Name: Everyday Scripting with Ruby
ISBN: 9780977616619

What Hacker News says

aspirJun 2011

In line with this article, I've been learning how to program as rapidly as possible. I'm a sales lead for a startup with a heavy Ruby use, as well as a little C, C++, and JS.

I can tell you it isn't easy, but its worth it. I'm better at my job because I now can study the product line by line, and I am also able to script mundane tasks like lead gathering via web scraping.

But -- once again, it's not easy or quick to do it right -- get ready for a marathon and befriend as many people at local user groups as possible. Even people working in langages you don't plan on learning and in industries you'll never go in to (you never really know what languages or industries you'll be working in 10 years later anyway). I wouldn't be able to do it without the input of my local ruby group, my coworkers, and some friends I met at our office space at a mid-sized coworking facility.

To answer a potential next question: the resources I've been using/have in my queue are as follows (keep in mind I've been trying to learn full stack web dev rather than just one language):

For Ruby/Rails:

-Agile web dev with rails (practically required these days)

-Code School's Rails for Zombies (Amazing, free, and the right amount of tough for a newbie -- I plan on buying their Jquery lineup soon)

-Michael Hartl's Rails Tutorial Screencasts (I'm definitely a video guy, and you get a discount for completing R4Z)

-Crafting Rails Applications (Takes your perception of rails to another level)

-Programming Ruby 1.9 (You'll have to learn Ruby eventually, might as well learn from one of the best)

-Ruby Best Practices (Its free, darn good, and Greg Brown's a pretty cool dude from what I can gather)

-The Ruby5 podcast (It's 5 minutes, and gives you a great survey of all of the cool widget gems and the large development undertakings within the community)

-Ruby Rogues Podcast (I know one of the brains behind this podcast, so I listen. It's 75% over my head, but the 25% I do get is amazing.)

-Everyday scripting with Ruby (This book is for the audience that the author of this article describes. If you have an annoying, repeated task you're doing, make the computer do the heavy lifting.)

Non-Rails/Ruby:

-Carsonified's ThinkVitamin Membership (Absolutely the best tutorial vids I've ever seen. Short, clear, info heavy, and very quickly retained. I feel like I'm in The Matrix when I'm watching their stuff. There's actually some good stuff for Sinatra, Django, and WordPress here too)

-PG's On Lisp (I have no intention of building Lisp applications, but the book is amazingly written, and interlaced with PG's manifesto for quick, high quality development. Lisp is his weapon of choice but many of the principles here are rock solid regardless of the medium the artist chooses. Plus it's free.)

-5by5 Podcasts, particularly "Lets Make Mistakes" (They're design podcasts, and the professional design industry is particularly adept and finding client and consumer "pains" and fixing them. Plus, you will eventually have to make your products not look like crap)

I apologize for the long post, but if I were reading this thread 6-8 months ago, I would've killed for a list like this. To the "biz guys" looking to learn: you can't go wrong, in my opinion, with the above list at all. If you're low on cash, some of these resources are free, but every dollar I've paid has been money very well spent.

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apotheonOct 2010

I found Ruby itself a lot easier to learn than Rails, actually. Try doing some plain ol' Ruby learning instead.

You know at least a little programming, so I'd recommend starting with Everyday Scripting With Ruby rather than with Learning Ruby.

I don't know much about the more recent editions of Agile Web Development With Rails, but I have a copy of the first edition. In it, Appendix A is Introduction to Ruby. That introduction is about useless to someone who doesn't know any programming, but provides an easy, quick familiarization with the basics of how Ruby (the language, as opposed to Rails the framework) works. If you have access to a copy of the book that has such an Introduction to Ruby appendix, combining that with Everyday Scripting With Ruby makes for a very effective start in the language for those who already dabble in programming.

I'd recommend starting out on a Unix-like platform, and using Ruby to automate small tasks as a way to get used to using the language. While you're at it, learn the OptParse core library, which is great for adding command line option handling to your utilities, as well as help output.

If you want to migrate from there to simple Web coding, you do not necessarily have to jump straight into Rails or any other framework. You can do CGI programming in Ruby, or you can use eruby to do template-based development much like the basic means of using PHP on most Webhosts.

edit: Wow. Maybe I should write a book introducing people to Ruby.

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apotheonSep 2009

The "best way" depends on your current skills, really. Ordered by increasing levels of programming skill, I'd say you should start with one of the following:

1. Learn to Program by Chris Pine

2. Everyday Scripting with Ruby by Brian Marick

3. Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt

An excellent book to build your skills and internalize the common Ruby idioms is The Ruby Way by Hal Fulton.

As others have mentioned, Agile Web Development with Rails is The Book to use for learning Rails.

Of the above, the only book I don't have in one form or another is Chris Pine's (because it is, frankly, well below my skill level). There's an online tutorial by the same name, by the same guy, that can perhaps serve as a substitute -- but the book is much more complete, so if that's suitable to your skill level, I recommend getting the book.

Best o' luck! Ruby is a lot of fun.

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apotheonSep 2009

Testing is one reason I think Everyday Scripting with Ruby is such a great book: while it's for someone with a casual acquaintance with programming, it still manages to teach TDD with Ruby in a clear, helpful manner that actually helps the reader internalize it such that the knowledge doesn't just evaporate when the book is done.

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