Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide
Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Number of Pages:
- 608
- ISBN:
- 0201710897
- Product Group:
- book
- Publisher:
- Addison Wesley
- Publication Date:
- Oct. 31, 2000
- BooksForGeeks.com ID:
- 2027
"Big in Japan" was a pejorative term for failed pop musicians, but it accurately describes the Ruby language, designed by Yukihiro Matsumoto. The authors--who wrote The Pragmatic Programmer--feel it deserves a wider exposure in the English-speaking world.
Ruby is fully object oriented with a simple and consistent syntax. It is Open Source and freely available from ftp:ftp.netlab.co.jp/pub/lang/ruby as well as many mirrors. In Programming Ruby the authors set out to show that Ruby can and should replace languages such as Perl, Python, SmallTalk and C++; from which it takes all the best features--even Perl's excellent regular expression support.
The book is in four parts: a tutorial; a section on installing and running it in various environments; a section on the inner workings and interrelationships of the language; and, finally, a huge library reference. The authors make their case for the language's simplicity, predictability and flexibility. Unlike languages which have grown by accretion, such as Perl, it is remarkably clean.
Clearly a labour of love, Programming Ruby is equally clean and the authors' enthusiasm for it drips from the pages. Certainly, if you are passionate about efficient, error-free coding Ruby is hard to beat. There are, though, an awful lot of languages available already.
Ruby is certainly worth a look just to see how simple and accessible an object-oriented language can be when its author can draw on the best and throw away the rest. Working programmers will decide whether Ruby gains widespread acceptance but in Programming Ruby it has a powerful and convincing advocate. --Steve Patient
Reviews for Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide
-
Excellent introduction to this brilliant new language
Rated out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2001
I purchased this book about 6 months ago after a co worker introduced me to Ruby. Reading "Programming Ruby" has been one of the best introductions to a new program language i have experienced. The authors enthusiasm for this new language is contagious. I dont program in Perl or Java much anymore, it always seems easier too do it Ruby. I have recommended Ruby and "Programming Ruby" to several friends and have recieved enthusiastic feed back from all who have read this book. -
By the book. Code Ruby. Be Happy.
Rated out of 5 stars, March 12rd, 2001
Painless, fun, quick, simple. These are words that can equally describe both Ruby and 'Programming Ruby'. Ruby combines the best elements of many languages but for me it most resembles a cross between Smalltalk and Perl. Taking the best elements from each.The book is easy and enjoyable to read and most of all it makes you want to read it and learn more. I'm not sure if this is most attributed to the authors writing style or because of Ruby.
The learning curve is not steep at all (if I can learn it anyone can). After programming in many languages Ruby is a breath of fresh air. Things that I would have done manually before I now code in Ruby since it is easy and enjoyable.
The book covers all you need to get you started in Ruby. Starting with arrays, hashes, control structures and the like. Then moving towards objects, inheritance, and access control. Afterwards moving onto the interesting stuff like blocks, iterators, regular expressions, io, and threads. The book does cover more advances topics like Ruby/Tk, web scripting, Windows programming, Extending Ruby. These latter chapters can be a bit thin sometimes and may not be in-depth enough for the advanced users, but they should give you enough information to get past the starting line...
In summary: By the book. Code Ruby. Be Happy.