4 ms·

Ask HN: learning Ruby/Rails

20 points by gdberrio 16y ago

What advice would you give for someone with a Non-CS background (economics, to be precise) wanting to learn Ruby & Rails?

jsavimbi 16y ago
Your first stop should be to Rails for Zombies (http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/), buy Michael Hartl's book Ruby on Rails Tutorial (http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book), Learn to Program by Chris Pine (http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/) and also start learning Ruby (http://pragprog.com/titles/ruby/programming-ruby http://pragprog.com/titles/ruby/programming-ruby). Also, sign up to GitHub and Heroku, locate Ruby and/or Rails meetups close to you, follow the Ruby/Rails community via Twitter, podcasts, blogs. But most importantly, start building and deploying apps right away, no matter how small or trivial they may be. Also, Sinatra (http://www.sinatrarb.com/ http://www.sinatrarb.com/)
thekevan 16y ago
This is sort of a link dump but with some clicking around you should find some good stuff. Good luck! http://rubyonrails.org/screencasts http://rubyonrails.org/screencasts http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/ http://www.workingwithrails.com/ http://www.workingwithrails.com/ http://www.railsmentors.org/ http://www.railsmentors.org/ http://blog.envylabs.com/2010/12/rails-3-cheat-sheets/ http://blog.envylabs.com/2010/12/rails-3-cheat-sheets/ http://stackoverflow.com/questions/55574/learning-ruby-on-rails http://stackoverflow.com/questions/55574/learning-ruby-on-ra... http://railstips.org/blog/archives/2010/10/14/stop-googling/ http://railstips.org/blog/archives/2010/10/14/stop-googling/
jorkos 16y ago
I'm starting to learn as well, thanks for the links guys
TheOnyx 16y ago
Ruby Koans is a great tool for learning Ruby in general as well as its quirks and differences with other languages. http://rubykoans.com/ http://rubykoans.com/ Basically, it presents you with a battery of broken tests. Your goal is to reach enlightenment by fixing them. The first ones are simple to fix and teach you simple concepts as you do so. As you go, complexity increases. It's a great tool for someone new to Ruby and Rails as you will want a solid understanding of the language if you will be using a framework on which the language is based. Plus, it reinforces how automated testing can be a valuable tool.
- sane_delirium 16y ago
  This was interesting to try as someone who's never touched ruby before, it begins seemingly simple but gets quite complex. Does this really target beginners, or am I an idiot?
  - anthonycerra 16y ago
    If you're an idiot, so am I. It gets really tough.
Rhodee 16y ago
Same here. Thanks for the links. I am specifically interesting in learning Ruby THEN Rails. The other way feels backwards, but that might just be me. I digress-I have a basic, I mean real basic question-what is a recommended environment to start coding ruby projects? I use XAMPP and Aptana for my front end coding (CSS/HTML) and then render in browser. How do I do replicate that work flow with Ruby source (and integrate it with my front-end code)? Lame, I know. But hey stupid questions are the one's you don't ask. UPDATE: rubykoans answered my editor question. Ruby resources still appreciated!
ayb 16y ago
If you're just starting out with Ruby I strongly recommend the book "Ruby for Rails" by David A. Black. It teaches you Ruby and shows you how Rubyisms work with Rails.
Baadier 16y ago
Great stuff,I just started getting interested in learning Ruby and theirs some gems in here, excuse the pun.
marklabedz 16y ago
I messed around for a while on http://hackety-hack.com/ http://hackety-hack.com/ and now I'm playing with Ruby Koans also. EDIT: Forgot that I first started with http://tryruby.org/ http://tryruby.org/
Dramatize 16y ago
I've found the Lynda.com video tuts great for a quick overview. Also: http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ and http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book
aliukani 16y ago
TryRuby.org (http://tryruby.org http://tryruby.org) was what I started with. When you're more comfortable with Ruby and want to get started with Rails, get a Heroku (http://heroku.com http://heroku.com) account to play around with and check out Rails for Zombies (http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/). I think you'll enjoy Ruby (and RoR). Ruby's a fun language to code in and I found it very beginner-friendly.
gdberrio 16y ago
Tks for all the feedback. This is an awsome list to get started. On to reading & hacking away...
runjake 16y ago
I'm not flaming you here, but you should search HN because this question gets asked at least once a month and there's lots of valuable advice in those. Try Googling 'ruby rails site:news.ycombinator.com' without the quotes. Filter the result for the last year or so, older advice is either wrong or no longer applicable. There's a search on the HN site, but I prefer Google. Definitely focus your efforts on Ruby 1.9 and Rails 3, in any case. Edit: Link! Here's one from 2 days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2329517 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2329517
aihui 16y ago
Everything mentioned here is good. I also like RailsCasts - Ryan does a fantastic job with all his screen casts (http://railscasts.com/ http://railscasts.com/).

20 points by gdberrio 16y ago

What advice would you give for someone with a Non-CS background (economics, to be precise) wanting to learn Ruby & Rails?

jsavimbi 16y ago

Your first stop should be to Rails for Zombies (http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/), buy Michael Hartl's book Ruby on Rails Tutorial (http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book), Learn to Program by Chris Pine (http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/) and also start learning Ruby (http://pragprog.com/titles/ruby/programming-ruby http://pragprog.com/titles/ruby/programming-ruby). Also, sign up to GitHub and Heroku, locate Ruby and/or Rails meetups close to you, follow the Ruby/Rails community via Twitter, podcasts, blogs. But most importantly, start building and deploying apps right away, no matter how small or trivial they may be. Also, Sinatra (http://www.sinatrarb.com/ http://www.sinatrarb.com/)

thekevan 16y ago

This is sort of a link dump but with some clicking around you should find some good stuff. Good luck! http://rubyonrails.org/screencasts http://rubyonrails.org/screencasts http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/ http://www.workingwithrails.com/ http://www.workingwithrails.com/ http://www.railsmentors.org/ http://www.railsmentors.org/ http://blog.envylabs.com/2010/12/rails-3-cheat-sheets/ http://blog.envylabs.com/2010/12/rails-3-cheat-sheets/ http://stackoverflow.com/questions/55574/learning-ruby-on-rails http://stackoverflow.com/questions/55574/learning-ruby-on-ra... http://railstips.org/blog/archives/2010/10/14/stop-googling/ http://railstips.org/blog/archives/2010/10/14/stop-googling/

jorkos 16y ago

I'm starting to learn as well, thanks for the links guys

TheOnyx 16y ago

Ruby Koans is a great tool for learning Ruby in general as well as its quirks and differences with other languages. http://rubykoans.com/ http://rubykoans.com/ Basically, it presents you with a battery of broken tests. Your goal is to reach enlightenment by fixing them. The first ones are simple to fix and teach you simple concepts as you do so. As you go, complexity increases. It's a great tool for someone new to Ruby and Rails as you will want a solid understanding of the language if you will be using a framework on which the language is based. Plus, it reinforces how automated testing can be a valuable tool.

sane_delirium 16y ago
This was interesting to try as someone who's never touched ruby before, it begins seemingly simple but gets quite complex. Does this really target beginners, or am I an idiot?
- anthonycerra 16y ago
  If you're an idiot, so am I. It gets really tough.

Rhodee 16y ago

Same here. Thanks for the links. I am specifically interesting in learning Ruby THEN Rails. The other way feels backwards, but that might just be me. I digress-I have a basic, I mean real basic question-what is a recommended environment to start coding ruby projects? I use XAMPP and Aptana for my front end coding (CSS/HTML) and then render in browser. How do I do replicate that work flow with Ruby source (and integrate it with my front-end code)? Lame, I know. But hey stupid questions are the one's you don't ask. UPDATE: rubykoans answered my editor question. Ruby resources still appreciated!

ayb 16y ago

If you're just starting out with Ruby I strongly recommend the book "Ruby for Rails" by David A. Black. It teaches you Ruby and shows you how Rubyisms work with Rails.

Baadier 16y ago

Great stuff,I just started getting interested in learning Ruby and theirs some gems in here, excuse the pun.

marklabedz 16y ago

I messed around for a while on http://hackety-hack.com/ http://hackety-hack.com/ and now I'm playing with Ruby Koans also. EDIT: Forgot that I first started with http://tryruby.org/ http://tryruby.org/

Dramatize 16y ago

I've found the Lynda.com video tuts great for a quick overview. Also: http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ and http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

aliukani 16y ago

TryRuby.org (http://tryruby.org http://tryruby.org) was what I started with. When you're more comfortable with Ruby and want to get started with Rails, get a Heroku (http://heroku.com http://heroku.com) account to play around with and check out Rails for Zombies (http://railsforzombies.org/ http://railsforzombies.org/). I think you'll enjoy Ruby (and RoR). Ruby's a fun language to code in and I found it very beginner-friendly.

gdberrio 16y ago

Tks for all the feedback. This is an awsome list to get started. On to reading & hacking away...

runjake 16y ago

I'm not flaming you here, but you should search HN because this question gets asked at least once a month and there's lots of valuable advice in those. Try Googling 'ruby rails site:news.ycombinator.com' without the quotes. Filter the result for the last year or so, older advice is either wrong or no longer applicable. There's a search on the HN site, but I prefer Google. Definitely focus your efforts on Ruby 1.9 and Rails 3, in any case. Edit: Link! Here's one from 2 days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2329517 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2329517

aihui 16y ago

Everything mentioned here is good. I also like RailsCasts - Ryan does a fantastic job with all his screen casts (http://railscasts.com/ http://railscasts.com/).