Ruby Coding Resources

Updated Jan 9th, 2016

These are the resources which I found helpful while learning to program in Ruby. You’ll find each link followed by a short description of what it is and why it is useful. This is a work in progress as I am learning Ruby now.

Ruby Games and Alternative Practice

Ruby Warrior – A sluggish game where you write code to move a warrior through various levels. It helped me to approach programming from the angle of directing objects. Though lots of people talk about object oriented programming, I never understood the meaning of that. This game helped me to ‘get it’. It was while playing this game and going through Learn to Program by Chris Payne that I started to understand the meaning of object oriented programming.

RubyMonk – Looks like an interesting way to build skills. I plan to blast through it after I’m really good at the AppAcademy problems. The idea is that I’ll use them to clear my mind so when I return to the a/A coding interview, I’ll clean them out with a fresh mind. At that point, I’ll apply.

Ruby Koans – This one requires a strong understanding of the command line in order to get started. When I started, I couldn’t figure out how to even start this one, but now I find it really useful. The thing I like is that it’s consistent learning. When you hit a dead end, the program provides you with the answer so you can keep learning. It’s based off running tests and learning from your mistakes. It’s on Github here.

Try Ruby – I just learned about this one. Still exploring it, but it comes highly recommended and it looks fun. (Jan, 9, 2016)

Additional Reading for Deeper Understanding

Learn to Program by Chris Pine – This is an excellent way to begin your programming. If I were to start all over again learning Ruby, this would be the first thing I would read.

Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby by _why (PDF here) – This is a wacky way to learn if you’re into eccentric stuff. Though the wacky analogies are helpful mnemonics, this piece doesn’t come close to the simplicity of Learn to Program by Chris Pine.

Programming Ruby The Pragmatic Programmers Guide – I haven’t yet dug into this one yet but it looks a bit more dense than the previous two. I’m guessing that it provides even greater depth that the pervious two as well. Once I read it, I’ll update this. (Jan 9, 2016)

 

Deeper Understanding:

The AppAcademy.io introduction was quite useful.

Elegant breakdown of what coding is – http://eloquentjavascript.net/

Dense but Useful Description of Binary Numbers – A Tutorial on Binary Numbers

Codecademy’s Glossary is a great resource – https://www.codecademy.com/articles/glossary-ruby

• Note: When looking for information, use ctrl + f and seek the keyword you want

 

I used this to learn the connection between the programs we write in Ruby and how to make them work in browser:

Getting Started with Ruby

AppAcademy Suggested Reading:

1. Beginning Ruby
2. Ruby in 100 Minutes (my notes)
3. Chris Pine’s Learn to Program
4. Ruby Monk’s Ruby Primer
5. Michael Hartl’s Rails Tutorial
6. Zed Shaw’s The Command Line Crash Course