Totally lost in learning Ruby

[Hilary Bailey]

This is my second attempt to understand Ruby. I completely read 1)
"Beginning Ruby- From Novice to Professional (which to me is a
completely waste of time), 2) The Pragmatic approach to Ruby (which is
incomplete)3)Ruby in 20 minutes, 4)other 15 to 20 minutes cute intro
programs 5) Shoes and now 6)The Book of Ruby by Huw Collingourne, which
seems like a bible without a compiler, which may be totally useless.

Is there anyone out there that could make my experience to Ruby
practical and meaningful? As noted previously, I am a school teacher
trying to create an education database software for administrators and
teachers which will hold educational institutions accountable for the
performance of their school district. My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources that
do not offer a stable compiler or the appropriate programs that will go
hand in hand with their book or resource for Ruby.

Is there a free compiler and other supporting software that I can use to
make my so far miserable learning Ruby experience worth a while? So far
I am still sold on the idea that Ruby is the programing language to
know, but at this moment I really need HELP.

Tk in advance,

Hilary

 

[Stefano Crocco]

This is my second attempt to understand Ruby. I completely read 1)
"Beginning Ruby- From Novice to Professional (which to me is a
completely waste of time), 2) The Pragmatic approach to Ruby (which is
incomplete)3)Ruby in 20 minutes, 4)other 15 to 20 minutes cute intro
programs 5) Shoes and now 6)The Book of Ruby by Huw Collingourne, which
seems like a bible without a compiler, which may be totally useless.

Is there anyone out there that could make my experience to Ruby
practical and meaningful? As noted previously, I am a school teacher
trying to create an education database software for administrators and
teachers which will hold educational institutions accountable for the
performance of their school district. My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources that
do not offer a stable compiler or the appropriate programs that will go
hand in hand with their book or resource for Ruby.

Is there a free compiler and other supporting software that I can use to
make my so far miserable learning Ruby experience worth a while? So far
I am still sold on the idea that Ruby is the programing language to
know, but at this moment I really need HELP.

Tk in advance,

Hilary

First, you don't need a compiler to use ruby. Ruby is an interpreted language,
which means that to execute a program written in ruby, you pass it to the
source file (which is a plain text file) to the ruby interpreter which will
take care of interpreting it and executing it. There's no compilation step
involved in this, which is the reason you found no reference to a compiler.

As for books, you can try with the first edition of Programming Ruby, which is
freely availlable online at http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/.
It's written for an old version of ruby, but it still is useful. There are new
editions for new versions of ruby (edition 2 for ruby 1.8 and edition 3 for
ruby 1.9), but you have to buy them.

Regarding supporting software, that depends which operating system you use.

If you're on Windows, then there's the RubyInstaller project
(http://rubyinstaller.org/) which provides the basic tool needed to work with
ruby (I'm not completely sure about what it provides, as I don't use Windows
myself).

If you're on Linux, then ruby is surely included in your distribution.

If you're on another operating system, then I don't know what your options
are, but surely there's someone else who knows.

I hope this helps

Stefano

 

[Shadowfirebird]

I don't mean to sound condescending, but if you've not programmed before, perhaps you are underestimating the problem of jumping two hurdles at once - learning to program, and learning the Ruby language. Programming requires a paradigm-shift which, of course, is difficult to explain to those who have not made it.

It sounds as if you have read a lot of books and got not much from them. Why not try a different approach - try coding some simple programs for yourself. If you are unable to access the Ruby interpreter, there are websites that let you try it online (for example,http://tryruby.org/ ).

Go back to the book that you found least confusing and type out a couple of examples for yourself. Try changing them. Code a simple program from scratch -- say, to ask for a series of numbers at the command prompt and print their sum.

And of course come back here and ask all the basic questions you like. It's the basic questions that are the really deep ones. Good luck.

 

[Phillip Gawlowski]

Is there anyone out there that could make my experience to Ruby
practical and meaningful? As noted previously, I am a school teacher
trying to create an education database software for administrators and
teachers which will hold educational institutions accountable for the
performance of their school district. My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources that
do not offer a stable compiler or the appropriate programs that will go
hand in hand with their book or resource for Ruby.

Well, one hurdle at a time. First you need to learn to program, and
then you should tackle Ruby.

Fortunately, we can kill two birds with one stone:
http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/

This will teach you how to program, and does it using Ruby.

The next step would be reading up about databases, and GUI frameworks.
Either something like the wxWidget toolkit, which allows you to write
software that runs on a computer, or a web framework, like Rails, or
Sinatra (from your problem description, I'd go with a web framework,
if the database isn't intended for just one school).

However, you won't go fast, unless you can dedicate a good amount of
time to the task. If you spend an hour or two each day to learn
programming and then the technologies you might need, let's call it a
month or two until you can tackle your original problem.

Is there a free compiler and other supporting software that I can use to
make my so far miserable learning Ruby experience worth a while? =A0So fa= r
I am still sold on the idea that Ruby is the programing language to
know, but at this moment I really need HELP.

Well, as others have pointed out: Ruby is not a compiled language.
You'll need a text editor and/or an integrated development environment
to write Ruby programs (also called "scripts" from time to time).

Suggestions as to what to use as an editor/IDE depend highly on your
OS (Notepad is fine, but it lacks a couple of features that make life
easier). A few suggestions:
I like Notepad++ for "quick and dirty" jobs, it's free and available
for Windows.
My preferred Ruby IDE is Netbeans, which is also free, and runs on
Java, so is available for all the major OSs.

And, once you are stuck, or have questions about Ruby/programming,
feel free to send another message to this forum.

--=20
Phillip Gawlowski

Though the folk I have met,
(Ah, how soon!) they forget
When I've moved on to some other place,
There may be one or two,
When I've played and passed through,
Who'll remember my song or my face.

 

[Michael Brooks]

This is my second attempt to understand Ruby. I completely read 1)
"Beginning Ruby- From Novice to Professional (which to me is a
completely waste of time), 2) The Pragmatic approach to Ruby (which is
incomplete)3)Ruby in 20 minutes, 4)other 15 to 20 minutes cute intro
programs 5) Shoes and now 6)The Book of Ruby by Huw Collingourne, which
seems like a bible without a compiler, which may be totally useless.

Is there anyone out there that could make my experience to Ruby
practical and meaningful? As noted previously, I am a school teacher
trying to create an education database software for administrators and
teachers which will hold educational institutions accountable for the
performance of their school district. My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources that
do not offer a stable compiler or the appropriate programs that will go
hand in hand with their book or resource for Ruby.

Is there a free compiler and other supporting software that I can use to
make my so far miserable learning Ruby experience worth a while? So far
I am still sold on the idea that Ruby is the programing language to
know, but at this moment I really need HELP.

Tk in advance,

Hilary

Hello Hilary:

In addition to the suggestions provided by others you may also want to look
at this http://www.troubleshooters.com/codecorn/ruby/basictutorial.htm to
learn the Ruby language. It uses Linux so the way it describes running Ruby
programs won't work for Windows and some of the examples given are a little
strange (e.g. the use of three ellipses for loops, which is often more
confusing than using Ruby's two ellipse format, and the use of the "length"
method like "for ss in 0...presidents.length" in loops which could just be
replaced by "for ss in presidents"). These (and tons of other resource
you'll find by typing "ruby tutorial" into Google) are also useful
http://www.fincher.org/tips/Languages/Ruby/ ,
http://www.digitalmediaminute.com/article/3398/ruby-programming-tutorial .

I find Ruby a very easy (and enjoyable) language to learn (like Basic was
many years ago) but it's a big step between knowing a language and knowing
how to design and build a database applications. If your goal is to build
a database application to share with a number of people spread over a large
geographical areas then you'll eventually need to learn something about
database design, decide what database you want to use, and decide if you
want to create a desktop application (using something like wxRuby which is
wxWidgets for Ruby) or a web application (using something like Ruby on
Rails, also called RoR or Rails) .

Desktop applications tend to be easier to write but harder to distribute and
fix because you'll need to copy them (or any fixes) to each computer that
needs them. Web applications tend to be harder to write because you'll
need more infrastructure (computers and software) and understanding of
programming specialties (i.e. security, multi-user environment design, web
architecture) but are easier to distribute and fix because you'll only need
to provide folks with the location (i.e. a web address), user id and
password of your web application and can fix things in one spot, locally on
your web server.

If your target ends up being a Windows desktop application, I find it easier
to build desktop applications in tools like Embarcadero Delphi or Microsoft
Visual Studio .NET and often suggest that clients with little programming
experience use something like Microsoft Access because these tools have
integrated development-environments, database builders, GUI builders and
deployment tools that make things easier out-of-the-box. I suggest this
because even though Ruby is a very nice languages (my favourite actually),
the language is a small part of the overall picture when building a complex
application. Unfortunately, Ruby is usually my last choice for desktop
projects because of the complexities of pulling together and predictably
deploying all the pieces (i.e. database drivers, GUI, libraries). Ruby also
presents challenges for speed, protection of intellectual property and data
privacy. I recommend you dig deeper on these topics and decide for
yourself. I just wanted to warn you before you got too deep then frustrated
and blamed Ruby for your pain when the pain is probably related to many
other things. If your target ends up being a web application then Ruby on
Rails is a good choice (even through, for similar reasons, I've found
Embarcadero Delphi Intraweb better for the web applications I've needed to
build).

If you decide to use Ruby to develop your database application you should
consider purchasing a robust code editor like JetBrains RubyMine
(http://www.jetbrains.com/ruby/ ) which can help you be more productive
(especailly for coding error identifcation and debugging) when writing
either Ruby or Ruby on Rails applications.

I learned Ruby with the book "Programming Ruby" and Ruby-on-Rails with the
book "Agile Web Development with Rails". Both are authored by Dave Thomas
and published by The Programmatic Programmers.

Michael

 

[Michael Brooks]

I learned Ruby with the book "Programming Ruby" and Ruby-on-Rails with the
book "Agile Web Development with Rails". Both are authored by Dave Thomas
and published by The Programmatic Programmers.

Michael

Oops... I meant to say "The Pragmatic Programmers" at the end of that last
sentences. Darn spell checking out-smarted me. Their stuff is available
here http://pragprog.com/ .

Michael

 

[Victor Blaga]

[Note: parts of this message were removed to make it a legal post.]

If you have a little .NET experience you could try using IronRuby. It could
combine the familiarity of .NET way of building applications (especially
Windows Forms) with the Ruby language specifics. You are familiar with Java
you could try JRuby and build a Swing application using Ruby.

 

[Jose Hales-Garcia]

Hilary Bailey wrote in post #976477:

Is there anyone out there that could make my experience to Ruby
practical and meaningful? As noted previously, I am a school teacher
trying to create an education database software for administrators and
teachers which will hold educational institutions accountable for the
performance of their school district. My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources that
do not offer a stable compiler or the appropriate programs that will go
hand in hand with their book or resource for Ruby.

A district-wide database and interface is not a trivial project. Coding
it from scratch is a challenge for a seasoned developer in any language.

Why do want to do it in Ruby and why are you doing it from scratch?

Jose
.......................................................
Jose Hales-Garcia
UCLA Department of Statistics

 

[Stu]

Hilary Bailey wrote in post #976477:

A district-wide database and interface is not a trivial project. =A0Codin= g
it from scratch is a challenge for a seasoned developer in any language.

Why do want to do it in Ruby and why are you doing it from scratch?

Jose
.......................................................
Jose Hales-Garcia
UCLA Department of Statistics

Actually why is this being done in-house as opposed to outsourcing it
from a professional is a better question.

 

[Sergio Fernandes]

[Note: parts of this message were removed to make it a legal post.]

I recommnd learn for the beginning and study every sintax before another,
and pratice. good luck!

 

[Hilary Bailey]

Stefano Crocco wrote in post #976481:

First, you don't need a compiler to use ruby. Ruby is an interpreted
language,
which means that to execute a program written in ruby, you pass it to
the
source file (which is a plain text file) to the ruby interpreter which
will
take care of interpreting it and executing it. There's no compilation
step
involved in this, which is the reason you found no reference to a
compiler.

As for books, you can try with the first edition of Programming Ruby,
which is
freely availlable online at
http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/.
It's written for an old version of ruby, but it still is useful. There
are new
editions for new versions of ruby (edition 2 for ruby 1.8 and edition 3
for
ruby 1.9), but you have to buy them.

Regarding supporting software, that depends which operating system you
use.

If you're on Windows, then there's the RubyInstaller project
(http://rubyinstaller.org/) which provides the basic tool needed to work
with
ruby (I'm not completely sure about what it provides, as I don't use
Windows
myself).

If you're on Linux, then ruby is surely included in your distribution.

If you're on another operating system, then I don't know what your
options
are, but surely there's someone else who knows.

I hope this helps

Stefano

Hi Stefano,
Thanks for such speedy response. The Rubi community is really
impressive. I was under the impression that after having some programing
language skilss and with some training I would be able to put together a
# of applications and build a program computer program. I thought that
just like how individuals could use some of Apple's apps, put them
together then build a game, I believed that eventually this could be
done with Ruby and its supportive/compatible applications.

Now facing this reality, would it help if I used Linux instead of
Windows 7?

 

[Hilary Bailey]

Hi Stefano,
Thanks for such speedy response. The Rubi community is really
impressive. I was under the impression that after having some programing
language skilss and with some training I would be able to put together a
# of applications and build a program computer program. I thought that
just like how individuals could use some of Apple's apps, put them
together then build a game, I believed that eventually this could be
done with Ruby and its supportive/compatible applications.

Now facing this reality, would it help if I used Linux instead of
Windows 7?

 

[Hilary Bailey]

Shadowfirebird wrote in post #976488:

I don't mean to sound condescending, but if you've not programmed
before, perhaps you are underestimating the problem of jumping two
hurdles at once - learning to program, and learning the Ruby language.
Programming requires a paradigm-shift which, of course, is difficult to
explain to those who have not made it.

It sounds as if you have read a lot of books and got not much from them.
Why not try a different approach - try coding some simple programs for
yourself. If you are unable to access the Ruby interpreter, there are
websites that let you try it online (for example,http://tryruby.org/ ).

Go back to the book that you found least confusing and type out a couple
of examples for yourself. Try changing them. Code a simple program
from scratch -- say, to ask for a series of numbers at the command
prompt and print their sum.

And of course come back here and ask all the basic questions you like.
It's the basic questions that are the really deep ones. Good luck.

Shadowfirebird,
Thank you for the advice.

 

[Hilary Bailey]

Shadowfirebird,
Thank you for the advice.

 

[David Masover]

I was under the impression that after having some programing
language skilss and with some training I would be able to put together a
# of applications and build a program computer program. I thought that
just like how individuals could use some of Apple's apps, put them
together then build a game, I believed that eventually this could be
done with Ruby and its supportive/compatible applications.

I'm not sure quite what you mean here.

If you mean create a brand-new app from scratch using something like Apple's
Xcode tools, and then having a standalone app (without forcing people to
install Ruby), there are options for that. I haven't ever had to do this, but
the project that looks the coolest for this purpose is Rawr
(http://rawr.rubyforge.org/).

If you mean take several existing apps and mash them together into a new app,
that really depends which apps you're talking about. It could be a five minute
job of writing the appropriate glue code, essentially snapping stuff together
like legos, or it could be a truly impossible task, like trying to attach an
aircraft carrier to a 747 and make a useful vehicle out of it when you don't
have access to the blueprints of either.

For what you described:

"I am a school teacher trying to create an education database software for
administrators and teachers which will hold educational institutions
accountable for the performance of their school district."

I'm guessing you mean the former -- you're wanting to build something from
scratch, and you were just wanting to know how to actually get an app out of
it, right?

I'd also imagine that this sort of thing would make more sense as a web app.
The advantages of that approach would be that you don't have to create an
installer and make sure it installs and runs properly on every single person's
computer, you just need to make sure they have a decent web browser.
Basically, you'd get to install whatever OS and software you want on whatever
server(s) it runs on, and to everyone else, it's just a website.

The main disadvantage is that it would be a _lot_ more of a learning curve --
you'd want to know at least HTML and CSS, if not also HTTP (easy) and
JavaScript, in addition to Ruby.

Now facing this reality, would it help if I used Linux instead of
Windows 7?

Maybe.

Ruby definitely seems designed to run on a Unix of some sort, so if you want
to make the Ruby part easy on yourself, some sort of Linux would help. So
would BSD, OS X, even Solaris.

But learning an entirely new OS at the same time as you learn to program
sounds like a daunting task.

 

[Hilary Bailey]

David Masover wrote in post #976879:

I'm not sure quite what you mean here.

If you mean create a brand-new app from scratch using something like
Apple's
Xcode tools, and then having a standalone app (without forcing people to
install Ruby), there are options for that. I haven't ever had to do
this, but
the project that looks the coolest for this purpose is Rawr
(http://rawr.rubyforge.org/).

If you mean take several existing apps and mash them together into a new
app,
that really depends which apps you're talking about. It could be a five
minute
job of writing the appropriate glue code, essentially snapping stuff
together
like legos, or it could be a truly impossible task, like trying to
attach an
aircraft carrier to a 747 and make a useful vehicle out of it when you
don't
have access to the blueprints of either.

For what you described:

"I am a school teacher trying to create an education database software
for
administrators and teachers which will hold educational institutions
accountable for the performance of their school district."

I'm guessing you mean the former -- you're wanting to build something
from
scratch, and you were just wanting to know how to actually get an app
out of
it, right?

I'd also imagine that this sort of thing would make more sense as a web
app.
The advantages of that approach would be that you don't have to create
an
installer and make sure it installs and runs properly on every single
person's
computer, you just need to make sure they have a decent web browser.
Basically, you'd get to install whatever OS and software you want on
whatever
server(s) it runs on, and to everyone else, it's just a website.

The main disadvantage is that it would be a _lot_ more of a learning
curve --
you'd want to know at least HTML and CSS, if not also HTTP (easy) and
JavaScript, in addition to Ruby.


Maybe.

Ruby definitely seems designed to run on a Unix of some sort, so if you
want
to make the Ruby part easy on yourself, some sort of Linux would help.
So
would BSD, OS X, even Solaris.

But learning an entirely new OS at the same time as you learn to program
sounds like a daunting task.

Hi David,
Thanks a $llion for responding. Based on your response, where do I
start? Is there a specific HTML guide?. What is CSS and which one or
version should I use? And I guess the same applies to HTTP and
JavaScript. To a novice like me,I am still trying to piece together an
approach to learning how to program using and becoming a part of the
Open Source community. The difficulty is that the kind individuals like
yourself, who have answered my call for help have been tossing at me so
many programs that end-up adding to the problem. Therefore I am going to
take all the suggestions, place them in a learning sequential pattern
and ask you again for your advice. At this moment the web option seems
to be the closest answer to what I have been searching for. Getting
there is the problem. I am willing to spends the grueling time learning
it.

 

[Hilary Bailey]

Hi David,
Thanks a $llion for responding. Based on your response, where do I
start? Is there a specific HTML guide?. What is CSS and which one or
version should I use? And I guess the same applies to HTTP and
JavaScript. To a novice like me,I am still trying to piece together an
approach to learning how to program using and becoming a part of the
Open Source community. The difficulty is that the kind individuals like
yourself, who have answered my call for help have been tossing at me so
many programs that end-up adding to the problem. Therefore I am going to
take all the suggestions, place them in a learning sequential pattern
and ask you again for your advice. At this moment the web option seems
to be the closest answer to what I have been searching for. Getting
there is the problem. I am willing to spends the grueling time learning
it.

 

[Josh Cheek]

[Note: parts of this message were removed to make it a legal post.]

Now facing this reality, would it help if I used Linux instead of
Windows 7?

I think you should not do this. It is tempting to think "if only I did this,
or had that, everything would be so much easier". This is why I own so many
books

Linux is a whole topic of its own. I suppose there might be some rewards to
using it, but certainly not enough to warrant switching, for someone in your
situation. IMO, Linux suffers serious usability issues, which is why I use a
Mac. I expect switching would just be a hindrance.

Windows will be fine, if your gems are just not working (make sure you have
the devkit), or you have to really beat your head against the wall to get
things to install and play nicely, then maybe you will have a reason to
switch, but I never had any issues like that when I used Windows, and there
are a number of people really putting a lot of work in to make the Windows
environment nice to use Ruby with.

So far, it sounds like your issue is that you are not getting the
information out of the books that they were hoping you would get out of
them. That is not an environment problem, so I think you should stick with
Windows.

I think the problem is the way you are trying to get information out of the
books you have / the way the books are guiding you to get information out.
The Revolutionist's Handbook has a maxim that I have found to be true in my
own life: "Activity is the only road to knowledge". When you go to learn
from these books, do you sit down and read them, try to piece the
information into some sort of cohesive bit of information, and then move on
to the next thing? Or do you read them, sit down and try to use them in a
program, see if they work the way they are described, see how you can take
them and combine them in a new way to do something interesting to you? I
suspect you have written extremely few programs by your confusion about the
compiler. That is not a problem in itself, but it will prevent you from
learning. I believe to "get it", you must ground the theory in some sort of
application that you comprehend on a more fundamental level. And playing
with the material out of your own creativity, writing your own code,
fabricating your own solution out of the building blocks the books give you,
I think, is the best way to translate the theory of Ruby programming into
something you internally understand.

I hope you don't find that to be offensive, I am just trying to express the
realization I've had to face in my own life, that there are good and bad
ways of learning. When you are using the good ways, you will amaze yourself
by how much you can pick up so quickly, and when you are using the bad ways,
you will make almost no progress, and be very frustrated by how even things
you know are simple turn out to be complicated.

Descriptions, written in English, are just abstractions for the actual,
concrete behaviour of the thing. They have their place, and can be a
wonderful way to communicate, but you must first understand how the
abstraction maps to the reality. You first have to have the foundations of a
mental model to map the new knowledge to. And that, I think, comes from
doing and playing.

 

[Phillip Gawlowski]

Thanks a $llion for responding. Based on your response, where do I
start? Is there a specific HTML guide?. What is CSS and which one or
version should I use? And I guess the same applies to HTTP and
JavaScript.

There's dozens of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript guides out there, but a
good starting point to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript is
w3schools.com.

Keep in mind, that those three are different, but related, technologies:
- HTML describes a site.
- CSS makes a site pretty.
- JavaScript manipulates a site.

As for versions of those: Take a look at w3schools.com. What you can
learn there will be supported by pretty much any recent browser (HTML
5 and CSS 3.0 aren't wildly deployed yet, and still in flux, though
the current generation of browsers is getting better at them: IE9,
Firefox 4, Chrome dev-channel).

You don't really need to learn HTTP (fortunately): If you decide on a
web-based solution, your webserver will take care of that. At most,
deal with error codes, of which you need to know 3:
404: Site not found.
500: Internal Server Error (a catch all, meaning that something in
your webserver went wrong).
200: The client request could be processed.

Those 3 are important to troubleshoot an application.

Also: Web servers, database servers, HTTP stuff etc. is more the
domain of a system administrator.

To a novice like me,I am still trying to piece together an
approach to learning how to program using and becoming a part of the
Open Source community. The difficulty is that the kind individuals like
yourself, who have answered my call for help have been tossing at me so
many programs that end-up adding to the problem. Therefore I am going to
take all the suggestions, place them in a learning sequential pattern
and ask you again for your advice.

Well, you need two tools to develop Ruby applications: A texteditor,
and Ruby itself. Everything else is gravy.

For web stuff, it helps to have a number of browsers installed, to see
if your markup code and JavaScript work as you think they should.
However, if you can find a web designer, they'll happily do that for
you, or grab a template for HTML and CSS off of a website, like
oswd.org or opensourcetemplates.org .


Of course, you'll want to look out for libraries that do what you want
to do, without you having to deal with the problem yourself, since
that means you can focus on your own application, rather than having
to deal with Yet Another Problem (we usually call that "yak shaving":
it's something you have to do, but isn't really getting you towards
solving the problem).

That can be database wrappers (means to interface with a database, and
doing so in a Ruby-ish syntax), or Markdown to format text without
having to deal with the gritty HTML, and so on.

At this moment the web option seems
to be the closest answer to what I have been searching for. Getting
there is the problem. I am willing to spends the grueling time learning
it.

A good choice for that is, probably, Rails. You can easily install
Ruby and Rails with the RailsInstaller (railsinstaller.org), which
bundles all you need in one package, and you don't really need a web
server, or anything else to run a Rails app in development mode (which
is the default).

Rails has the other benefit that there are a lot of tutorials and
howtos to be found, and the Rails community one forum over can be
helpful, too.

Another very good resource is http://railscasts.com/, and I've heard
only good things about PeepCode.com's webcasts (which are pay for, but
everybody is raving about them).

While all of this seems like a lot, you can divide this with ease into
several steps:
- Learn Ruby and Rails (or another web framework, like Sinatra)
- Pick up the necessities of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Learn about application security (this is very, very important on
the internet!)
- Learn about deployment options for Rails (or the web framework you chose)
--
Phillip Gawlowski

Though the folk I have met,
(Ah, how soon!) they forget
When I've moved on to some other place,
There may be one or two,
When I've played and passed through,
Who'll remember my song or my face.

 

[Mike Stephens]

Hilary Bailey wrote in post #976477:

This is my second attempt to understand Ruby.

What happened the first time - did you give up or try something else?

My only programming experience is
the confusion I had trying to read and comprehend the above sources

Have you never used another programming system? Why did you choose Ruby?

Is this application for you, a closed group of users or do you want to
market it?