From: Hal Fulton <hal9000@...>
Date: 2004-05-13T00:15:01+09:00
Subject: Re: Recommendations (Ruby making my head swim)

Mike Rhodes wrote:
> I recently bought "Programming Ruby" and set out to learn the language 
> through sheer force of will and determination, but I have to admit that 
> I just can't keep up... I'm way behind the book conceptually. As a 
> self-taught programmer with no computer science background, where should 
> I turn to "prelearn" ruby? I have taught myself shell scripting and AWK, 
> but I have no background in larger programming concepts. I am 
> considering the book mentioned in "Programming Ruby" ("Object Oriented 
> Software Construction" by Bertrand Meyer) but that seems like a lot to 
> absorb just to get started with a new programming language. Any thoughts?

_Teach Yourself Ruby in 21 Days_ is a good book. Admittedly that series
is of inconsistent quality, but this one is really pretty good.

And _The Ruby Way_ has a short intro to OOP in the first chapter, as
well as a whirlwind tour of Ruby. Increasingly out of date, of course.


Hal