Resources for Getting Started with Ruby on Rails (opens in new tab)

(engineyard.com)

115 pointsdanishkhan15y ago21 comments

21 comments

I started learning Rails a few months ago, just before version 3 came out. My #1 tip - install Ruby Version Manager! Playing around with various different versions of Ruby, Rails and various gems, I managed to get my setup into a pretty broken state more than once. RVM lets you manage multiple Ruby installs on the same machine, which basically means that if you screw something up (or find out that a gem you needed to use won't work right with your version of Ruby/Rails) you don't have to reconfigure your entire machine.

If I had taken the time to install it straight away I would have saved a lot of wasted effort.

danishkhanOP15y ago

haha, yea RVM is an amazing tool. I'm working on creating a tutorial for setting up your local machine to have it ready to start working on RoR. I just need to do a little more research about the best ways to do it for Windows since that is an OS I'm not to familiar with.

drewda15y ago

A tutorial would be great. I couldn't figure RVM out from the messy docs; had to have others step me through the install and set-up process.

1 more reply

markkanof15y ago

A tutorial would be great, but a tutorial that also explained why we are doing each step would be amazing. My Linux/Unix knowledge is somewhat limited, so a short tutorial really breaks down if I hit a step that doesn't work because of some different configuration on my machine.

Then what should have been ten minutes turns into three hours and I burn up all the time I could have been building something. Granted I usually learn something along the way, but it would be awesome if people provided some more details as part of their tutorials.

1 more reply

pdelgallego15y ago

There are other places with nice screencasts, like :

- Teach me to code: http://teachmetocode.com/

- Lernivore: (this is an aggregator) http://learnivore.com/

Even they are not rails specific I found this interesting:

- Katacasts: http://katacasts.com/

- Remi: http://remi.org/ (I think he has stop uploading anything new)

- Vimcast: http://vimcasts.org/

- Ruby Pulse: http://rubypulse.com/

I also like to check out Confreaks to see the sessions of some conferences

http://confreaks.net/events

jim_h15y ago

I also recommend this website for a good collection of blogs entries daily. http://www.planetrubyonrails.com/

Good list. There's a few sites I haven't been to yet. Not a fan of bit.ly links though. I like knowing exactly where the links are going to

danishkhanOP15y ago

Yea, I realize that know. I think I'm going to add the urls next to the links so people know where they are going.

spicyj15y ago

Why use shortened links at all if no users have to type them? You've added the complete links now, but they're not clickable.

1 more reply

macco15y ago

If you are a beginner, the rails tutorial is just awesome. It describes every step you take - really, really great stuff.

BvS15y ago

Do you mean: http://railstutorial.org/

danishkhanOP15y ago

I updated the post so that you know where the links are taking you.

thibaut_barrere15y ago

In case you find it useful:

http://www.learnivore.com aggregates most of the ruby/rails programming screencasts I could find (disclaimer: I'm running this site).

danishkhanOP15y ago

I have updated the post to have the base url for all the resources. My apologizes to the creators of those resources. My intentions were never to take away from your PageRanks.

Also, I will be adding resources recommended by people in the comments on the post, HN, and Reddit shortly. So if you have any you want added let me know soon.

timinman15y ago

WPGTR: http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/

danishkhanOP15y ago

Updated the post to include suggestions by commenters on the blog, HN, and twitter.

cantbecool15y ago

Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby and Foundation of Rails 2, should be on that list.

marcamillion15y ago

That link doesn't work for me. Anyone else having issues?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

21 comments

DanI-S15y ago

If I had taken the time to install it straight away I would have saved a lot of wasted effort.

danishkhanOP15y ago

drewda15y ago

A tutorial would be great. I couldn't figure RVM out from the messy docs; had to have others step me through the install and set-up process.

1 more reply

markkanof15y ago

1 more reply

pdelgallego15y ago

There are other places with nice screencasts, like :

- Teach me to code: http://teachmetocode.com/

- Lernivore: (this is an aggregator) http://learnivore.com/

Even they are not rails specific I found this interesting:

- Katacasts: http://katacasts.com/

- Remi: http://remi.org/ (I think he has stop uploading anything new)

- Vimcast: http://vimcasts.org/

- Ruby Pulse: http://rubypulse.com/

I also like to check out Confreaks to see the sessions of some conferences

http://confreaks.net/events

jim_h15y ago

I also recommend this website for a good collection of blogs entries daily. http://www.planetrubyonrails.com/

Good list. There's a few sites I haven't been to yet. Not a fan of bit.ly links though. I like knowing exactly where the links are going to

danishkhanOP15y ago

Yea, I realize that know. I think I'm going to add the urls next to the links so people know where they are going.

spicyj15y ago

Why use shortened links at all if no users have to type them? You've added the complete links now, but they're not clickable.

1 more reply

macco15y ago

If you are a beginner, the rails tutorial is just awesome. It describes every step you take - really, really great stuff.

BvS15y ago

Do you mean: http://railstutorial.org/

danishkhanOP15y ago

I updated the post so that you know where the links are taking you.

thibaut_barrere15y ago

In case you find it useful:

http://www.learnivore.com aggregates most of the ruby/rails programming screencasts I could find (disclaimer: I'm running this site).

danishkhanOP15y ago

I have updated the post to have the base url for all the resources. My apologizes to the creators of those resources. My intentions were never to take away from your PageRanks.

Also, I will be adding resources recommended by people in the comments on the post, HN, and Reddit shortly. So if you have any you want added let me know soon.

timinman15y ago

WPGTR: http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/

danishkhanOP15y ago

Updated the post to include suggestions by commenters on the blog, HN, and twitter.

cantbecool15y ago

Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby and Foundation of Rails 2, should be on that list.

marcamillion15y ago

That link doesn't work for me. Anyone else having issues?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse