From: Richard Conroy Date: 2007-03-09T21:56:08+09:00 Subject: Re: New Book: Everyday Scripting With Ruby ... On 3/8/07, Chad Perrin wrote: > > I just got a copy of 'Everyday Scripting With Ruby' by Brian Marick > > and like it so far. Good for someone new to the language, too simple > > for advanced users though. > I want to get my hands on that one. It's probably ideal for the people > I know who are expressing interest in Ruby -- too experienced with all > things programming for Learn to Program (by Chris Pine) and not as well > served by something that just drops you in head-first like the Pickaxe > (by Dave Thomas and Andrew Hunt). That's not to say the other two books > aren't good, of course -- just that I think Everyday Scripting might be > the perfect middle road. Thats what I think too. Have 3 copies here at work, and me and the testers are going through them. Too early to say how they are getting on (will know next week), but there are some great touches. I just really like the way he introduces programming concepts as you need them. The early examples hardcode variable names (of filenames) so he shows you how to make the script more reusable by passing them in from the command line instead. All the examples are like this - he takes raw, inelegant, un-DRY, learner level scripting to its ultimate outcome - brittle, limited-reuse scripts, and then introduces the programming concepts necessary to overcome this: parameterising your scripts, defining functions, using data collections, making your own classes, using TestCase properly, and so on. The standard of Ruby writing is quite high, but the audience for this book is generally not well served. Its a great book, and I thoroughly enjoy working through it (the regular expression section is now permanently bookmarked). My Girlfriend and Dad are working their way through Chris Pine's book, and I am thinking of getting them this next.