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Michael James Fitzgerald
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Learning Ruby: The Language that Powers Rails 1st Edition

by Michael Fitzgerald (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
You don't have to know everything about a car to drive one, and you don't need to know everything about Ruby to start programming with it. Written for both experienced and new programmers alike, Learning Ruby is a just-get-in-and-drive book -- a hands-on tutorial that offers lots of Ruby programs and lets you know how and why they work, just enough to get you rolling down the road.

Interest in Ruby stems from the popularity of Rails, the web development framework that's attracting new devotees and refugees from Java and PHP. But there are plenty of other uses for this versatile language. The best way to learn is to just try the code! You'll find examples on nearly every page of this book that you can imitate and hack. Briefly, this book:
  • Outlines many of the most important features of Ruby
  • Demonstrates how to use conditionals, and how to manipulate strings in Ruby. Includes a section on regular expressions
  • Describes how to use operators, basic math, functions from the Math module, rational numbers, etc.
  • Talks you through Ruby arrays, and demonstrates hashes in detail
  • Explains how to process files with Ruby
  • Discusses Ruby classes and modules (mixins) in detail, including a brief introduction to object-oriented programming (OOP)
  • Introduces processing XML, the Tk toolkit, RubyGems, reflection, RDoc, embedded Ruby, metaprogramming, exception handling, and other topics
  • Acquaints you with some of the essentials of Rails, and includes a short Rails tutorial.
Each chapter concludes with a set of review questions, and appendices provide you with a glossary of terms related to Ruby programming, plus reference material from the book in one convenient location. If you want to take Ruby out for a drive, Learning Ruby holds the keys.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0596529864
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0596529864
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    O'Reilly Media
  5. Publication date
    June 19, 2007
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7 x 0.62 x 9.19 inches
  8. Print length
    255 pages
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Fitzgerald describes Ruby as "my favorite language so far" and is working regularly with Ruby and the Rails framework. He has written over 150 Ruby programs for testing and demonstration, and has been developing a library of sample Ruby code. He is the author of Learning XSLT and XML Hacks, and co-author on the XML Pocket Reference.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (June 19, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 255 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0596529864
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0596529864
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.62 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

About the author

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Michael James Fitzgerald

Michael James Fitzgerald

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Michael James Fitzgerald is the author and coauthor of over 20 books that have appeared in eight languages. He's also a blogger and has written numerous articles. Mike loves to read, write, and run.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
30 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book serves as a good introduction to Ruby programming. The writing style receives mixed feedback, with some customers finding it easy to understand while others note it can be elementary in its presentation.

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4 customers mention "Introductory value"4 positive0 negative

Customers find this book to be a good introduction to Ruby programming, with one customer noting it teaches all the basics.

"This is a good book, it teaches all the basics that there need to be about ruby...." Read more

"This is an excellent introduction to Ruby." Read more

"...for his language a simple, elegant, balanced syntax that is a pleasure to learn , especially if guided by a good introductory book like this one...." Read more

"Great Ruby intro book..." Read more

7 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it easy to understand, while others find it elementary in its presentation.

"This is another well written O'Reilly programming book that I've been recently using to extend my known programming languages beyond C and Java, and..." Read more

"...Coming from a long background in coding, this book was a bit elementary in its presentation...." Read more

"...However, this book is easy to follow and even more easy to understand a lot of the time so that makes up for it sometimes." Read more

"...All the basics are treated clearly and gently enough not to overwhelm the novice. The writing style is lively and engaging without being obnoxious...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Evan C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ruby intro book
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This is another well written O'Reilly programming book that I've been recently using to extend my known programming languages beyond C and Java, and it's well written for people of any amount of programming experience.
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  • Clara Emiliana
    3.0 out of 5 stars good for begginers
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This is a good book, it teaches all the basics that there need to be about ruby. one thing I didn't like, although the author cautions about this in the beggining of the book, is that the book assumes you have some knowledge of programing or programing terminology when in reality you may not. there will be a few times where you might have to Google something or look up the definition of a few things. This may happen rarely or slightly more depending on your skill level with programing. However, this book is easy to follow and even more easy to understand a lot of the time so that makes up for it sometimes.
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  • Michael J
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very good beginner's text on Ruby
    Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I have a long history with programming languages, going back to 1971, but almost all my coding experience has been with the old procedural paradigm. Other than a little Objective Perl I've never really gotten into the new paradigm. I was looking for a good way to add some dynamic content to a few of my web pages, and Ruby, along with Rails, looked to be a good place to start .

    Coming from a long background in coding, this book was a bit elementary in its presentation. But having almost no experience in a modern object-oriented language, this turned out to be a good thing. Working with objects, message handling and so forth is a new way of thinking, and I really did need a little hand holding to get a feel for Ruby.

    If you've got a fair amount of experience with Java, Objective C, etc. this is probably not the book for you. But if you're new to programming, or, like me, new to the object-oriented paradigm, this is a good place to start.
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  • Neil Heller
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is an excellent introduction to Ruby.
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  • Michael Burton
    2.0 out of 5 stars Learning Nothing
    Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    When I read a computer book titled "Learning (Something)" and I don't learn anything, I have to ask myself: is the fault in the book, or in myself? This time, I believe, it's the book.

    O'Reilly has an excellent reputation as a publisher of technical books. The table of contents suggests a carefully organized survey of language features, but the actual discussion is flighty and shallow. The author is clearly a Ruby enthusiast. It seems as if he wanted to mention everything, but didn't have time to EXPLAIN anything. In short order, he shows us eval, methods, blocks, and procs, but in the sample code, they all just print "Hello, Matz!" There is no discussion of when or why one technique might be preferable to another.

    The book is full of sample code that illustrates syntax without even slightly illuminating the reasoning behind it. To illustrate logical AND:

    if a == 10 && b == 27 && c == 43 && d == -14
    print sum = a + b + c + d
    end

    Later the same tests are shown separated with "||" for logical OR. Beginning programmers might wonder, "Why in the world would I want to do THAT?" Better sample code would use scenarios where the specified actions make obvious logical sense. Experienced programmers won't have trouble with AND and OR, but the same unhelpful style of sample code illustrates unique Ruby features and more complex topics, too. (Maybe it's not a problem if you already know all this stuff.)

    Each chapter ends with several review questions. Here are a couple from the first chapter: "What is the nickname of the inventor of Ruby?" and "Who wrote the pickaxe book?" To be fair, in later chapters some of the answers might be the name of an object method or a math constant. But all the questions test the reader's ability to repeat something from the chapter, never his real understanding.

    Oh, maybe I'm too harsh, saying I didn't learn ANYTHING from this book. The nickname of the inventor of Ruby? Matz.
    46 people found this helpful
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  • supertech
    3.0 out of 5 stars This book is boring
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2012
    If you are looking for a beginners book, do not buy this one. It does not teach you any reasoning. It's not even close to the quality of Learning Perl. However, if you are trying to move into Ruby, this book provides you a fast start.
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  • Casey Kemp
    1.0 out of 5 stars THIS IN NOT THE BOOK TO LEARN RUBY
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Learning Ruby should be high on your `must avoid' list of Ruby texts. This book is a tree-killer and a money-maker for the author and the publisher. The most noteworthy feature of the entire book is in the colophon detailing the sexual habits of the giraffe; you'll just have to get the book to find out what I'm alluding to.

    For the most part, the book could easily have been condensed to no more than 10 pages of lists of elements of the Ruby lexicon. The seasoned developer will be extremely frustrated after having invested time and money with very little to show for his/her expenditure. For the novice, general confusion is the best that can be expected.

    I am just climbing the Ruby learning curve and cannot make a recommendation as to a better text for a Ruby neophyte; what I can say is `Learning Ruby' is definitely NOT the text. Save your money and look elsewhere.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Tigran
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    The book came in almost excellent condition. Very satisfied.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • jhoomsharabi
    3.0 out of 5 stars OK book
    Reviewed in India on December 18, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Its OK book, does not looks to me written for beginners Author giving unnecessary emphasis to things which should not be given. I am looking for more online training than relying on books now
    Report