The well-grounded Rubyist
by David A. Black · first published 2009
78% recommend23% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Builds a deep understanding of how Ruby works, including its consistent object model, scope and metaprogramming, in readable prose. Suits newcomers with programming experience, Rails learners, and experienced Rubyists.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I'd highly recommend The Well Grounded Rubyist by David Black http://www.manning.com/black2/ if you want a good intro to Ruby, I found it a much better intro than the Pickaxe
on “New to Ruby? Tips for the new Rubyist.” ↗all good rec's. Some others, all well-reviewed on amazon and assuming you have a team of java /C, C++, C# / PHP, python or some kind of web app coders - Well-Grounded Rubyist by David A. Black (infinite number stars!) - the 2 Wrox books, Professional Rails (Rappin), Art of (Benson) - Advanced rails (Oreilly, Ediger); The one i'd stear clear of, i don't remember who wrote…
on “Can you recommend some good RoR books?” ↗…exceptionally easy language to learn. There's a book called Learn to Program written by Chris Pine (http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/) which is an amazing beginning to getting into Ruby. Past that, there's the Well-Grounded Rubyist by David A. Black (http://manning.com/black2) which covers all the things from basic Ruby up to medium-advanced levels of Ruby). There's also Programming Ruby 1.9 by the Pragmatic Programmers (http://pragprog.com/titles/ruby3/programming-ruby-1-9)…
on “Ask HN: I want to learn how to code. Can anyone tell me how to start learning?” ↗…(even if you disagree with the utility of that model). If you come to Ruby thinking in Java/C++/C terms, you'll be unhappy, because the mental model is very different. For Ruby, the book to read is The Well-Grounded Rubyist, which makes the language quite obvious.
on “Crystal Language” ↗The main thing you want to do when learning Rails is to make sure you're pretty solid in Ruby. David Black's Well-Grounded Rubyist covers a lot of Ruby. As for Rails, I have nothing but good things to about Foundation Rails 2 by Eldon Alameda. He gives a brief introduction to Ruby at the beginning, and doesn't rely on scaffolding/plugins,…
on “Can you recommend some good RoR books?” ↗For Ruby, check out The Well Grounded Rubyist. David Black's writing style simply delivers. http://www.amazon.com/Well-Grounded-Rubyist-David-Black/dp/1... While you await delivery of your books, also check out Mr. Neighborly's Humble Little Ruby…
on “Ask HN: Best resources for learning RoR? ” ↗…to start. Rails tutorial also has a chapter early on (one of the first five) that contains an intro to ruby and can point you in the right direction from there. Book-wise, you can't go wrong with The Well-Grounded Rubyist (http://www.amazon.com/The-Well-Grounded-Rubyist-David-Black/...) to begin with. I found it a lot more approachable than the Pickaxe book early on. Good luck, Ruby was my first language and I learned…
on “Ask HN: Where is the best place to learn Ruby?” ↗I'd recommend starting with The Well Grounded Rubyist, by David A. Black. Publication Date: June 4, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1933988657 | ISBN-13: 978-1933988658
on “Learning JavaScript - my experience and advice” ↗…foremost, you are the best resource for learning Ruby. Lean by doing. 1) Work through http://ruby.learncodethehardway.org/book/ then work through it again. 2) Then pick up David A. Black's The Well Grounded Rubyist. Read it to fill in the blanks, then read it again to pick up the tidbits you missed the first go around. 3) Find other people. Look for guidance. Look for a mentor. Look for a users group (ruby brigade)…
on “Ask HN: What is the best resource for learning Ruby?” ↗…6. watch the "is TDD dead?" talks with DHH, martin fowler, and kent beck. 7. learn git & github. I recommend "git essentials training" on lynda.com 8. dig into ruby - after you know the basics, "the well grounded rubyist" by david black is a great read, and gives you insight into the nuances of ruby. 9. "design patterns in ruby" by obie fernandez is good - i'd save for after #8 at the least, it's fairly high level and…
on “Ask HN: What to learn to become employable, starting from zero?” ↗I find "The Well-Grounded Rubyist" by David Black to be an excellent intro to Ruby. My only comparison is with the Pickaxe, to which it is superior (clearer, scales to different experience levels, not overloaded as a reference).
on “O'Reilly's "The Ruby Language" for $9.99 (limited time)” ↗…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 recent, and I'm sure a great book, as his previous (Ruby for Rails) was excellent.
on “Ask HN: Introduction to Ruby/Rails book(s)?” ↗And for a good Ruby book, David Black's Well-Grounded Rubyist is pretty good: http://www.manning.com/black2/
on “[Ask HN]How do I learn ruby on rails, if I already know a few other frameworks.” ↗I've read many Ruby books over 6 years. The best, in my opinion, is David Black's "The Well-Grounded Rubyist". I read it just last year as an experienced Rubyist. I thought it had a fantastic, no-magic take on the language that offered a better perspective on scope, metaprogramming, and general language design…
on “Ask HN: ______ is to Python as K&R is to C?” ↗And if you really want to extend your knowledge of Ruby beyond just Rails, I highly recommend The Well-Grounded Rubyist by David Black http://www.manning.com/black2/
on “Ruby on Rails Tutorial screencasts, 2nd edition” ↗