- on the contrary, reading other peoples code is an excellent way to learn. Ruby quiz solutions can be small enough to understand in their entirety, unlike the code- base of a large open source project, for example. Good luck, Chris ---
**Author:** ![David\_A\_Black1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@David\_A\_Black1](https://rubytalk.org/u/David_A_Black1)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 13:02 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/3 "2008-07-23T13:02:37Z")
Hi -- > Hello all, > > I am an unexperienced programer, and though things like why's guide and other tutorials do a good job of explaining syntax, I am trying to develop experience in making real projects. I have tried to do the ruby quizzes, but they are a bit too hard; I don't yet have a great feel for the best way to approach problems, and so I ended up having to consult how other people solved the quizzes to get over stuck points. > > Are there simpler exercises out there that would be good for a noob like me, or do you think that reading code for a while might do better for familiarizing me with technique? A very good source of exercises is to try to (re)implement some of Ruby's core methods in Ruby. For example, you could implement Array#each like this:    class Array      def my\_each        i = 0        until i == size          yield self[i]          i += 1        end        self      end    end and similarly (though a bit more complexly) with other methods like select and map. Sometimes this takes you into a more "low-level" style of programming than you might use normally (like, maintaining an explicit counter rather than just using an iterator), but it's very good practice and a good way to learn. David > **···** > > On Wed, 23 Jul 2008, Sam Haskins wrote: > > -- > Rails training from David A. Black and Ruby Power and Light: >      Intro to Ruby on Rails July 21-24 Edison, NJ >   \* Advancing With Rails August 18-21 Edison, NJ >   \* Co-taught by D.A. Black and Erik Kastner > See [http://www.rubypal.com](http://www.rubypal.com) for details and updates! ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_DeMello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f17d59/32.png) [@Martin\_DeMello](https://rubytalk.org/u/Martin_DeMello)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 16:34 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/4 "2008-07-23T16:34:53Z")
I wrote [http://zem.novylen.net/ruby/tutorial/arithmetic-quiz/arith.html](http://zem.novylen.net/ruby/tutorial/arithmetic-quiz/arith.html) to be a good learning project. It's intended as a followup to Chris Pine's excellent [http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/](http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/), so if you haven't done that one already go through it first. martin > **···** > > On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 4:38 AM, Sam Haskins \ wrote: > > > Hello all, > > > > I am an unexperienced programer, and though things like why's guide and > > other tutorials do a good job of explaining syntax, I am trying to develop > > experience in making real projects. I have tried to do the ruby quizzes, but > > they are a bit too hard; I don't yet have a great feel for the best way to > > approach problems, and so I ended up having to consult how other people > > solved the quizzes to get over stuck points. > > > > Are there simpler exercises out there that would be good for a noob like me, > > or do you think that reading code for a while might do better for > > familiarizing me with technique? ---
**Author:** ![Todd\_Benson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Todd\_Benson](https://rubytalk.org/u/Todd_Benson)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 16:57 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/5 "2008-07-23T16:57:14Z")
Try the quizes and make extensive use of irb. Best education, ever. One thing you should try to avoid is what I used to do, that being trying to make it perfect on the first try. Todd > **···** > > On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 6:38 AM, Sam Haskins \ wrote: > > > I have tried to do the ruby quizzes, but > > they are a bit too hard; I don't yet have a great feel for the best way to > > approach problems, and so I ended up having to consult how other people > > solved the quizzes to get over stuck points. ---
**Author:** ![Siep\_Korteling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Siep\_Korteling](https://rubytalk.org/u/Siep_Korteling)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 20:51 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/6 "2008-07-23T20:51:17Z")
Sam Haskins wrote: > Hello all, > > I am an unexperienced programer, and though things like why's guide > and other tutorials do a good job of explaining syntax, I am trying to > develop experience in making real projects. [http://www.projecteuler.net](http://www.projecteuler.net) starts with some easy stuff. When you solve one, you can see how others did it, in all kinds of languages. Regards, Siep > **···** > > -- > Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/\](http://www.ruby-forum.com/%5C). ---
**Author:** ![7stud2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/9de053/32.png) [@7stud2](https://rubytalk.org/u/7stud2)\ **Post date:** [1 April 2013 22:04 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/7 "2013-04-01T22:04:45Z")
Sam Haskins wrote in post #706081: > Hello all, > > I am an unexperienced programer, and though things like why's guide > and other tutorials do a good job of explaining syntax, I am trying to > develop experience in making real projects. I have tried to do the > ruby quizzes, but they are a bit too hard; I don't yet have a great > feel for the best way to approach problems, and so I ended up having > to consult how other people solved the quizzes to get over stuck points. > > Are there simpler exercises out there that would be good for a noob > like me, or do you think that reading code for a while might do better > for familiarizing me with technique? Keep watching the below page for quiz. [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=504314076294081&set=a.504314072960748.1073741828.504288896296599&type=1&theater](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=504314076294081&set=a.504314072960748.1073741828.504288896296599&type=1&theater) > **···** > > -- > Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/\](http://www.ruby-forum.com/%5C). ---
**Author:** ![7stud2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/9de053/32.png) [@7stud2](https://rubytalk.org/u/7stud2)\ **Post date:** [4 April 2013 10:49 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/8 "2013-04-04T10:49:10Z")
[https://projecteuler.net/](https://projecteuler.net/) is a great place for challenges, especially math related. [http://www.codeeval.com/](http://www.codeeval.com/) has lots of challenges with the goal of getting jobs at various tech companies, but you can of course ignore that part if you'd like. > **···** > > -- > Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/](http://www.ruby-forum.com/). ---
**Author:** ![7stud2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/9de053/32.png) [@7stud2](https://rubytalk.org/u/7stud2)\ **Post date:** [28 June 2013 13:26 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/9 "2013-06-28T13:26:46Z")
I created a website called CodeQuizzes that has good beginner/intermediate Ruby questions: [http://www.codequizzes.com](http://www.codequizzes.com) [http://rubymonk.com](http://rubymonk.com) and [http://tryruby.org](http://tryruby.org) are also useful resources for beginners. I haven't tried the Codecademy Ruby questions yet, but they look promising: [http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/ruby](http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/ruby) > **···** > > -- > Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/](http://www.ruby-forum.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Marc\_Heiler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Marc\_Heiler](https://rubytalk.org/u/Marc_Heiler)\ **Post date:** [23 July 2008 21:08 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/good-exercises-for-beginner/47874/10 "2008-07-23T21:08:15Z")
> I have tried to do the ruby quizzes, but they are > a bit too hard I could recommend one of these: - write a simple IRC bot in ruby (hehehe that was my first task) - write a simple 2 players game (but a bit more complex than "guess a number", maybe name the capitals of some countries, and store that in a yaml file) Or, if you feel adventureous you could try to write a single .rb file which teaches you ruby. While writing this .rb file, you could write ruby code. No kidding btw, this is how I have collected my local FAQ. It is quite large by now 🙂 > **···** > > -- > Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/\](http://www.ruby-forum.com/%5C).