[Rails] [ANN] "Ruby for Rails" now available in PDF!

dblack@wobblini.net
Sun, 16 Apr 2006 18:59:49 -0000

Hi --

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006, M. Edward (Ed) Borasky wrote:

> Henry Turner wrote:
>> Nice one!
>> Beginners need to know where ruby ends and rails begins. And questions
>> like "Do I need to know ruby to use rails?" are bad news!
>>
> To be fair to the beginners, more than one so-called expert has said that
one
> does not need to know "much" Ruby to use Rails, indeed to develop
a Rails
> application. Rails (today, anyhow) is to a great extent a domain-specific
> language written in Ruby for developing "Basecamp-like" web
applications.
>
> As Rails co-evolves with the Ruby and the Rails user communities, I think
the
> boundary between Rails and Ruby might just get *less* defined than it is
> already. :) Before Rails, I for one had only heard of Ruby in the context
of
> computer music as a scripting language for a "Max-like" package
called
> PureData/Gridflow.

I come from somewhat the other end of the spectrum.  By the time
Rails appeared, I''d co-organized four international Ruby conferences,
contributed Ruby book chapters, co-founded a non-profit Ruby support
group, and participated almost daily on at least one Ruby mailing
list.

And that''s nothing, compared to what people were doing in Japan :-)
At the second of those conferences (2002), Masayoshi Takahashi brought
with him from Japan a box of all *twenty-two* Ruby books then
published in Japanese.  Every Ruby/Rails programmer should see this
photo -- it''s great, and it was so exciting to see them close up.

http://www.pablotron.org/gallery/rubyconf2002/?g_show=1&g_ofs=28&g_num=1

In short, there''s plenty of Ruby to go around :-)  I don''t see
any
occlusion taking place, as between Ruby and Rails.  It''s purely
additive, and very successful, I think.

> In other words, before Rails, to me Ruby was "just another scripting
language
> that I had to learn to use a package", like VBA is for Excel. I would
have
> never wanted to learn Ruby itself if it had not been for Rails.

Canada on Rails, which took place at the end of this past week, once
again convinced me of how nice the fit is, not only between Ruby and
Rails as technologies but between and among the various constituencies
and communities that are attracted to either or both.  It''s a fun ride
-- long may it continue.


David

--
David A. Black (dblack@wobblini.net)
Ruby Power and Light, LLC (http://www.rubypowerandlight.com)

"Ruby for Rails" PDF now on sale!  http://www.manning.com/black
Paper version coming in early May!