Learn Ruby the Hard Way: A Simple and Idiomatic Introduction to the Imaginative World of Computational Thinking with Code

by Zed A Shaw

You Will Learn Ruby! Zed Shaw has perfected the world's best system for learning Ruby. Follow it and you will succeed--just like the hundreds of thousands of beginners Zed has taught to date! You bring the discipline, commitment, and persistence; the author supplies everything else. In Learn Ruby the Hard Way, Third Edition , you'll learn Ruby by working through 52 brilliantly crafted exercises. Read them. Type their code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run. As you do, you'll learn how software works; what good programs look like; how to read, write, and think about code; and how to find and fix your mistakes using tricks professional programmers use. Most importantly, you'll learn the following, which you need to start writing excellent Ruby software of your - Installing your Ruby environment - Organizing and writing code - Ruby symbols and keywords - Basic mathematics - Variables and printing - Strings and text - Interacting with users - Working with files - Using and creating functions - Looping and logic - Arrays and elements - Hashmaps - Program design - Object-oriented programming - Inheritance and composition - Modules, classes, and objects - Project "skeleton" directories - Debugging and automated testing - Advanced user input - d104 processing - Basic game development - Basic web development It'll Be Hard At First. But Soon, You'll Just Get It--And That Will Feel Great! This tutorial will reward you for every minute you put into it. Soon, you'll know one of the world's most powerful, popular programming languages. You'll be a Ruby programmer.

Genres: Programming, Coding, Computer Science, Nonfiction, Technology, Software, Technical

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2011

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are very ugly examples given. With poor fundamentals, a beginner can be misled that those are preferred ways. I discourage anyone from reading this. It's the hard way and ugly way too.

[Aaron Wolfson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dude! There are plenty of resources for learning to code out there, and learning Ruby in particular, that don't involve the instructor constantly belittling you. Look elsewhere.

[Jochen Preusche]

free online version

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Ruby tutorial is great for those who are new to programming. True to its title, it is difficult yet effective. It teaches the very basics of programming, which is essentially trial and error. I suggest this book for anyone looking to learn how to program outside of a browser.

Codecademy is a good resource. It is a great way to get acclimated to programming syntax. However, eventually, the student will want to take the "training wheels off" and work in an actual web dev environment.

Learning Ruby the Hard Way would be a logical step if the student is interested in the next level. It will also teach the student the very basics of setting up a dev environment.

[Sean D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a decent introduction to Ruby. As someone with a very experienced programming background but not fluent in Ruby, I was about to read through and complete the exercises in about ~6-7 hours. "Hard" is definitely subjective; at times, it felt more like a self-help book one would read for motivation and not technical literature. For anyone who has any coding experience (in any language), I would recommend "The Well-Grounded Rubyist" instead. No programming experience? Read on.

Additionally, I personally enjoy the author's writing style. The text was engaging and humorous. I would like to more of that in technical literature.

[Mfaughn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A quote from the book: 'Avoid something called "meta-programming" at all costs, as it is too complex to be useful reliably.' This is an unforgivable statement. So much so that it taints the entire book, at least IMO. ActiveRecord, the default ORM behind Rails, leverages meta-programming. Is Rails not reliably useful? Understanding meta-programming will make you a better Rubyist. It is not something to be feared or avoided.

[Cees Timmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exercise is needed to get into shape, but as an experienced programmer i already like the shape i'm in.

Ruby's many and thus sometimes inconsistent styles irk me, as do sigils, but this book did show me that Ruby classes are much easier than Python ones, and had a nice list of explained symbols in Exercise 37. It's also refreshingly succinct.

[Hung Nguyen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am disappointed about this book.

[Mohammed Ridwanul Islam · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a programmer already (I come from a heavy Java background) this book will decode some of the magic of functional programming and Ruby.
But it is definitely not "the hard way" lol. You can finish the book in a day and a half. I recommend just giving it a quick scan.

[Ravi Sinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read it the author still seems to have been working on completing it; half the chapters were missing; but it's still a great read and opens up possibilities to a lot of further reading. I like the style of the Learn Code the Hard Way books - they are direct and straightforward, with less talk and small chunks of code, followed by extra credit/ homework - and sometimes, that's just the kind of book you need.

[Eric Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most excellent introduction to Ruby. Teaches the real basics in a way that you are not likely to forget. It assumes nothing, i.e. you have never coded or setup you computer or anything. It layers the knowledge and experience layer by layer. It teaches Object Orientated Programming theory and how it applies to Ruby as well as an extra section on how to survive in Command Line (Unix BASH). It gives different instructions for users of Macs, Linux and Windows.

[Jared Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really solid introduction to Ruby, and to programming in general. I feel that Zed's emphasis on meta-learning (that is, how to think about learning how to code) makes the book far more effective than many others that focus merely on the code itself. Highly recommended for beginners and for those new to Ruby.

[Ahmed Alkatheeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very good book for any one want to know how to program, and it depends on practice and giving you more exercises .. I like this way because it's useful and focus on doing things more than save things!

[ΔRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

PRO's:
Good book. Author try to use proactive approach. Good exercises.
Learning by doing is a motto of this book. I really like it.

CON's: #very subjective though
Rspec is not covered (only Test::Unit)
Sinatra, not RoR.
Too much stuff around one quite controversial game.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introduction to programming that happens to use Ruby for the language.

Not so useful to polyglot developers looking to pick up Ruby. Also tends to veer towards Python idioms rather than those of Ruby at times.

Still, a great book for those who haven't programmed before.

[Tasshin Fogleman]

See my review of the Python companion.

[John Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great approach to teaching a language from scratch but also worthwhile to the seasoned programmer to go through the motions as a refresher. The whole series is fantastic.

[Hanan A.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book. I am glad I came across it on my quest to teach myself Ruby.
Recommended to all ruby/rails beginners.

[Tammy-elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for beginner programmers and experienced programmers that want to pick up the Ruby programming language. I highly recommend it.

[Arturo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book for beginner into computer programming world.

[Julissa Dantes-castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book, includes basic language syntax, humor, and 2 projects, that last thing makes you want to learn even more and discover things before you get to that part of the book.

[Meathanjay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be for the very beginner if you started learning to program with Ruby language.

[Anthony Francavilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional free book to teach yourself Ruby. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[Jami]

http://regex.learncodethehardway.org/...

[Jemal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutally honest on the ego of a programmer!