From: Phlip Date: 2008-09-03T12:04:35+09:00 Subject: Re: Beginner in Ruby thiagobrandam wrote: > Hi all, my name is Thiago and I am completely new to Ruby. I'm having > OO class this semester and one of the languages we are using is Ruby. > For the final exam, we will have to build a software using OO concepts > and my group decided to do this task with Ruby. I'd like to know what > kind of software Ruby is best for and its limitations. I'm not asking > for ideas but for directions, so that we don't waste our time trying > to do something too difficult or impossible. Easy: Ruby is a leader in two overlapping concepts - TDD and BDD. Look up "Test Driven Development" and "Behavior Driven Development", then learn to use RubyUnit and RSpec, respectively. Write a simple app twice, each version using one or the other technique. Target a simple tool, such as a Virtual Pet, or the database layer of a blog application. Then compare and contrast the two DDs. How are they syntactically different? How are they semantically the same? What (if anything!) can you do with one that you can't do with the other? You should learn that TDD is "developer facing", meaning developers are more comfortable looking at it than non-technical clients are. Done right, BDD is "customer facing". Non-technical clients should be able to help express their requirements as literate tests, using it. -- Phlip