8 ms·
Ask HN: What Are The Best Open Source Codebases to Study to Improve?
I'm familiar with Rails and have built a few simple applications. I'm proficient to the point where basic tutorials no longer add value to my learning, but I have no formal CS background and would like to explore what good rails structure/code looks like.
Though I'm looking for Rails specific suggestions, I made the question nonspecific as i'm sure a cross-platform list would be beneficial for many of us.
- real4real 14y agoi also came out of a non-CS background. I don't recommend just looking at open source code. That would be like watching someone skiing to try to become a better skier. The only way to get better at coding is by writing code. You want to get into a situation with a more experienced programmer who can mentor you when you get stuck and review your code.
- confucius_cat 14y agoI definitely agree about diving into development as the best source of mastering programming, and it's obviously my main method of learning; my question was not intended to come off as an avoidance of hands-on learning, but rather a way to find additional means to accelerate my learning. I have found extensive tutorials online, but they are both redundant and typically aimed at the fundamentals of rails. I constantly run into the advice of "read through code/documentation" but rarely am pointed in the direction of useful repositories to do this. After sifting through github for a bit, I found no easy way to figure out good codebases to read through. I think reading through code is a really valuable supplement to the learning process, especially when dealing with a framework like rails which is so heavily convention based. I find reading through code to be the quickest way of exposing myself to the standard idioms of rails based development.
- colm_h 14y agoThis is a great question. I'm in basically the same position as you - no formal cs background but learning RoR and looking for resources to help me take it to the next level in terms of my coding and development skills. Have you heard of jumpstartlabs? They have an awesome series of tutorials on their site covering stuff like common design patterns to use and how to use workers for background jobs etc. Also, the project is open source so you can contribute to help improve the tutorials: http://tutorials.jumpstartlab.com http://tutorials.jumpstartlab.com
- LarryMade2 14y agoIm not a Rails guy... but If you want good source code, find the most popular Rails project that interests you. Popular projects usually have a high level of refinement and it being something that interests you will make it a bit more interesting. As real4real points out, actual coding is important too, make sure to dabble with things you learned and/or if you think of a novel way to handle something try it out on your own and see how it all works.
- sumeetchawla 14y agoIf you wanted something in PHP, I would have suggested Wordpress. Its the largest and the most popular CMS out there today. I learned a lot by their methodologies and the way they do things or the they the theme architecture is built etc.
- zzzzz_ 14y agoAnything but this! WordPress is an example how NOT to do things!