Are you just getting started with Ruby on Rails? A year or two ago you'd
have been SOL because there weren't many easy ways to get familiar with
the platform. There were a couple of screencasts and a PDF or two - but
aside from that you either had to buy a book or read the documentation
online. Yeah. Real fun weekend activity right there.
Fortunately we've come a long way. Those few resources in the
beginning are all out of date now but we've got loads of new stuff to
help you introduce yourself to the platform. Here is a by no means
comprehensive list of the best resources for starting to learn Rails.
If you could leave some links in the comments I'd love to fill this
list out a little better:
Free Resources
- Google - There's finally enough blog posts by developers that Googling most errors will turn up a solution
- RailsCasts - Ryan Bates gives direct, simple and excellent lessons on navigating Rails
- RailsForum.com - Much of your Googling will lead you here. 20K+ posts of folks trying to figure this stuff out.
- Ruby-Forum.com - A great place for figuring out how the language works outside Rails.
- Techno-Weenie's code
- Arguably the best way to learn is to see code that others have
written. Here's a bunch of real-world apps that thousands of people use
every day.
- The Rails Docs - Hard to read (and ugly!) but always the highest authority on what's going on with Rails.
- RubyForum.com - Hard to read (and ugly!) but always the highest authority on what's going on with Rails.
Non-Free Resources
- Agile Web Development With Rails
- Considered to be the bible of beginning Rails development, this book
will take you from a blank screen to a full e-commerce website.
- PeepCode - Geoff, a fellow
Seattleite, takes you through individual parts of Rails that are often
tough to grasp. Each episode costs $9 but it's PACKED with helpful
instruction.
What am I missing here folks? What do you find most useful for a beginner?
-
Ryan said:
Beginning Ruby on Rails ECommerce also has a lot of good information for beginning Rails developers and focuses on tests very early. I've been using both books and it's going fairly smooth at this point.
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Jack Danger Canty
Ruby and Javascript developer @ Cloops Local Coupons
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