Well this week, after months of “will I won’t I?”, and “shall I, should I?”, I finally sat down and began to write my first app with Ruby on Rails. And you know what? It was, and is fun!
Admitedly, I haven’t gotten very far, but I do now have a basic understanding of the Ruby language and how Rails works. And I can’t yet say whether I will be saying bye to Cake and PHP. I still want to do more with Rails and really see if I can develop faster and easier.
But what I would like to do right now, is give those of you who were in the same boat as me, who want to learn Rails but don’t know where to start. The following are a list of resources that I have found invaluable in my learning of Ruby and Rails.
Walk before you can run
Some of you may not know this, but Ruby on Rails is not a programming language, it is a framework, or collection of scripts written in the Ruby programming language, that provide faster and enjoyable development. I could tell you to launch straight into Rails, but that would be foolish, as you gotta learn to walk before you can run.
The best start I can possibly recommend is to run through the “Try Ruby in 15 minutes” interactive tutorial. Just sit back and watch and learn.
Try a Humble Little Ruby Book
Although I first started to read Ruby for Rails, I didn’t really fully grasp the Ruby language until I read Mr. Neighborly’s Humble Little Ruby Book.
Readable online and in PDF, this free six chapter ebook is written so well and explains the basics of Ruby.
An up to date book on Ruby programming, written in a style described as “a beautiful display of pragmatically chunky bacon, wrapped in a nutshell.” Or something like that.
Mr. Neighborly’s Humble Little Ruby Book covers the Ruby language from the very basics of using puts to put naughty phrases on the screen all the way to serving up your favorite web page from WEBrick or connecting to your favorite web service. Written in a conversational narrative rather than like a dry reference book, Mr. Neighborly’s Humble Little Ruby Book is an easy to read, easy to follow guide to all things Ruby.
Get Agile with Rails
By now you should have a basic understanding of Ruby and are probably chewing at the bit to get started with Rails. So read the last book you will every need - Agile Web Development with Rails.
This award winning book really explains Rails in a way that will get you started immediately.
With this book, you’ll learn how to use ActiveRecord to connect business objects and database tables. No more painful object-relational mapping. Just create your business objects and let Rails do the rest. Need to create and modify your schema? Migrations make it painless (and they’re versioned, so you can roll changes backward and forward). You’ll learn how to use the Action Pack framework to route incoming requests and render pages using easy-to-write templates and components. See how to exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails, implement web services, and create dynamic, user-centric web-pages using built-in Javascript and Ajax support. There are extensive chapters on testing, deployment, and scaling.
The Official docs
The Ruby and Rails community is thriving, and so there are plenty of well written blogs out there that are perfect companion pieces for your journey on Rails. But before I tell you about the best ones, don’t forget about the official Ruby on Rails site.
The API should always be left open in your browser for quick reference. And although in desperate need of gardening, the Rails Wiki is also a great place to find community generated tips, howto’s and tutorials.
Other Valuable Resources
So what else is there? Just take a look at these worthy reads:
Ruby and Rails Blogs
Often the best blogs are written by the members of the Rail core team, but I also found some others:
Go Forth and roll
Well I think that just about covers everything I used during my week of rolling with Rails. I hope you will find it helpful. Enjoy and let me know if you have found any great RoR resources.
