4 ms·

What is the best RoR book for beginners? Best online resources?

4 points by ballred 19y ago

madanella 19y ago
http://poignantguide.net/ruby/ http://poignantguide.net/ruby/ is one of the most entertaining writings I have read, not just out of technical books, overall. Highly recommended. Rolling On Rails from OnLamp is a very quick and useful tutorial found here: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html This is the easiest and fastest way to get started: http://tryruby.hobix.com/ http://tryruby.hobix.com/
- grahamr 19y ago
  Use this tutorial from oreilly/onlamp instead: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/12/14/revisiting-ruby-on-rails-revisited.html http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/12/14/revisiting-ruby-on-rails-revisited.html It's nearly 2 years more recent and up-to-date with Rails changes.
dawie 19y ago
By far the best: Agile Web Development with RailsSecond Edition http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ DHH wrote it.
- dawie 19y ago
  Ruby for Rails is a good one too. I haven't read it though. http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Rails-Techniques-Developers/dp/1932394699 http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Rails-Techniques-Developers/dp/1932394699
grahamr 19y ago
I highly recommend the Lynda.com online training for rails: http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modListing.asp?sid=229 http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modListing.asp?sid=229 It does a great job of explaining the theory of rails and is a great intro to ruby as well. Obviously Agile Web Development with Rails is the bible of RoR books: http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ I'd personally be wary of many of the RoR tutorials you'll find online: none of the ones I used did a good job of explaining rails at the conceptual level: you'll end up with a rails app from the tutorial, but limited understanding of what you did and why. Updated: This page has a good selection of relevant books: http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Ruby-and-Rails-Books-the-essential http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Ruby-and-Rails-Books-the-essential My opinion is that one should begin with a Rails-specific book or tutorial and not feel the need to learn Ruby first. Much of rails code is specific to rails and, while you'll want to master Ruby eventually, you'll get enough from the Rails books.
- jamongkad 19y ago
  I second the thought on getting Agile Web Development with Rails. Best damn book I've ever bought concerning Rails. It is true that there is code specific for Rails(which kinda peeves me from my comfortable Ruby shell) but I highly recommend you learn Ruby first just to get the feel of programming in it. I must say coming from Java(ugh) programming is Ruby is such a pleasure. As long as you can think idiomatically then you're pretty much set!
jkush 19y ago
http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/article/1816/top-ruby-on-rails-tutorials http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/article/1816/top-ruby-on-rails-tutorials List of 12 very good tutorials.
briandon 19y ago
I've heard good things about 'Ruby on Rails: Up and Running': http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyrails/ http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyrails/
martin 19y ago
"Ruby for Rails" by David A. Black is a good choice if you're new to Ruby as well as Rails. It spends a lot of time on Ruby fundamentals and only brings in the Rails stuff after having explained the necessary bits of the language so that it actually makes sense. I read the Agile book first, and as a Ruby newbie, it gave me only a very vague understanding of the language. R4R did a much better job of that.
- rjb 19y ago
  I have to second this. "Ruby for Rails", I feel, is a great resource for learning not only the Ruby language, but how to program with it. It really did not need the Rails section. I've only flipped through "Beginning Ruby" (apress), but that looks like a good Ruby book too.

4 points by ballred 19y ago

http://poignantguide.net/ruby/ http://poignantguide.net/ruby/ is one of the most entertaining writings I have read, not just out of technical books, overall. Highly recommended. Rolling On Rails from OnLamp is a very quick and useful tutorial found here: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html This is the easiest and fastest way to get started: http://tryruby.hobix.com/ http://tryruby.hobix.com/

grahamr 19y ago
Use this tutorial from oreilly/onlamp instead: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/12/14/revisiting-ruby-on-rails-revisited.html http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/12/14/revisiting-ruby-on-rails-revisited.html It's nearly 2 years more recent and up-to-date with Rails changes.

dawie 19y ago

By far the best: Agile Web Development with RailsSecond Edition http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ DHH wrote it.

dawie 19y ago
Ruby for Rails is a good one too. I haven't read it though. http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Rails-Techniques-Developers/dp/1932394699 http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Rails-Techniques-Developers/dp/1932394699

grahamr 19y ago

I highly recommend the Lynda.com online training for rails: http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modListing.asp?sid=229 http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modListing.asp?sid=229 It does a great job of explaining the theory of rails and is a great intro to ruby as well. Obviously Agile Web Development with Rails is the bible of RoR books: http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rails2/ I'd personally be wary of many of the RoR tutorials you'll find online: none of the ones I used did a good job of explaining rails at the conceptual level: you'll end up with a rails app from the tutorial, but limited understanding of what you did and why. Updated: This page has a good selection of relevant books: http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Ruby-and-Rails-Books-the-essential http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Ruby-and-Rails-Books-the-essential My opinion is that one should begin with a Rails-specific book or tutorial and not feel the need to learn Ruby first. Much of rails code is specific to rails and, while you'll want to master Ruby eventually, you'll get enough from the Rails books.

jamongkad 19y ago
I second the thought on getting Agile Web Development with Rails. Best damn book I've ever bought concerning Rails. It is true that there is code specific for Rails(which kinda peeves me from my comfortable Ruby shell) but I highly recommend you learn Ruby first just to get the feel of programming in it. I must say coming from Java(ugh) programming is Ruby is such a pleasure. As long as you can think idiomatically then you're pretty much set!

jkush 19y ago

http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/article/1816/top-ruby-on-rails-tutorials http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/article/1816/top-ruby-on-rails-tutorials List of 12 very good tutorials.

briandon 19y ago

I've heard good things about 'Ruby on Rails: Up and Running': http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyrails/ http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rubyrails/

martin 19y ago

"Ruby for Rails" by David A. Black is a good choice if you're new to Ruby as well as Rails. It spends a lot of time on Ruby fundamentals and only brings in the Rails stuff after having explained the necessary bits of the language so that it actually makes sense. I read the Agile book first, and as a Ruby newbie, it gave me only a very vague understanding of the language. R4R did a much better job of that.

rjb 19y ago
I have to second this. "Ruby for Rails", I feel, is a great resource for learning not only the Ruby language, but how to program with it. It really did not need the Rails section. I've only flipped through "Beginning Ruby" (apress), but that looks like a good Ruby book too.