From: Bill Guindon <agorilla@...>
Date: 2007-06-18T03:36:31+09:00
Subject: Re: Nervous Nuby Starting Out!

On 6/17/07, The MacRubyist <macrubyist@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
> "Axel Etzold" <AEtzold@gmx.de> wrote:
>
> [very useful hints and bits snipped, will definitely look at this stuff]
>
> Unfortunately, the very first real-world Ordinary Stupid Problem i
> actually want to solve is that the flow of control in one of my Applescripts
> that creates text data and saves it in a small bunch of XML files (which
> i use because my boyfriend pointed out that XML works well as a Better
> Text File) is slightly wonky and won't iterate through the last file, so
> i'd actually quite like to implement the
> iterate-through-small-bunch-of-files thing in Ruby. I know the basics of using the DOM in as simple
> and easy way as I can get away with.

That's pretty much the first thing I did with Ruby, it's fairly
simple, and a good way to learn.

> Having just run irb so far because am slightly scared of getting into
> compilation and package management without using binaries, (and I tried
> telling Tiger to 'require gems' and it didn't like that, which presumably
> means i have to download & compile) would you advise me to:
> a) debug my Applescript properly by staring at it until I grow
> cross-eyed, because debugging is good experience and then i won't be tempted to
> jump ahead too far just to get something to work.
> b) try to compile and install Gems so I can have a go at using the
> packages that will give me an XML parser
> or

I suggest 'b'.  No compile needed.  Just download from rubyforge,
unzip it, and then run:
ruby setup.rb

> c) Take a Deep Breath and start from the beginning with the Pickaxe and
> Why's cartoon book, desperately reining in my desire to work with any
> real-world data at all until I've got the hang of the basics, at which
> point I can 'plumb in' actual data, because the reason I want to have a go
> at Ruby In The First Place is to take a step back and learn from the
> ground up to avoid the heaving mass of spaghetti code I can see in my
> future if I keep learning Applescript as self-taught with nobody to talk to.
> The (...still nervous...) MacRubyist

Nothing to fear here.  Give it a shot, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

-- 
Bill Guindon (aka aGorilla)
The best answer to most questions is "it depends".