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Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#21

Post by acpigeon »

cageface wrote: post #16

Do it. Having some understanding of programming will be an asset even if you don't use it and Ruby is a fun and easy language to learn. If nothing else you'll appreciate why the engineering team usually considers the sales team its enemy.

Agreed. Having been played for both "sides" at one point or another, I'm well aware of the tension.

It's a fact that there is credibility in having some knowledge of both the technical and business side of any operation, and it's definitely a part of my consideration in doing this.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#22

Post by cubicle67 »

Do it.

Ruby is the perfect scripting language, and you'll be surprised at the sheer utility of having something the ability to use something like this. Forget the web side of things; just he ability to whip up a quick throwaway script (to automate office tasks, calculate forecasts, do complex eng calculations etc) gives you a massive advantage over others in your field.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#23

Post by acpigeon »

rortian wrote: post #12

The best advice I could give to someone trying to learn a computer language is to first pick something you'd like to do. You'd like to be able to put together a website so that's a good start. With an English background you might try something like: Putting together a collection of books by an author (or as many as you want) from Project Gutenberg. Come up with a rails site that lets you explore or search these in an…

Excellent observation. It's exactly this sort of ready applicability that appeals to me about web tech. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#24

Post by acpigeon »

TrevorBurnham wrote: post #9
sleight42 wrote: post #8

Chunky bacon!

The parent isn't quite as inane a comment as it may seem. It's a reference to Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby, a widely beloved introduction to the language that you can read free online at http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/ The Ruby ecosystem is very rich. You don't need a $100 course to learn the language, though it might help to provide motivation.

Thanks for the resource! And indeed, it is exactly that "boot camp" motivation I would be looking for in deciding to take a class.

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#25

Post by acpigeon »

cubicle67 wrote: post #22

Do it. Ruby is the perfect scripting language, and you'll be surprised at the sheer utility of having something the ability to use something like this. Forget the web side of things; just he ability to whip up a quick throwaway script (to automate office tasks, calculate forecasts, do complex eng calculations etc) gives you a massive advantage over others in your field.

Interesting. Wasn't aware of this particular functionality, definitely sounds engaging. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#26

Post by brianto2010 »

I don't see why not... go for it!

To supplement your Ruby knowledge and class, I'd say take a look at Ruby code snippets from Rosetta Code[1] to get a 'feel' for what Ruby looks like in a variety of applications.

[1] http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Ruby

Just out of curiosity, what kind of class is it? Is it in-person (with classmates and lecturer) or is it a web class (like University of Reddit)? What does the curriculum look like? Is there a website we can check out?

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#28

Post by acpigeon »

brianto2010 wrote: post #26

I don't see why not... go for it! To supplement your Ruby knowledge and class, I'd say take a look at Ruby code snippets from Rosetta Code[1] to get a 'feel' for what Ruby looks like in a variety of applications. [1] http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Ruby Just out of curiosity, what kind of class is it? Is it in-person (with classmates and lecturer) or is it a web class (like University of Reddit)? What does the curriculum…

Absolutely. It's all online through a community college, description below.

http://www.ed2go.com/monroe/online_course/rby/detail/Introdu...

Re: Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

#30

Post by acangiano »

mrduncan wrote: post #20
acangiano wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I generally agree with your comment, but I found this stament to be inaccurate: > (more popular than Rails actually) [citation needed]. The largest websites/web applications in the world are built in Rails much more frequently than in Django. And there is much more demand for Rails developers in the marketplace. I fail to see evidence that Django is actually used more than Rails is in the real world.

The largest websites/web applications in the world are built in Rails much more frequently than in Django. While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well. Let's just put it this way: Both frameworks power large sites, you pretty much can't go wrong with either.

> While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well.

I made the statement because I'm ready to back it up. Among the most popular 1000 sites on the web, you will find at least a dozen Rails sites [1]. There are extremely common names like Twitter, Hulu, Scribd, Justin.TV, White/Yellow Pages, Urban Dictionary, etc. How many Django sites do you see in the top 1000? Curse.com was one of the largest Django sites out there (a case study in the 1st edition of the Django Book). They switched to ASP.NET upon being acquired.

[1] http://rails100.pbworks.com/Alexa+Rankings

> Let's just put it this way: Both frameworks power large sites, you pretty much can't go wrong with either.

Without a doubt. And I've made this exact point many times before. I was just arguing against the unsubstantiated claim made by the op of this thread.

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