From: The MacRubyist <macrubyist@...>
Date: 2007-06-17T19:05:05+09:00
Subject: Nervous Nuby Starting Out!


Anybody out there who's patient and willing to give a newby help if
required?
I'm just starting out considering trying to learn Ruby as a first
language (considering Applescript as language 0.5). This is largely because I
have a nebulous sense that Applescript is a collection of bad habits
waiting to pounce, especially if I'm learning it on my own. I've 'proved'
with Applescript that I like scripting for personal hobbyist things
(usually involving tweaking something to taste, text munging and simple small
things rather than trying to write a big huge app, so far). Suddenly
I'm bumping into limitations of Applescript for things I want to do, and
they're not necessarily to do with hooking apps up (which I know how to
ask for help for from the mailing list) as much as fairly simple 'unixy'
things to do with strings, simple XML and regexes, plus the stuff about
basic program design, flow control &c. Mainly attracted to Ruby by the
big huge user community and the idea that I could make a very cautious
attempt to learn from the ground up -- mainly put off from it so far by
the impression that it is full of people much cleverer than I am!
I don't want to hook Mac-specific stuff up to it until I've found my
feet a bit, and can always keep the little Applescripts I have that work (I
know the Mac-specific stuff is there if required, because people keep
making jokes on the internet about how many of the developers *working*
on Ruby are doing it on Macs), but could do with sorting out an easy XML
parser (Hpricot has been suggested) and working with strings and XML
elements.(and regexes and hashes if I can cautiously start to get my head
round them).
Also, it's my current writing-a-blog-about project in the sense that,
looking for something to blog about that I'm thinking about and there
aren't 99,999 blogs about already, I have started to write my impressions so
far (including where I find mental road-blocks in Why's excellent
friendly book) at:
macrubyist.livejournal.com

Please, if you think this is Far Too Ambitious, please pass over it in
discreet silence and I'll get the hint eventually (probably after I've
been knocking my head against it for weeks or months and can't do 'puts
'Hello world'). Don't discourage me yet. If you don't think it's a
completely cuckoo thing to do as a self-taught project, I'd love to hear from
you. Especially if somebody would tell me it's really easy to compile
from source under Darwin, because the last time I tried to compile from
source it was in an abortive attempt to learn Linux several years ago, with
several unfriendly problems, and I'm scared.
-- 
The (...and where are all those cartoon foxes, anyway? Could do with
seeing a friendly face...) MacRubyist