Product Description

Based on the best-selling first edition, Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition is the leading guide for every type of reader who wants to learn Ruby from the ground up. The new edition of this book provides the same excellent introduction to Ruby as the first edition plus updates for the newest version of Ruby, including the addition of the Sinatra and Ramaze web application frameworks and a chapter on GUI development so developers can take advantage of these new trends. Beginning Ruby starts by explaining the principles behind object-oriented programming and within a few chapters builds toward creating a full Ruby application. By the end of the book, in addition to in-depth knowledge of Ruby, you'll also have basic understanding of many ancillary technologies such as SQL, XML, web frameworks, and networking. Introduces readers to the Ruby programming language Takes readers from basic programming skills to web development with topics like Ruby-based frameworks and GUI programming Covers many ancillary technologies in order to provide a broader picture (e.g., databases, XML, network daemons)What you'll learn Understand the basics of Ruby and object-oriented building blocks. Work with Ruby libraries, gems, and documentation. Work with files and databases. Write and deploy Ruby applications. Explore Ruby web frameworks and aspects of network programming with Ruby. Develop desktop and GUI applications with Ruby.Who is this book for?Beginning programmers, programmers new to Ruby, and web developers interested in knowing the foundations of the language

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68149 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

About the Author
Peter Cooper is a highly experienced Ruby developer and trainer living in
the United Kingdom.
He manages BigBold, a Ruby training and development
company, and has produced many commercial websites using Ruby on Rails, a
Ruby-based web framework. In addition, he created Code Snippets, one of the
world's largest public code repositories, and Congress, an online chat
client utilizing AJAX and Ruby on Rails. Feed Digest, a feed distribution
service he also created, was recently profiled by Business 2.0 magazine.

In addition to development work, Peter has written professionally about
various development techniques and tools, producing over 100 articles. He
was co-editor of WebDeveloper.com and worked on iBoost.com and
Webpedia.com.

He lives in Lincolnshire, England, with his girlfriend. In his spare time
he enjoys hiking, camping and
mountains.

Customer Reviews

A Great introduction to Ruby
This is the book I wish I had bought before I bought the pick-axe book.

It is a perfect introduction to Ruby for people without a programming background.
It takes nothing for granted and takes the reader through a gentle introduction
of the language and ( just as importantly ) the Ruby philosophy ( the why of Ruby ).

While being gentle to the new student, I find there is still a depth to the book.
As a beginner, I suspect it will take several more readings and lots of coding
before I begin to grasp the power of objects and classes.
But now I don't feel I am not so much in over my head.

I enjoyed Peter Coopers writing style and would recommend this book and the website
to any programming novice.

A good book by a yellow belly!
An excellent introduction to Ruby, well written, easy to get into as well as engaging. The book has just the right pace and tone. Good stuff, I look forward to reading more by Peter Cooper.

This is the book to buy if you want to learn Ruby.
I have programming computers since 1981 when as an eleven year old I borrowed a friends ZX81. I have programmed in all the major languages (C, C++, C#, various BASICs, Java, Pascal, LISP and COBOL plus a little machine code). It doesn't matter how hard or how simple a programming language is, the key to being good at it is the training provided. If the materials you are given are not up to scratch then learning will be hard and tedious. A very obtuse language and a good teacher can make you an expert.

I have been developing a Rails app for a while now but I was being hampered by my lack of Ruby which was down to the books I have read already. But this book is different - it doesn't assume that you have ever programmed before and this a plus because it breaks your conscience connection to other programming languages you may have used and makes your concentrate on Ruby. Add to that the fact that book is so well written and you have a winner on your hands.

I want to add a class to my Rails app that does an MX record lookup to test that the domain part of a persons email address is valid - this book covers things like that and gives you the confidence to search out Gems and other goodies.

Ruby really is a simple language but the syntax can be confusing to old school hackers like my self who are always thinking: this is too easy. And that is the main theme of the book, Ruby is easy and powerful so be careful.

I can not recommend this book highly enough. Read it once and then use it as a reference as every thing you need is in there.