From: Rick DeNatale Date: 2007-06-07T08:35:09+09:00 Subject: Re: starting On 6/6/07, Peter Seebach wrote: > In message , "Harol > d Hausman" writes: > >At the beginning of course! > > > >http://poignantguide.net/ruby/ > > I just have to point out: > > Had I been given pretty much any other link first, I would have learned Ruby > months earlier. That one creeped me out with how cultish it was, and > furthermore, didn't actually TELL me anything about the language for a > few pages. I found Pickaxe much more approachable. > > I do not like to start people with a programming language guide which > reads like an old Dr. Pepper commercial. Which really points out that what works best for anyone in learning anything is highly dependent on the person. Different people find that what works for other folks might or might not work for them. Some folks want to be led down a track, of these some might enjoy a whimsical/idiosyncratic approach such as _why's. From the number of times follks praise the poignant guide, it seems that there's a fair number who find it useful. Others have a project or projects in mind and figure out what they need to know step by step shortly after they discover that they need to know it, kind of an agile approach to learning. They get a reference book, and/or find internet resources such as this forum and ruby-oriented web sites (if they can find any ) useful. It also depends on where you are starting. On another thread someone was asking about learning Rails, and was given the advice that they really should understand Ruby first. Maybe, maybe not. Again it really depends on whether they want to focus on learning Ruby or want to build something with Rails (or maybe something else) and pick up Ruby along the way. There are lots of paths into the Ruby community, which one works best depends on where you are starting from, and what means of transport works best for you. -- Rick DeNatale My blog on Ruby http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/