simply rails 2-ruby dictionary?

I looked for a ruby dictionary online but couldn't seem to find one. does one exist?

I don't know what you mean by "dictionary". I'm guessing that what you're looking for is called something else. Please give an example of a word or three that you would like to know about.

string,block, migration, class,helpers, forms, schema... ect. I realize the definitions are in the book to a certain degree, but sometimes they are not

Hmmm. I don't know of anything that broad. But I think if you search for "Ruby Glossary" you should find something fairly decent.

There's the API:

http://www.ruby-doc.org/core/

after clicking on various links on that page I must confess, I have no idea what its all about

IMHO the API is more a reference than something to learn from. In other words it's good for double checking info about something (i.e. Files, Classes, Methods) after you already have some grasp of the language and start working with it. It would be a good idea to poke around it some just to get an idea of how it works, but most likely you won't really start leaning on it until you've been working with Ruby for a while.

True, you can learn from it. But it's a different kind of beast and for me at least, not so easy to use as a learning source.

If you are serious about Ruby & RoR then a good understanding of Ruby is imperative.

And this is one of the definitive books to have:
http://www.pragprog.com/titles/ruby/programming-ruby

cheers Dave

Get this book - Foundation Rails (http://www.friendsofed.com/book.html?isbn=1430210397).

It is the best beginners Rails book I have ever seen. It covers some of the more basic ideas of Rails that most books just assume that you already know. However, it is published by Friends of Ed - they normally don't have the best books (IMHO), and are prone to lots of errata. This book however is top notch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mittineague

IMHO the API is more a reference than something to learn from.

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IMHO a dictionary is a reference and not something you start learning from. :)

However, its clear from the subsequent posts that what 4877 needs is a Ruby text book.

I've not seen the Friends of Ed book, but I have to say I'm with daveporter. The classic Programming Ruby takes a lot of beating and has a good command reference. You can get a taster looking at the original which is bundled in the Ruby Windows install if you use the one-click installer, and is available on line.

The problem with books is that they become out of date, and with Rails, that can happen fairly quickly. You cannot beat the API for an up-to-date reference. So not a good place to start, but an essential reference once you've started using Rails and/or Ruby in anger.

And don't forget the Rails api too:

http://api.rubyonrails.com