Summary: <h2>Welcome to the Learning Rails Online Course</h2> <p>If you’ve read this far, you probably already have an interest in building web applications with Ruby on Rails. But just in case you’re unsure if Rails is worth learning, in this lesson we explore the reasons for the success of Ruby on Rails and the benefits that can result from using it.</p> <p><strong>The heart of the lesson is the audio</strong>; these notes are supplementary. So please listen to the audio, or read the transcript, before making use of these notes.</p> <p>To listen to the lesson, click the Play button on the left. You can also right-click on the download link to save the mp3 file, or you can subscribe in iTunes (just search for Learning Rails).</p> <p>To read a transcript of the lesson, click the Transcript link on the left.</p> <h2>Web resources</h2> <p>Keep in mind the distinction between Ruby and Ruby on Rails:</p> <ul> <li>Ruby is a programming language</li> <li>Ruby on Rails (often called simply “Rails”) is a framework for building web applications with Ruby</li> </ul> <p>The central web resources for Ruby and Rails, respectively, are:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.ruby-lang.org">Ruby Language</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.rubyonrails.com">Ruby on Rails</a></li> </ul> <p>If you want to do some more preparation for your Ruby on Rails education, we highly recommend that you begin learning Ruby, the programming language, without regard to Rails (at first). You don’t need an extensive knowledge of Ruby, but you need to learn the basics. We’ll talk about Ruby a little more in later lessons, but you can get started now learning it on your own.</p> <p>If you have experience with another programming language, much of Ruby will seem very natural. If you don’t have any experience with object-oriented programming, you may want to read up on Ruby objects — in Ruby, everything is an object, and you’ll work with them constantly.</p> <p>Ruby uses one unusual construct, the code block, which is unfamiliar to most programmers and merits some study. Code blocks are used extensively in Rails.</p> <p>Ruby-lang.org has a <a href="http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/quickstart/">good introductory tutorial</a> and a <a href="http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ruby-doc-bundle/Tutorial/">longer introduction to Ruby</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/Ruby_Essentials">Ruby Essentials</a> is a short online ebook on ruby.</p> <p>And for those of you who are more graphically inclined, check out <a href="http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/">Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby</a>, it even has foxes!</p> <p>You can begin experimenting with Ruby right in your browser, without having to install anything. Just browse to <a href="http://tryruby.hobix.com/">tryruby.hobix.com</a>.</p> <h2>Introductory books</h2> <p>You need to learn about both Ruby and Rails, and you’ll want separate books for each of them.</p> <p>For beginning Ruby, these are both good introductory books:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596529864/buildicom-20">Learning Ruby</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590597664/buildicom-20">Beginning Ruby</a></li> </ul> <p>There are several other valuable references and advanced guides for Ruby, which you’ll want to pick up if you get serious about your Ruby programming; see <a href="/books/list?category=6">our Ruby bookstore</a> for an extensive list.</p> <p>For learning Ruby on Rails, the current selection of books is a little problematic. Two years ago, there were only a few books; now there are dozens, which makes it more confusing to pick one. And alas, most of them are written for Rails 1.2.6, and the ones that are the most up-to-date are not well suited for beginners.</p> <p>Although it is not the most accessible book for a novice programmer, and is written for Rails 1.2.x, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977616630/buildicom-20">Agile Web Development with Rails</a> remains the classic Rails book. But if you’re using Rails 2, which we recommend you do, parts of this book will be confusing due to changes in the framework.</p> <p>The most up-to-date and in-depth book on Ruby on Rails is <strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321445619/buildicom-20">The Rails Way</a></strong>. It isn’t written as an introductory book, so while we highly recommend it as a reference, you’ll probably want to start with another book to get your bearings first. The Agile book mentioned above is a good place to start, especially if you have a programming background. If you’re looking for a gentler introduction, some of the available books include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590597524/buildicom-20">Rails Solutions: Ruby on Rails Made Easy</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0975841955/buildicom-20">Build Your Own Ruby on Rails Web Applications</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590596862/buildicom-20">Beginning Rails</a></li> </ul> <p>Other books provide a lot of example code that provide useful guides for how to implement various features. Books of this type include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590598415/buildicom-20">Practical Rails Social Networking Sites</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321480791/buildicom-20">RailsSpace: Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590597362/buildicom-20">Beginning Ruby on Rails E-Commerce</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596527314/buildicom-20">Rails Cookbook</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977616606/buildicom-20">Rails Recipes</a></li> </ul> <p>See our <a href="/books/list?category=5">complete list of Ruby and Ruby on Rails Books</a> for more.</p>
