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Ask HN: How much Ruby do I need to learn before moving into Rails?

Is there a learning track with topics that are needed to be learned as preparation for starting with Rails?

wadkar 7y ago
Not much, I actually learnt RoR before I got into Ruby. The basic syntax is simple and you don’t need much Ruby magic to get a typical CRUD app up and running in RoR.
- rodolphoarruda 7y ago
  Got it, thanks. And that's good to know. I was learning Python to transition into Django so I could develop a CRUD web app. I realized it would take me longer than I expected to get to the basics. A friend of mine suggested that I tried the same project in RoR, but starting with Ruby as its "foundations". I bought this pretentious book "Ruby, from novice to professional", and so far I think the language is beautiful. Thanks
sellingwebsite 7y ago
If you know other programming languages, especially object oriented ones, I'd recommend spending a couple days on Ruby. Line between Rails and Ruby is kinda blurry * Have a look at the syntax: https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/ https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/ * Work through the Ruby koans: https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans * If you have time or desire, look through the Poignant's Guide to Ruby: https://poignant.guide https://poignant.guide It is a wonderful language. Good luck.
- rodolphoarruda 7y ago
  Thanks for the references. I'll check them out. > It is a wonderful language. That was my first impression. Now I want to learn more to be productive.
dyeje 7y ago
I think you can just dive in personally. If you want some prep work, read through Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby to grasp the basics.
- rodolphoarruda 7y ago
  I tried to read it but since English is not my first language I found it particularly hard to understand because of its allegories, which I had to decode at the same time I'm organizing Ruby inside my head. I will leave it to a further stage of my learning. Thanks
AlchemistCamp 7y ago
This guide is enough, and it's an excellent primer: https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/
mud_dauber 7y ago
I dove into Rails before really learning Ruby. Agree with other commenters - if you have exp with other languages, take a little time to recognize the nomenclature: http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting
haidrali 7y ago
http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-rails/ http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-rails/
burlesona 7y ago
You don’t really need to know any Ruby to do Rails. It’s so much it’s own ecosystem that you’ll end up learning Rails-flavored Ruby no matter what you do. That being said, vanilla Ruby is a real joy and you’ll be a better developer if you do take the time to learn it deeply. One fun source of lessons is Ruby Tapas, which is a subscription video “channel” that presents tons of best practices and neat tricks in short ~5’ videos. I highly recommend subscribing for a month and plowing through the back catalog :)
- rodolphoarruda 7y ago
  Generally speaking, tapas are always good. I will check them out. Thanks!
siriniok 7y ago
I'd recommend to get some confidence with Ruby before moving to Rails. It's better to spend 2-3 months learning Ruby and then focus on learning Rails, than struggle with both right from the start. When people say that you can learn only basics of Ruby in few days and then move to Rails, they are right, you can, but this way you will learn two things in parallel, and it's pretty exhausting. So this doubtfully will save you any time.
lmiller1990 7y ago
I learned them together as my first web development lang/framework, coming from C for microprocessors. I used the excellent Rails Tutorial [0] by Hartl. Just look up things you don't know/understand as you go - he also introduces Ruby in chapter 4 though, so you should be fine. [0] https://www.railstutorial.org/ https://www.railstutorial.org/
andrei_says_ 7y ago
Try ruby kickstart, CS puzzles introducing you to the language. Fun and addictive, will bring you up to speed in less than a week. https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart
karmakaze 7y ago
I learned both Ruby and RoR simultaneously on the job and somehow managed to avoid the pitfall of confusing the two. Maybe it's my interest in languages that makes me look at the note on the doc page that indicates it part of ActiveSomethingOrOther vs Ruby since version x. I don't know if it will matter for you, but I've found it useful to know what it is that I know. If this seems like you then pay attention to those notes whenever you see them mentioned. I don't specifically look for it but if mentioned on a doc page or StackOverflow comment will pick up on it.

Is there a learning track with topics that are needed to be learned as preparation for starting with Rails?

Not much, I actually learnt RoR before I got into Ruby. The basic syntax is simple and you don’t need much Ruby magic to get a typical CRUD app up and running in RoR.

rodolphoarruda 7y ago
Got it, thanks. And that's good to know. I was learning Python to transition into Django so I could develop a CRUD web app. I realized it would take me longer than I expected to get to the basics. A friend of mine suggested that I tried the same project in RoR, but starting with Ruby as its "foundations". I bought this pretentious book "Ruby, from novice to professional", and so far I think the language is beautiful. Thanks

sellingwebsite 7y ago

If you know other programming languages, especially object oriented ones, I'd recommend spending a couple days on Ruby. Line between Rails and Ruby is kinda blurry * Have a look at the syntax: https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/ https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/ * Work through the Ruby koans: https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans * If you have time or desire, look through the Poignant's Guide to Ruby: https://poignant.guide https://poignant.guide It is a wonderful language. Good luck.

rodolphoarruda 7y ago
Thanks for the references. I'll check them out. > It is a wonderful language. That was my first impression. Now I want to learn more to be productive.

dyeje 7y ago

I think you can just dive in personally. If you want some prep work, read through Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby to grasp the basics.

rodolphoarruda 7y ago
I tried to read it but since English is not my first language I found it particularly hard to understand because of its allegories, which I had to decode at the same time I'm organizing Ruby inside my head. I will leave it to a further stage of my learning. Thanks

AlchemistCamp 7y ago

This guide is enough, and it's an excellent primer: https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/

mud_dauber 7y ago

I dove into Rails before really learning Ruby. Agree with other commenters - if you have exp with other languages, take a little time to recognize the nomenclature: http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting

haidrali 7y ago

http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-rails/ http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-rails/

burlesona 7y ago

You don’t really need to know any Ruby to do Rails. It’s so much it’s own ecosystem that you’ll end up learning Rails-flavored Ruby no matter what you do. That being said, vanilla Ruby is a real joy and you’ll be a better developer if you do take the time to learn it deeply. One fun source of lessons is Ruby Tapas, which is a subscription video “channel” that presents tons of best practices and neat tricks in short ~5’ videos. I highly recommend subscribing for a month and plowing through the back catalog :)

rodolphoarruda 7y ago
Generally speaking, tapas are always good. I will check them out. Thanks!

siriniok 7y ago

I'd recommend to get some confidence with Ruby before moving to Rails. It's better to spend 2-3 months learning Ruby and then focus on learning Rails, than struggle with both right from the start. When people say that you can learn only basics of Ruby in few days and then move to Rails, they are right, you can, but this way you will learn two things in parallel, and it's pretty exhausting. So this doubtfully will save you any time.

lmiller1990 7y ago

I learned them together as my first web development lang/framework, coming from C for microprocessors. I used the excellent Rails Tutorial [0] by Hartl. Just look up things you don't know/understand as you go - he also introduces Ruby in chapter 4 though, so you should be fine. [0] https://www.railstutorial.org/ https://www.railstutorial.org/

andrei_says_ 7y ago

Try ruby kickstart, CS puzzles introducing you to the language. Fun and addictive, will bring you up to speed in less than a week. https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart

karmakaze 7y ago

I learned both Ruby and RoR simultaneously on the job and somehow managed to avoid the pitfall of confusing the two. Maybe it's my interest in languages that makes me look at the note on the doc page that indicates it part of ActiveSomethingOrOther vs Ruby since version x. I don't know if it will matter for you, but I've found it useful to know what it is that I know. If this seems like you then pay attention to those notes whenever you see them mentioned. I don't specifically look for it but if mentioned on a doc page or StackOverflow comment will pick up on it.