Rails tool, advice much appreciated

[Elizabeth Barnwell]

This a free resource for learning/finding info on Ruby on
Rails:

http://www.yoyobrain.com/cardboxes/preview/863

If you click on “Try a learning drill” the site will quiz you on Rails
information to help you memorize- pretty cool. If there's anything
else you would like to learn, you can search for, or create your own
flashcards.

I would love to hear your thoughts on site, as it was built on Rails.

I just started working with this company, and I'm new to the Rails
community (I used YoYoBrain in college for memorizing art history
flashcards!) Will Bunker, who created One and Only, later rebranded as
Match.com, created YoYoBrain to learn Web 2.0 languages more quickly-
currently, the site has turned into a tool for any kind of
memorization.

I would really appreciate any advice as to how to make YoYoBrain more
valuable to people who want to learn Rails (and other programming
language for that matter) and how to get the word out.

I hope you find it useful, and can't wait to hear your feedback.

Feel free to email me! (e-mail address removed)

Peace,

Elizabeth

 

[Mark Wilden]

This a free resource for learning/finding info on Ruby on
Rails:

http://www.yoyobrain.com/cardboxes/preview/863

I don't think a programming language lends itself well to the
flashcard approach (which is a great way to learn vocabulary in a
human language). Programming is much more about knowing where to find
the answer than memorizing it.

Just my two cents. If someone does find flashcards useful, YoYoBrain
looks like a great site.

///ark

 

[Albert Schlef]

Programming is much more about knowing where to find
the answer

Flash cards aren't meant for "finding the answer". That's because
they're random (and flashy ;-)

I'm now learning RoR, and, seeing these cards, I'm thankful for
Elizabeth for creating them. It's nice to go over them after you've
finished reading a chapter in your book. Of course, as you wisely
remarked, later I'll just go and "find the answer" and not look at
cards.

I don't think a programming language lends itself well to the
flashcard approach

We aren't dealing with a mere 'programming language' but with
framework(s).

 

[Raju Gandhi]

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

Hi Elizabeth.

That is a pretty cool website. I certainly will be poking around to learn
some. There is one thing I noticed, and I might be splitting hairs here, but
the "flip" button does not cause the index card to "freeze", in that if I
move the mouse away from the button the index card flips back. This is fine
till there is a scroll bar in the index card, as I could not find a way to
scroll the contents of the index card. Check out the "Syntax to generate
inline RJS from the controller action" index card in the RJS section (its
the right most card in the first row).

In any case, thanks for the great resource. Lovin' it!

Raju

On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 7:09 PM, Elizabeth Barnwell <

 

[Albert Schlef]

the "flip" button does not cause the index card to "freeze", in
that if I move the mouse away from the button the index card
flips back. This is fine till there is a scroll bar in the index
card, as I could not find a way to scroll the contents of the
index card

Yeah, this bothered me as well.

 

[Ron Fox]

I don't like the definition of Mongrel. Mongrel is a web server.
rather than interacting with a web server.

RF

 

[Mark Wilden]

Flash cards aren't meant for "finding the answer". That's because
they're random (and flashy ;-)

That's exactly what I meant. Since programming _is_ about "finding the
answer," I don't think flash cards are the best way to learn a
framework.

We aren't dealing with a mere 'programming language' but with
framework(s).

I don't know what you mean by "mere," here.

I try to state it more simply: Flashcards are great for memorizing
stuff. Memorizing stuff isn't very useful in programming. Therefore,
flashcards aren't very useful to learn programming (including learning
a language or a framework).

///ark

 

[David Masover]

That's exactly what I meant. Since programming _is_ about "finding the
answer," I don't think flash cards are the best way to learn a
framework.

But learning a framework is very different than learning to program.

There are a few Rails-isms that are very much syntactical, like

5.hours.ago

I try to state it more simply: Flashcards are great for memorizing
stuff. Memorizing stuff isn't very useful in programming. Therefore,
flashcards aren't very useful to learn programming (including learning
a language or a framework).

I think the point is that learning a framework is very different than learning
a language. Learning a language involves a new way of thinking, and problem
solving, and a bit of syntax. Learning a framework is mostly memorizing.

Simple example: It would probably take less than a day to teach any programmer
C, assuming they didn't know. There's just not much to it.

However, to learn to _program_ in C, you're going to want to know the C
standard library, at least. That's going to mean knowing things like strcmp.
And it's going to be almost entirely memorizing.

There is some overlap, of course. Some frameworks, especially in a DSL-heavy
language like Ruby, will play tricks with syntax and with your assumptions
about the language. But I can see why this argument is being made for
Rails -- once you grok MVC, and a few odd conventions like method calls in
your class definitions (has_many, validates_uniqueness_of, and friends), the
rest is mostly going to be memorizing details like the difference between
AssociationProxy#size and AssociationProxy#length. (That's important, by the
way!)

 

[Mark Wilden]

I've been posting way too much here lately, so I'll just say that if
flashcards help you learn Rails, more power to you. Obviously, you
have to remember a lot of stuff to do practically anything in life.
But if I were to hire someone, I'd be much more impressed if she was
good at googling than if she could parrot back a short description of
Mongrel.

///ark

 

[David Masover]

I've been posting way too much here lately, so I'll just say that if
flashcards help you learn Rails, more power to you. Obviously, you
have to remember a lot of stuff to do practically anything in life.
But if I were to hire someone, I'd be much more impressed if she was
good at googling than if she could parrot back a short description of
Mongrel.

Not looking for a job (yet), but I actually tend more towards keeping
http://ruby-doc.org/core and http://api.rubyonrails.org/ open in tabs than
memorizing everything. Never touched the Rails flash cards.

Just pointing out why it might be useful. I'm probably posting too much also,
though...