The Ruby programming language
by David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto · first published 2007
40% recommend46% neutral14% critical
Why HN recommends it
Compact, well-organized Ruby reference co-written by its creator, covering the fundamentals and the reasoning behind features. Suits programmers new to Ruby, or heading into Rails, who want to be productive fast.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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The Ruby Programming Language by David Flanagan and Yukihiro Matsumoto (the creator of Ruby) is very good. The coverage, speed and size (half the size of Pickaxe book) make you productive quickly.
on “Ask HN: ______ is to Python as K&R is to C?” ↗…recommend Peter Coopers "Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional" book. Its well written and pretty exhaustive. Another book, once you get past Peters would be Flanagan and Matz (the creator of Ruby) "The Ruby Programming Language". Good luck.
on “Ruby java python or lisp” ↗I second the Rails Way book , its a great book thats easy to follow and organized. For learning Ruby I found http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Programming-Language-David-Flanag... to be great
on “Ruby/Rails book recommendations by skill level/background (newb to haxor, Java refugee...)” ↗…up first and don't have a good reason to switch. I use merb as my framework, which is a fine choice, but if I had to start again, I might go with Sinatra. If you do go with Ruby, buy this book: The Ruby Programming Language http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Programming-Language-David-Flanag... I have seen no text that comes close to this new book in teaching Ruby.
on “Ask HN: How to choose the right language” ↗"The Ruby Programming Language" highly recommended. http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Programming-Language-David-Flanag...
on “Ask HN: I want to learn Ruby ” ↗…http://pragprog.com/titles/rails3/agile-web-development-with... But, with Rails 3 (with many changes) coming in the next few months, books are going to become outdated yet again. As for Ruby in general, the fairly recent The Ruby Programming Language (http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Programming-Language-David-Flanag...) is a pretty good intro. David Black's The Well-Grounded Rubyist (http://www.amazon.com/Well-Grounded-Rubyist-David-Black/dp/1...) is…
on “Ask HN: Introduction to Ruby/Rails book(s)?” ↗…rails framework at the same time. The knowledge of ruby will help you gain a deeper understanding of rails inner workings like the use of method_missing, concept of self and so on. I would recommend The Ruby Programming language by David Flanagan. The Pragmatic Programmer's book Programming Ruby is quite good as well.
on “Ask HN: Learning Ruby on Rails” ↗For tutorial/walkthrough with lots of example small scripts Beginning Ruby, 2nd ed by Peter Cooper. For a straight reference The Ruby Programming Language by David Flanagan and Yukihiro Matsumoto. A middle-ground (tutorial first half; reference second half): Programming Ruby 1.9 (aka, the Pickaxe Book) by Dave Thomas. A great second book (maybe even first…
on “Modern Ruby Development” ↗The Ruby Programming Language by David Flanagan and Yukihiro Matsumoto (Matz) http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596516178.do Know the fundamentals.
on “Ruby on Rails Tutorial screencasts, 2nd edition” ↗"The Ruby Programming Language" by Flanagan and Matsumoto may not have that as it's main goal, but gives a very good overview on why features are how they are and even gives some advice from the creator of the language himself and…
on “Evolving a language in and for the real world: C++ 1991-2006 (2007) [pdf]” ↗You can't go wrong by picking up a copy of "The Ruby Programming Language" and "Agile Web Development with Rails". Between those two books you should be a master in no time.
on “Ask HN: I want to learn Ruby ” ↗…concession given to you so you didn't have to write assembly. OO in the form of C++/Java was the "better alternative" to imperative C. Lucky me. Then I heard about Ruby and Ruby on Rails. After reading "The Ruby Programming Language" and working through the examples, I was blown away by the idea that a language could be for a programmer and be a way to express ideas rather than something we translate ideas into. Metaprogramming and…
on “Crystal 1.1.0” ↗It really does depend on the book. Looking at Amazon, the Django book, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, The Pickaxe, CSS Mastery and The Ruby Programming Language are all <$30 each and are all well regarded. I'm sure there's plenty more.
on “How to read a business book” ↗I liked The Ruby Programming Language book because they attempted to do just that. K&R is a good model for books to follow.
…language is now at 1.9.3, and while things are fundamentally the same there are assorted little differences. Still, as a free intro to the language it's not bad. If you want to buy a book I'd suggest The Ruby Programming Language, as well as anything by Gregory Brown or David A. Black. Greg also produces the Practicing Ruby newsletter which I cannot recommend highly enough. http://practicingruby.com/ Greg does amazing stuff.…
on “The Ruby Reading List” ↗