Reviews for The Art of Rails: The Coming Age of Web Development (Programmer to Programmer)

1. Writing Rails Applications with Style

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2009

   It's not often that I read a computer programming book from cover to cover, I normally use them as a reference point to dip in and out of. But the Art of Rails is different - I simply had to read it all.
   
   The Art of Rails is not for the beginner and assumes a basic understanding of the Ruby language and Rails applications. In some ways its a strange offering in that it is not a "how to write a rails applications" book or an advanced technical reference.
   
   Instead, it takes a look at some of the conventions used by Rails in philosophy, design and implementation. This touches more on the style of and elegance of good Rails implementation than its deeper technicalities (although at times it does go deeper into the language).
   
   Favouring code snippets over lengthy code examples, this book walks the reader through some of the subtlies and design decisions inherent in building good web applications using Rails.
   
   An excellent read if you want to learn more of the art than science of Rails.

2. A great book for the intermediate programmer

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2008

   After the standard 'beginners' Rails books where do you turn? Here!
   
   A splendid and clearly written book that helps you take the next step along the road of web programming. It improved my 'style' and abilities in numerous ways, rarely a chapter went by where I didn't learn something useful.
   
   The book's broad remit in bridging the gap between beginner and 'hardcore development genius' means I wished it could have spent longer on test first development, but this is more a case of me being greedy than the book not fulfilling its goals.
   
   Recommended without caveats.