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33rd out of 67 books
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29 voters
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby
This is just a small Ruby book. It won’t crush you. It’s light as a feather (because I haven’t finished it yet—hehe). And there’s a reason this book will stay light: because Ruby is simple to learn.
[Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby is released under the Attribution-ShareAlike License. So, yes, please distribute it and print it and read it leisurely in your housecoat.]
Mirrors...more
[Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby is released under the Attribution-ShareAlike License. So, yes, please distribute it and print it and read it leisurely in your housecoat.]
Mirrors...more
website, 176 pages
Published
2007
by Attribution-ShareAlike License
(first published 2005)
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This guy is positively insane :) I suspect, Ruby-related stuff from the book could be fit on to a single A4 cheat sheet, while a number of story lines included made the thing bloat quite a bit.
I'm not sure if it could insensibly infect someone from non-IT folks with enough of dose Ruby, but anyway I found it really fascinating read.
This book is also a great example of common geekish English - I'll use stories from it as a reference themes for small talk in case I'll have too much attention from...more
I'm not sure if it could insensibly infect someone from non-IT folks with enough of dose Ruby, but anyway I found it really fascinating read.
This book is also a great example of common geekish English - I'll use stories from it as a reference themes for small talk in case I'll have too much attention from...more
For perhaps the first time, computer science instruction and /literature/ fuse into one perfect specimen.
Whenever I feel down and out about my profession, I come back to this book to remember that there are people who may one day actually overcome this supposed split between the humanities and the technologies that modern society seems to function under. This is the first positive answer to the question of whether computer science can be adapted (without appropriation) into works of art.
Beyond t...more
Whenever I feel down and out about my profession, I come back to this book to remember that there are people who may one day actually overcome this supposed split between the humanities and the technologies that modern society seems to function under. This is the first positive answer to the question of whether computer science can be adapted (without appropriation) into works of art.
Beyond t...more
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Finished this ages ago. I'm not sure that it succeeds in being as accessible to old children / very young adults as it sets out to be - and which is needed in order to justify its tone - but it's an impressive experiment, and as someone who usually prefers terse language I found it an awful lot more useful on a purely educational basis than many typical programming books.
I don't think there exists another programming book in the world that mixes comics, literature, and code examples into such a strange and interesting (and unfortunately unfinished) stew. Of course it's made even more interesting due to the author's "infosuicide" once his real identity was "outed" (he's always saying in the book he might burn out and blow his head off one day). Once it gets going and you see what the book is, the story line and comics slowly draw you in; I found myself really lik...more
Sep 01, 2011
Thomas Wolfe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Thomas by:
Ryan Grove
Shelves:
programming,
ruby
I decided to read this book based on Ryan Grove's (of wonko.com) and Joel Spolsky's (Joel on software) praise.
Lots of unique humor (that is usually completely off topic) and engaging cartoon characters made this one of the best programming books I've read thus far. Actually, I'd say it's one of the best books I've read thus far.
The ending was pretty depressing in my opinion. So as _why makes very clear from the beginning, he wants you to weep, but you may not only weep due to the beautifully cra...more
Lots of unique humor (that is usually completely off topic) and engaging cartoon characters made this one of the best programming books I've read thus far. Actually, I'd say it's one of the best books I've read thus far.
The ending was pretty depressing in my opinion. So as _why makes very clear from the beginning, he wants you to weep, but you may not only weep due to the beautifully cra...more
A truly strange book about life, programming and everything between.
I found Why The Lucky Stiff when Smashing Magazine covered his disappearance but haven't come around to reading his Guide to Ruby until now.
It's a strange book, by a strange man, but if you're up for a challenge I recommend reading it. I found a mirror of it and read the whole work in about two weeks.
The book is a mix of a strange journey in space, richly illustrated and who will show you some basic fundamentals in Ruby.
I found Why The Lucky Stiff when Smashing Magazine covered his disappearance but haven't come around to reading his Guide to Ruby until now.
It's a strange book, by a strange man, but if you're up for a challenge I recommend reading it. I found a mirror of it and read the whole work in about two weeks.
The book is a mix of a strange journey in space, richly illustrated and who will show you some basic fundamentals in Ruby.
Poigant means that something is s so beautiful that tears shed from eyes. In
this case, the author says that Ruby code is so beautiful that tears will shed
from your eyes when you read it.
Yukihiro Matsumoto created Ruby in 1993 but I came to know about in the context
of a web development framework called Rails. This book, thankfully does not
teach you rails, but instead teaches you the Ruby Language, which in my opinion
is a greater aim to have.
Author cheerfully says that "Ruby" is the computer's lan...more
this case, the author says that Ruby code is so beautiful that tears will shed
from your eyes when you read it.
Yukihiro Matsumoto created Ruby in 1993 but I came to know about in the context
of a web development framework called Rails. This book, thankfully does not
teach you rails, but instead teaches you the Ruby Language, which in my opinion
is a greater aim to have.
Author cheerfully says that "Ruby" is the computer's lan...more
I love my outlandish ketchup bottle. It likes to put on tuts and watch cabaret. Every night we write code while shouting "Chunky Bacon."
Programming, comic strips, and spirited asides abound in this primer. Without any previous computer language experience, this book did a great job getting me comfortable with some new symbols. The first chapters successfully had me reading code. The middle section of explaining patterns got a bit hazy. By the end of the book, toward the meta programming, I could...more
Programming, comic strips, and spirited asides abound in this primer. Without any previous computer language experience, this book did a great job getting me comfortable with some new symbols. The first chapters successfully had me reading code. The middle section of explaining patterns got a bit hazy. By the end of the book, toward the meta programming, I could...more
I don't know if I should mark this as read. I've gotten half way through the book and I've given up. It's just not my cup of tea. I'm not a Ruby beginner, so nothing to gain there. (I do hope no one has considered the examples to be good form. Some are very poor.) The "story" is completely impossible for me to follow. I've enjoyed my share of absurd, dark humor, but this one didn't work for me. I'm taking a risk because perhaps it all makes sense in the end.
Taking nothing away from Why. He is mu...more
Taking nothing away from Why. He is mu...more
1 like · like · see review
Why's Poignant Guide is a remarkably unique and fun approach to teaching the Ruby language. The author's use of cartoon characters and quirky commentary really keeps things fresh making this book an absolutely must read (or at least skim) if only to demonstrate that there is still room for creativity and fun in the programming book space.
The book won't make you an amazing programmer... It will, however, serve as a great introduction to Ruby, particularly if supplemented with a more traditional r...more
The book won't make you an amazing programmer... It will, however, serve as a great introduction to Ruby, particularly if supplemented with a more traditional r...more
A thoroughly readable book.
I cant really call this a technical book, i mean it has foxes. Yes this book has foxes in it.
A book so radical that its radicalism can only be compared to the name of its author.
This book teaches you how to program in ruby, But with an entirely different take on writing technical books.
Heck i would recommend people to read it just for the sake of reading it. :-)
You can download the pdf version from http://poignantguide.net/ruby/
It published under the creative commo...more
I cant really call this a technical book, i mean it has foxes. Yes this book has foxes in it.
A book so radical that its radicalism can only be compared to the name of its author.
This book teaches you how to program in ruby, But with an entirely different take on writing technical books.
Heck i would recommend people to read it just for the sake of reading it. :-)
You can download the pdf version from http://poignantguide.net/ruby/
It published under the creative commo...more
Why The Lucky Stiff, the author of this book, seems absolutely crazy. In spite of the craziness, I thought this was a fairly decent way to gain some exposure to Ruby. I'd even suggest this book for people who have never programmed before. The author's style, while completely odd, is also approachable from a learning perspective. There were times when the book got too weird for me, but I think I have a basic understanding and respect for some of the neat things that can be done with Ruby. Dwemthy...more
This has become one of my favorite books ever. It is an inspiring piece of experimental literature. So much I could say... If you don't finish this book moved and seeing the world in a different way then you take things far too literally and should really look further into preeventualism. Or not. That might make it worse. Anywhoo, this book was like chocolate to me.
This is definitely like no other programming book you've ever read; exactly as why promises in the book's introduction.
If you expect a clean introduction to Ruby then this is not the book for the job. why combines examples well suited for non-programmers with more advanced concepts that only someone who's ever written a few programs will understand or appreciate.
If you expect a clean introduction to Ruby then this is not the book for the job. why combines examples well suited for non-programmers with more advanced concepts that only someone who's ever written a few programs will understand or appreciate.
Ok, donc ce livre, c'est du grand n'importe quoi. Ça change des livres techniques habituels mais je dois avouer que j'ai parfois lâché l'affaire sur le côté "narratif".
Pour quelqu'un qui a déjà lu un peu de Ruby et qui n'est pas débutant en programmation, je conseille surtout le chapitre 6 qui va plus loin que les autres qui sont plus basiques et qu'on peut donc passer un peu plus vite.
Pour quelqu'un qui a déjà lu un peu de Ruby et qui n'est pas débutant en programmation, je conseille surtout le chapitre 6 qui va plus loin que les autres qui sont plus basiques et qu'on peut donc passer un peu plus vite.
the ultimate surreal technical book that may not teach you anything at all about ruby but will astonish and surprise you nonetheless.
i'll never understand how he managed to get a real onion into a freely downloadable pdf.
a lot of people (like me) were inspired by this very unusual book.
celebrate _why day.
i'll never understand how he managed to get a real onion into a freely downloadable pdf.
a lot of people (like me) were inspired by this very unusual book.
celebrate _why day.
a fun, quirky intro to ruby. not a lot of interactive exercises, but it gives you fun mnemonics to remember parts of the ruby language (we'll see how well they stick though). having studied programming before definitely helps you get through this one.
The strangest book about programming I've ever seen. Maybe it's not such a good introduction to Ruby programming language, but it's a very good read in general. Other than that, it will challenge your English (in case you're not a native English speaker) for sure.
Add me to the "didn't get it" bucket. Overly verbose with horrible examples and a very weak grasp on actually teaching.
If you're looking for a programming story, this might work out for you.
If you actually want to learn Ruby, run far, far away.
If you're looking for a programming story, this might work out for you.
If you actually want to learn Ruby, run far, far away.
Nice quick intro to the Ruby language if you skip all the tales. But you can always return to it and read all those tales if you have special mood.
Comics are awesome though.
Comics are awesome though.
Apr 23, 2013
Ruby Tombstone
marked it as to-read
Programming huh? And here I was, thinking someone had finally gotten around to writing my unauthorised biography. Sigh..
Can't ever tell Ruby and cartoon foxes apart. One of the few gems combining programming and humour without missing a beat.
Dec 16, 2011
Jim
marked it as unfinished
also found here :
http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/teach...
Why the lucky stiff: online course for free at www.codeschool.com
http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/teach...
Why the lucky stiff: online course for free at www.codeschool.com
May 06, 2013
Freddigbjk
added it
I like it a lot. bagus sekali!
this_book.like(lots)
Really really excellent!
Definitely worth the read, not necessarily to learn Ruby.
This is a programming book... from outer space. Ruby for the criminally insane, as a friend put it. This is, without a doubt, the best programming book I've ever read (an admittedly low bar). The sidebars and illustrations alone make this book worth reading. On the flip side, I'm not sure I retained much about Ruby. I did, however, come away with Chunky Bacon, so all is not lost.
Entertaining and provides some good mnemonics for ruby syntax. Unfortunately it goes downhill near the end as the details about ruby take a back seat to the weird story, and it remains (probably forever) unfinished.
A programming book written by a crazy person. Interesting.
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From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_...
"why the lucky stiff (often known simply as why, _why) was an anonymous, but prolific writer, cartoonist, musician, artist, and computer programmer notable for his work with the Ruby programming language. Along with Yukihiro Matsumoto and David Heinemeier Hansson, he was seen as a key figure in the Ruby community."
"On 19 August 2009, his onlin...more
More about Why The Lucky Stiff...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_...
"why the lucky stiff (often known simply as why, _why) was an anonymous, but prolific writer, cartoonist, musician, artist, and computer programmer notable for his work with the Ruby programming language. Along with Yukihiro Matsumoto and David Heinemeier Hansson, he was seen as a key figure in the Ruby community."
"On 19 August 2009, his onlin...more
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