From: Emiel van de Laar <emiel@...>
Date: 2006-10-24T21:58:42+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby in a Nutshell .. worth it?

* EB (ebonakDUH_@hotmail.com) wrote:
> Hallo Emiel,
> 
> Emiel van de Laar wrote:
> >* EB (ebonakDUH_@hotmail.com) wrote:
> >>Hi,
> >>
> >>I know this is somewhat out-dated, but is it worth getting?
> >
> >This was the book that got me hooked on Ruby. It's a really
> >good book in my opinion, but like you said it is dated. It
> >covers Ruby 1.6. We are now at 1.8.5.
> 
> Are those significant changes? How soon is the next version
> (1.9 or 2.0?) expected? Again, I'm very new to Ruby,
> though not programming.

It would give you a feel for the Ruby language but would
probably be a bad investment. The changes are significant
enough to go directly to 1.8.x.


> I am/was a big fan of Python, esp due to its clear
> layout requirements (a god-sent for those of us who have
> to read other people's code), but Ruby is my current favorite :-)
> 
> >I'd love it if this book got an update as well. :)
> > 
> >>I have Programming Ruby, and the Ruby Cookbook, but they all
> >>require some digging through to find info quickly.
> >
> >I have the PDF version of Programming Ruby (2nd edition). When
> >I'm looking for something I just search it. Perhaps that
> >is an option...
> 
> Yes, that's true, but it would tie me to the computer, and I
> would like some time away every once in a while. I think the
> tiny size - though not tiny price! :-( of the nutshell book would
> make it a good "carry-along and browse when time" reference to
> get a lay of the land.

The size is very attractive. I carried the Nutshell book in
my backpack for a long time. However, I can't recommend it
anymore because it is outdated.

Have a look here.

http://www.ruby-doc.org/bookstore

Perhaps you can find a small format book...

As Peter suggested...
I have heard positive things about David A. Black's book.
I'm going to buy the book someday just because David is
such a good writer.

Regards,

Emiel