Reddit reviews The Well-Grounded Rubyist: Covers Ruby 1.9.1
We found 12 Reddit comments about The Well-Grounded Rubyist: Covers Ruby 1.9.1. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
Sidebar
Moderation
Remove link/blog-spam. It's kind of pointless to read a summary on RubyInside, when I can read the original full-article written by the primary-author/project-lead on their own blog. Summaries of complex issues which span multiple blog-posts are OK though, I enjoy reading those.
Also, please no more articles about simple things like recursion or Arrays (that's what TryRuby and RubyKoans are for).
What's this about a Contest? Sounds fun.
There is no "best" language for beginning learning but Python is definitely one of the "better" ones you can use in starting out. It has consistent syntax, nicely format, and low overhead needed. Ruby is has a similar style to Python and is also a good language for beginners to learn. Other people can argue that Smalltalk is a good language for beginners and then you have people all the way on the FP side of the spectrum arguing for Lisp/Scheme as a teaching language.
As for Python books I would recommend Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science
If you want to try Ruby I recommend The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Missed The Well Grounded Rubyist which is an excellent book, though not as well known as it came late in the Ruby hype cycle.
Ruby and Python are both mature languages with similar and overlapping user bases. There's not a whole lot different between them, and plenty of cross-polination. Learning to use Ruby effectively will probably make you overall a better programmer, and also help you understand Python better, much as learning Spanish will enhance your understanding of French.
If you decide to keep trying Ruby, I'll make a plug for a book written by a friend of mine: The Well-Grounded Rubyist by David Black. It is a fantastic grounding in Ruby and isn't specifically about Rails at all (I don't even recall if its mentioned)
All that being said, you probably shouldn't bother doing things that you're not enjoying if you don't have any pressing reason to do so. Dig deep into python if that's what you're digging. Just don't become a language bigot, because there's already enough of those to go around.
Ruby by Example
Design Patterns
Well Grounded Rubyist
by the time you finish those three.. you will know what you want to move to.
The Well Grounded Rubyist is a good desktop reference.
>Hi /r/learnprogramming. I started programming 6 months ago, going from zero programming knowledge to having my pick at several NYC start-up web developer job offers. I got started by reading /r/learnprogramming, but eventually began building projects, participating in open source, reading books, and pair programming with other developers.
>
>To express my gratitude for this community and the impact it’s had on my path to becoming a developer, I’d like to share with you the steps I took.
>
> 
>
>1. HTML/CSS
>
>Resources:
>
> W3Schools
> HTML/CSS by Jon Duckett
>
>I had a head start with HTML and CSS because I worked as a product designer in college. Jon Duckett's book was a great resource for the fundamentals. To practice, I worked on my personal website’s HTML and CSS.
>
> 
>
>2. JavaScript / jQuery / AJAX
>
>Resources: Eloquent JavaScript
>
>This book is very good for beginners, as it teaches JavaScript step by step, from basic syntax, all the way to higher-order functions, object orientation, algorithms, and jQuery. It's very clear and well written; I never had to look anything up on Google while reading. It also gave me many ideas for projects to build for my portfolio.
>
>When you want to animate elements on your webpage, jQuery is the tool to use. I also learned this by reading StackOverflow answers and the jQuery documentation. You don't have to learn this before you get a web page up on the Internet, but you will need it eventually. AJAX lets you make asynchronous web calls, which allows you to change the DOM (the elements on the web page) without refreshing the page, allowing for a smoother user experience.
>
>To sharpen my JavaScript knowledge, I added animations to my website, and made a table whose cells change to a randomly generated color when clicked. I eventually refactored the hex code generation to a Ruby gem, then used AJAX calls to retrieve the data from the server — in a Ruby on Rails app.
>
> 
>
>3. Git
>
>Resources:
>
> StackOverflow
> Pair programming
>
>Git is how developers save and share their work, and collaborate with each other.
>
>While Git is a very complex tool, there are only four basic commands you really need to be effective from the start. "status", "add", "commit", "push". These four commands will be like your arms and legs because you type them tens of times everyday. If you find yourself needing to do something fancier, then StackOverflow likely has the answer.
>
>Since you can’t really practice Git on its own, the only way to become comfortable with it is by incorporating it into your development workflow.
>
> 
>
>4. Ruby
>
>Learn to Program by Chris Pine
>
>This book is structured like Eloquent JavaScript, except for Ruby. It was a great introduction to the Ruby language because the author wrote the book for total beginners.
>
>The Well Grounded Rubyist by David A. Black
>
>This book builds upon your basic Ruby knowledge. It's gives a very in-depth look at Ruby's core API, including syntactic sugar, metaprogramming, and other Rubyisms.
>
>To hone in on my Ruby skills, I worked on a number of projects. I started with easy problems on Project Euler, then worked my way up to solving harder ones, like Hangman, 24, and Sudoku.
>
> 
>
>5. Twitter Bootstrap
>
>This is used to quickly stylize web pages. I learned by watching Youtube videos, reading other peoples’ code on GitHub, and the official Bootstrap documentation. This is a great tool that everyone web developer needs to learn to use.
>
>Once I read a bit about Bootstrap, I added it to my own personal website to get some practice and to make it look better.
>
> 
>
>6. SQL
>
>Resources: SQLzoo.com
>
>SQLzoo is great because it encourages learning by doing.
>
>I went light on SQL because I knew about ActiveRecord, a tool available in Rails that lets us query our database with plain old Ruby.
>
> 
>
>7. Ruby on Rails + Testing
>
>Resources:
>
> One Month Rails
> Rails 4 in Action
>* Everyday Rails Testing with RSpec
>
>One Month Rails was the perfect introduction to Ruby on Rails because it doesn’t go deeply into technical details. I think it’s designed for entrepreneurs who just want to get an idea off the ground quickly. It made the content in Rails 4 in Action feel familiar.
>
>Rails 4 in action, although a bit frustrating at times because it’s outdated, walks readers through a test-driven approach to the building of a ticket management app.
>
>After reading as much of this book as I could, a friend of mine helped me revisit all of my old Ruby applications and test them.
>
>Although these resources were immensely helpful, I think having the mentorship of another developer made a greater difference in my learning. I had a friend who pair-programmed with me daily, reviewed my code, and showed me how to think like a software developer.
>
>If you're interested in learning more, you can visit Ruby on Richards and sign up for the free mailing list where I'm sharing a more detailed walkthrough of the path to becoming a professional web developer. There are also things you pay for, but the in-depth guide is free.
>
>Cheers.
Answers to follow, but try to make sure that you're not being overzealous in your attempts to learn Ruby. Questions about general code methodology are good, but in order to really understand and apply them you'll have to have a pretty solid grasp on the basics.
Despite how it may seem, you might be making it harder on yourself by trying to "skip ahead" and start applying later concepts early on.
There's a reason the first program most people write doesn't involve creating a Person class that responds to greet_with_hello(world).
If you've simply finished the Rails tutorial and want some Ruby experience, I'd recommend giving The Well-Grounded Rubyist a try. Many people in your position have done very well by it, and it will teach you what you need to know as you need to know it.
But as for your actual questions.
>What is the best resource to learn general code methodology and syntax, language agnostic. I'm picking things up what I would consider to be pretty quickly, but I know being able to learn about general themes and syntax of coding would help immensely.
Syntax is inherently tied to the language you're using. While there are similarities between some languages, there's no general "Guide to Syntax" that you would need to worry about. Happily, many people find that syntax is the easiest thing to pick up while learning an additional language. The general concepts are what you learn the first time, and then you learn "How do you do loops in C++ again?"
So don't worry about syntax.
However, Ruby does have the Ruby Style Guide that will answer questions about how to make your code look. As you'll find is the case with many things in Ruby, the style guide is not written in stone. It's just a good idea, most of the time.
With that out of the way, we can move on to things that are not language specific. Well, sort of.
Data Structures, Algorithms, and Design Patterns are established ways of doing or handling certain tasks. In theory/abstract, these are language agnostic. In practice, application or use can vary between languages.
There are a handful of decent books that will instruct you on advanced data structures and algorithms. I would visit /r/learnprogramming and peruse their sidebar for recommendations. That being said, I have yet to find a book written with examples in Ruby though. If you're completely unfamiliar with other languages then you might want to find something that deals in some sort of pseudocode.
It might be difficult to translate the concepts that are presented in pseudocode (or whatever language the book chooses) into Ruby. Especially if you are not decently comfortable with solving problems in Ruby, and thinking about problems in Ruby.
However, there are some books out there on how to design things in Ruby. They happen to be really good books too. I've honestly lost count of how many times I've recommended them, let alone how many time I've seen them recommended.
Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby will essentially guide you through learning what should and should not go into an object, and when to make those decisions. It is an eminently readable book, and conveys the information in concise and graspable fashion.
But if you're not in a position where you're really comfortable with the idea of what Objects are, and how you create/use them in Ruby, this book might be best saved for after you get a handle on the basics of that stuff.
In fact, most people seem to get the most benefit out of this book after they should have already read (and heeded) it. Sort of a situation where the right way makes the most sense only after you've been doing it the wrong way.
Secondly, Design Patterns in Ruby will show you how several common ways of doing things are utilized in Ruby. Personally, I read POODR before Design Patterns in Ruby, but I'm not aware of any reason read them in any particular order.
I'll reiterate that both of these books have general design concepts inside of them, but that they are dyed-in-the-wool Ruby books. You will absolutely learn things that you can take elsewhere, but it won't come to you in a purely abstracted manner.
>Is there a list of all the predefined calls in Ruby that I can find somewhere. Occasionally I write to do something only to find out that I'm breaking down a process that is shortened already. I'm sure these are commonplace for people who have coding experience before starting Ruby, but that's not a luxury that I'm afforded.
Absolutely! It's at Ruby Docs.
Don't get yourself down on this one. In this very particular case you might be a little better off than someone that has a bunch of programming experience in other languages.
Why you ask?
Lots of people aren't necessarily expecting the ease in which you can cause things to happen in Ruby with just a few method calls. They are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more used to breaking things down into smaller problems as a matter of necessity than you are. So congrats! Fewer habits to break there!
You can actually just google "ruby docs class-name" for whatever class you're working with to see what methods are available to you out of the box and what those methods do.
As a recommendation, I'd get pretty familiar with the module Enumerable, and check out the Array class. You'll end up using those a lot.
Like a whole lot.
In case you're curious, the awesomeness found in Enumerable is usually where people with prior programming experience tend to make things harder on themselves, because they're use to things being harder on them. A one line split, sort, and join is just a thing of beauty.
>Lastly if there was anything that really helped you that I didn't mention I'm open to any suggestions really.
In all honesty, what really helped me the most in learning Ruby was getting really comfortable with the syntax, and then learning what to do after that.
RubyMonk is probably one of the best places I've used to get a guide through Ruby, even advanced topics.
CodeWars is a good way to give your mind a nice stretch and workout. You'll just solve little problems that force you to make sure you know how to use Ruby when you need it.
After you're comfortable with the language, start making some small projects.
Games are usually a good first start. They have clearly defined rules and orders of events, as well as lots of things that are easy to recognize as objects.
Black Jack, Tic-Tac-Toe, MasterMind, BattleShip, and Chess are all pretty good projects to work on, and maybe in that order too.
Somewhere around then end of Tic-Tac-Toe or MasterMind I'd probably crack open POODR and giving it a read through. The value of all the lessons might not make complete sense at first, but it's that way with everybody. Just trust the author and go along with it.
Lastly, and I can not stress this enough, learn how to write and use tests for your code.
I know. It seems like tests are a waste of time. You're writing them before you're even really writing the code. On top of that, you already know how you want to do the thing you want to do, and it'll work!
Trust me. If the thing you're making is at all complicated, write some tests.
If you're ever going to want to change anything about it, write tests for it.
It will save you an incredible amount of time when you start breaking things, and will also give you the confidence that things probably aren't broken after you've fixed them.
Also, feel free to ignore everything I said about not jumping too far ahead. People learn in different ways, and desire to learn in different ways. If you feel like learning more advanced concepts now is going to be way more interesting for you, then you should totally do so.
I can't rave about The Well-Grounded Rubyist enough. Very approachable.
I started out doing TOP, i also read The well grounded rubyist on the side, i got to the ruby on rails part before i decided that i wanted to do FCC/fullstack javascript instead. I got to the intermediate frontend challanges before i quit in favor of personal projects and meteor.js, while also reading Eloquent Javascript.
I made www.vinmonopolet2.meteor.com (ranks alchoholic beverages according to % per liter per money, for the national winemonopoly), also made www.kortmotmenneskehten.meteor.com (online multiplayer for cards against humanity). I am also working on(Finished, just testing left) an ecommerce store.
Freecodecamp has changed a lot since I stopped doing it, so it might have gotten a lot better since i tried it out(6 months). When i started, the javascript tutorials were just links to codecademy.com, which i found lacking, mostly syntax, not really great for learning concepts.
The Well-Grounded Rubyist - Another good book
>Hi /r/learnprogramming. I started programming 6 months ago, going from zero programming knowledge to having my pick at several NYC start-up web developer job offers. I got started by reading /r/learnprogramming, but eventually began building projects, participating in open source, reading books, and pair programming with other developers.
>
>To express my gratitude for this community and the impact it’s had on my path to becoming a developer, I’d like to share with you the steps I took.
>
> 
>
>1. HTML/CSS
>
>Resources:
>
> W3Schools
> HTML/CSS by Jon Duckett
>
>I had a head start with HTML and CSS because I worked as a product designer in college. Jon Duckett's book was a great resource for the fundamentals. To practice, I worked on my personal website’s HTML and CSS.
>
> 
>
>2. JavaScript / jQuery / AJAX
>
>Resources: Eloquent JavaScript
>
>This book is very good for beginners, as it teaches JavaScript step by step, from basic syntax, all the way to higher-order functions, object orientation, algorithms, and jQuery. It's very clear and well written; I never had to look anything up on Google while reading. It also gave me many ideas for projects to build for my portfolio.
>
>When you want to animate elements on your webpage, jQuery is the tool to use. I also learned this by reading StackOverflow answers and the jQuery documentation. You don't have to learn this before you get a web page up on the Internet, but you will need it eventually. AJAX lets you make asynchronous web calls, which allows you to change the DOM (the elements on the web page) without refreshing the page, allowing for a smoother user experience.
>
>To sharpen my JavaScript knowledge, I added animations to my website, and made a table whose cells change to a randomly generated color when clicked. I eventually refactored the hex code generation to a Ruby gem, then used AJAX calls to retrieve the data from the server — in a Ruby on Rails app.
>
> 
>
>3. Git
>
>Resources:
>
> StackOverflow
> Pair programming
>
>Git is how developers save and share their work, and collaborate with each other.
>
>While Git is a very complex tool, there are only four basic commands you really need to be effective from the start. "status", "add", "commit", "push". These four commands will be like your arms and legs because you type them tens of times everyday. If you find yourself needing to do something fancier, then StackOverflow likely has the answer.
>
>Since you can’t really practice Git on its own, the only way to become comfortable with it is by incorporating it into your development workflow.
>
> 
>
>4. Ruby
>
>Learn to Program by Chris Pine
>
>This book is structured like Eloquent JavaScript, except for Ruby. It was a great introduction to the Ruby language because the author wrote the book for total beginners.
>
>The Well Grounded Rubyist by David A. Black
>
>This book builds upon your basic Ruby knowledge. It's gives a very in-depth look at Ruby's core API, including syntactic sugar, metaprogramming, and other Rubyisms.
>
>To hone in on my Ruby skills, I worked on a number of projects. I started with easy problems on Project Euler, then worked my way up to solving harder ones, like Hangman, 24, and Sudoku.
>
> 
>
>5. Twitter Bootstrap
>
>This is used to quickly stylize web pages. I learned by watching Youtube videos, reading other peoples’ code on GitHub, and the official Bootstrap documentation. This is a great tool that everyone web developer needs to learn to use.
>
>Once I read a bit about Bootstrap, I added it to my own personal website to get some practice and to make it look better.
>
> 
>
>6. SQL
>
>Resources: SQLzoo.com
>
>SQLzoo is great because it encourages learning by doing.
>
>I went light on SQL because I knew about ActiveRecord, a tool available in Rails that lets us query our database with plain old Ruby.
>
> 
>
>7. Ruby on Rails + Testing
>
>Resources:
>
> One Month Rails
> Rails 4 in Action
>* Everyday Rails Testing with RSpec
>
>One Month Rails was the perfect introduction to Ruby on Rails because it doesn’t go deeply into technical details. I think it’s designed for entrepreneurs who just want to get an idea off the ground quickly. It made the content in Rails 4 in Action feel familiar.
>
>Rails 4 in action, although a bit frustrating at times because it’s outdated, walks readers through a test-driven approach to the building of a ticket management app.
>
>After reading as much of this book as I could, a friend of mine helped me revisit all of my old Ruby applications and test them.
>
>Although these resources were immensely helpful, I think having the mentorship of another developer made a greater difference in my learning. I had a friend who pair-programmed with me daily, reviewed my code, and showed me how to think like a software developer.
>
>If you're interested in learning more, you can visit Ruby on Richards and sign up for the free mailing list where I'm sharing a more detailed walkthrough of the path to becoming a professional web developer. There are also things you pay for, but the in-depth guide is free.
>
>Cheers.