Ruby - Newbie to Guru - Advice?

ruby-talk
1

Alright, I've been bitten by the Ruby bug, but I haven't yet had that
"Eureka!" moment that has me thinking in blocks and metaclasses. I've
read lots of documentation and articles, but I'm lacking in practical
hands-on knowledge.

My question is, if you were stranded on a desert island (with a laptop
and power supply), and you decided to use the time to become a Ruby
guru:

What resources would you want with you?
What types of programs would you want to attempt?
What programming exercises would you want to help you practice new
Ruby things as you learn them?
How would keep track of (benchmark) your progress to know you were progressing?

Assume you have no Internet access, but you know the impending
desertion is coming. You'll have time to collect books, articles,
code libraries and a why action figure before becoming shipwrecked and
wishing you'd also packed sunscreen and a raft.

Sean

2

Sean Hussey wrote:

Alright, I've been bitten by the Ruby bug, but I haven't yet had that
"Eureka!" moment that has me thinking in blocks and metaclasses. I've
read lots of documentation and articles, but I'm lacking in practical
hands-on knowledge.

My question is, if you were stranded on a desert island (with a laptop
and power supply), and you decided to use the time to become a Ruby
guru:

What resources would you want with you?

Well, the most recent version of Programming Ruby. It's bigger than the first edition, so it will burn longer and brighter, increasing my chance of being rescued. (Try *that* with a PDF!)

What types of programs would you want to attempt?
What programming exercises would you want to help you practice new
Ruby things as you learn them?
How would keep track of (benchmark) your progress to know you were progressing?

Assume you have no Internet access, but you know the impending
desertion is coming. You'll have time to collect books, articles,
code libraries and a why action figure before becoming shipwrecked and
wishing you'd also packed sunscreen and a raft.

I'd want the Ruby source code and Knuth's AOCP set, and work through that.

And Guy Decoux's brain in a jar. Maybe see if I could hook up an Nitro+AJAX front end to it, make a Guy 2.0 Web app or something.

James

···

--

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Ruby Code & Style - Ruby Code & Style: Writers wanted
http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff
http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys
http://www.30secondrule.com - Building Better Tools

3

Alright, I've been bitten by the Ruby bug, but I haven't yet had that
"Eureka!" moment that has me thinking in blocks and metaclasses. I've
read lots of documentation and articles, but I'm lacking in practical
hands-on knowledge.

My question is, if you were stranded on a desert island (with a laptop
and power supply), and you decided to use the time to become a Ruby
guru:

What resources would you want with you?

Newest copy of the Pickaxe, The full API docs, Why's guide, The Rails
book, and The Ruby Way. The latest Rails and the latest PDF::Writer

Also Web Standards Solutions, the markup and style handbook. For
making any and all rails apps look pretty.

I'd also need instiki for recording my stay on the island.

HighLine, Ruport, and Gambit too, but I think I'll always have the
latest of those 3 :slight_smile:
(until James and I get seperated forever)

Oh wait... can I bring JEG2 too? That'd be good. (Though I doubt
he'd retain his sanity)

Actually, I want to be really greedy... can I rsync against the
gems.rubyforge.org server?
I want em all!

What types of programs would you want to attempt?

I'd be finishing Ruport... wait... that's already what I'm doing. Slowly...

I'd write BirdWars 2 for gambit. And it would use mad crazy AJAX everywhere

What programming exercises would you want to help you practice new
Ruby things as you learn them?

If it was after February, not just as a shameless plug for a great
friend, I'd want James Edward Gray II's Best of the Ruby Quiz. Come
on, is there a more diverse set of problems
than the RubyQuiz?

And some kickass continuations tutorial. Because they still melt my brain

How would keep track of (benchmark) your progress to know you were progressing?

When I wrote a ruby program that built a ship for me with a GPS that
sailed me off the island
I know i progressed enough :wink:

Seriously, same way I already know. Write unit tests. When they
pass, I'm progressing.

···

On 11/10/05, Sean Hussey <seanhussey@gmail.com> wrote:

4

Well, the most recent version of Programming Ruby. It's bigger than the
first edition, so it will burn longer and brighter, increasing my chance
of being rescued. (Try *that* with a PDF!)

Heh. :wink:

I'd want the Ruby source code and Knuth's AOCP set, and work through that.

Wow, I don't know how I missed AOCP. Looks like a hell of a set. You
might need the time a desert island provides to really get the most
out of it. :slight_smile: Can anyone else comment on AOCP?

5

> [snip]
If it was after February, not just as a shameless plug for a great
friend, I'd want James Edward Gray II's Best of the Ruby Quiz. Come
on, is there a more diverse set of problems
than the RubyQuiz?

<OT>
On the first parsing pass this read as "James Edward Gray's second
best of the ruby quiz" to me :wink: and I wondered where he had put the
best.

cheers,

Brian

Sorry for the noise
</OT>

···

--
http://ruby.brian-schroeder.de/

Stringed instrument chords: http://chordlist.brian-schroeder.de/

6

Newest copy of the Pickaxe, The full API docs, Why's guide, The Rails
book, and The Ruby Way. The latest Rails and the latest PDF::Writer

The Ruby Way. Is that the "other" Ruby book, as far as learning Ruby
is concerned? (With respect to Why, of course.)

Actually, I want to be really greedy... can I rsync against the
gems.rubyforge.org server?
I want em all!

Oh, sure. You're going to be so well prepared to spend free time on
this island that people will wonder if you caused the crash just to
get some nag-free time away from your boss. :slight_smile:

If it was after February, not just as a shameless plug for a great
friend, I'd want James Edward Gray II's Best of the Ruby Quiz. Come
on, is there a more diverse set of problems
than the RubyQuiz?

Oh, shoot! I didn't realize these were archived somewhere. Wow, I
can't wait to start on these.

And some kickass continuations tutorial. Because they still melt my brain

Is there a sub-kickass tutorial right now? I don't know if I need to
know continuations yet, but if I'm collecting resources... :slight_smile:

Seriously, same way I already know. Write unit tests. When they
pass, I'm progressing.

And benchmarking? I think that's covered in the Pickaxe.

Thanks!

Sean

7

I've tried to read it a couple of times now. While it's true that I learn something new each time, I cannot name a more boring programming text. Eventually, that always makes me leave it behind... :frowning:

James Edward Gray II

···

On Nov 12, 2005, at 11:27 PM, Sean Hussey wrote:

Wow, I don't know how I missed AOCP. Looks like a hell of a set. You
might need the time a desert island provides to really get the most
out of it. :slight_smile: Can anyone else comment on AOCP?

8

They are actually archived on RubyQuiz.com but the book will feature
added commentary and other secret surprises that James won't even
share with me :slight_smile:

···

On 11/14/05, Sean Hussey <seanhussey@gmail.com> wrote:

> If it was after February, not just as a shameless plug for a great
> friend, I'd want James Edward Gray II's Best of the Ruby Quiz. Come
> on, is there a more diverse set of problems
> than the RubyQuiz?

Oh, shoot! I didn't realize these were archived somewhere. Wow, I
can't wait to start on these.

9

Quoting James Edward Gray II <james@grayproductions.net>:

···

On Nov 12, 2005, at 11:27 PM, Sean Hussey wrote:

> Wow, I don't know how I missed AOCP. Looks like a hell of a
> set. You might need the time a desert island provides to
> really get the most out of it. :slight_smile: Can anyone else comment
>on AOCP?

I've tried to read it a couple of times now. While it's true
that I learn something new each time, I cannot name a more boring
programming text. Eventually, that always makes me leave it
behind... :frowning:

Somebody needs to write a Commentary on AOCP. With cartoon foxes.

-mental

10

Even with cartoon foxes I couldn't stomach it. Maybe some chunky
bacon would sweeten the deal, though... :wink:

···

On 11/14/05, mental@rydia.net <mental@rydia.net> wrote:

> I've tried to read it a couple of times now. While it's true
> that I learn something new each time, I cannot name a more boring
> programming text. Eventually, that always makes me leave it
> behind... :frowning:

Somebody needs to write a Commentary on AOCP. With cartoon foxes.

11

mental wrote:

Somebody needs to write a Commentary on AOCP. With cartoon foxes.

Vol 2, page xiv (cartoon digits 1..9) might help.

Credits: JMK & JSK (John Martin & Jennifer Sierra)

Factoid: IIUC, -- Knuth is pronounced `new-t`

daz

12

Gregory Brown <gregory.t.brown@gmail.com> writes:

···

On 11/14/05, mental@rydia.net <mental@rydia.net> wrote:

> I've tried to read it a couple of times now. While it's true
> that I learn something new each time, I cannot name a more boring
> programming text. Eventually, that always makes me leave it
> behind... :frowning:

Somebody needs to write a Commentary on AOCP. With cartoon foxes.

Even with cartoon foxes I couldn't stomach it. Maybe some chunky
bacon would sweeten the deal, though... :wink:

Quiz idea: Write code to transform TAOCP algorithm descriptions
from English to Ruby. Without ruby-goto. :wink:

--
Christian Neukirchen <chneukirchen@gmail.com> http://chneukirchen.org

13

daz wrote:

mental wrote:

Somebody needs to write a Commentary on AOCP. With cartoon foxes.

Vol 2, page xiv (cartoon digits 1..9) might help.

Credits: JMK & JSK (John Martin & Jennifer Sierra)

Factoid: IIUC, -- Knuth is pronounced `new-t`

Ka-NOOTH.

No silent letters.

http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/faq.html

James

14

James Britt wrote:

daz wrote:

> Factoid: IIUC, -- Knuth is pronounced [[WRONG]`new-t`]

Ka-NOOTH.

No silent letters.

http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/faq.html

Oh, wow. Thanks.

My source is a Maths Graduate / C.S. ex-colleague
(an email of fury has been dispatched).

daz

15

daz wrote:

James Britt wrote:
> daz wrote:
>
> > Factoid: IIUC, -- Knuth is pronounced [[WRONG]`new-t`]
>
> Ka-NOOTH.
>
> No silent letters.
>
> http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/faq.html
>

Oh, wow. Thanks.

My source is a Maths Graduate / C.S. ex-colleague
(an email of fury has been dispatched).

daz

Think of King Canute (spelled Knut in Norway).