To Learn Ruby/RoR...?

[Mygly]

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about learning ruby. My past programming expierience is in C++ from high school and some in college too (which I currently still attend), I know some php, but not a lot. I was wondering if I should start learning ruby and RoR and cut back on the PHP more or press on and learn more PHP? I would consider myself more of a designer than a programmer, but I enjoy both very much. I have printed out Why's poignant guide to ruby and created a makeshift book out of it so that I can read it without being online (I don't really like reading books on a computer). Thanks.

[Fenrir2]

Why's book is more art than Ruby ;-). You can learn Ruby from it, but i think you should read this too: http://whytheluckystiff.net/ruby/pickaxe/. It's an old, free version of the book, but it's good nonetheless.

Ruby is a better language than PHP, but if you want to build a simple website with some dynamic pages PHP is the way to go. If you want to learn Ruby because you want to learn a new programming language *or* if you want to make fairly complex webpages you should learn Ruby.

Ruby is a lot easier to use and learn than PHP because PHP is very inconsistent. On the other hand, Ruby has more advanced concepts like closures. Once you understand it it's easy. Do you remember when you learnt the if-statement? Learning what closures are is like that.

[skeeterbug]

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about learning ruby. My past programming expierience is in C++ from high school and some in college too (which I currently still attend), I know some php, but not a lot. I was wondering if I should start learning ruby and RoR and cut back on the PHP more or press on and learn more PHP? I would consider myself more of a designer than a programmer, but I enjoy both very much. I have printed out Why's poignant guide to ruby and created a makeshift book out of it so that I can read it without being online (I don't really like reading books on a computer). Thanks.

i recommend learning ruby.

first and foremost, it is more flexible than php.

for example, i'm working on a program to test for the current isp ip and, if different, send an email with the new ip.

the app will be a single executable. i'm also working on using tk in order to allow the user to input their smtp server, login, password, etc.

this is fairly straightforward in ruby, but it would be more difficult in php. using a single executable would be impossible in php.

ruby is much more powerful and useful.

you can also set up a php coding style website using ruby, so i'm not so sure that substituting ruby for php is bad. rails would be overkill for a simple site, but ruby could probably work just fine.

the only downside would appear to be that php tends to be faster, but that isn't a substantial issue in the vast majority of apps.

[Mygly]

Thank you guys very much for the feedback. Now onto the next part to this question, where do I start learning Ruby. From what I can find there are almost no books on it, most are on ruby with rails integration, and I assume I should learn Ruby by itself first. Any tutorials or recommended books would be great. Give tuts/books for ruby and ruby on rails, and if you can rank them in the order in which they should be read if there is one. Thanks again.

[IAIHMB]

Ruby -
Programming Ruby
Ruby Cookbook
Ruby for Rails

Rails -
Agile Web Development with Rails
Rails Recipes
Ruby for Rails (I know, in both categories.)

[SnXster]

php has a syntax similar to c++ so it would probably be easier for you in particular.

[bonefry]

php has a syntax similar to c++ so it would probably be easier for you in particular.

actually that's pretty false ... besides having braces, and sharing some common keywords like if, while and for, PHP has nothing to do with C++

[Mygly]

Thanks for the list IAIHMB, may I ask why ruby for rails last?

[IAIHMB]

They weren't in any particular order, if I had to learn Rails in a short period of time again I would start with Agile Web Development with Rails and then get a decent Ruby and Rails reference.

[Mygly]

They weren't in any particular order

Ahh yes, forgive my stupidity Can you learn Ruby while learning rails or is it better to just read up on Ruby first and then rails, like programming ruby and then agile web dev. with rails?

[IAIHMB]

A lot of people learned Ruby and Rails at the same time, Agile Web Development with Rails even includes a basic Ruby introduction. If you start with Agile Web Development with Rails definitely pick up Ruby for Rails afterwards, it explains a lot of the Ruby isms.

[Mygly]

Thanks IAIHMB, i'll probably tackle Agile Web Development with Rails first, and then go from there.