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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only place to start with RubyOnRails, 4 Jan 2007
This review is from: Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers) (Paperback)
This book is co-authored by the creator of Rails, David Heinemeier Hansson, with the Dave Thomas, the author of 'Programming Ruby' (otherwise known as The PickAxe book).
You simply cannot go wrong with this one, it is written assuming you know nothing about Rails or Ruby and gives a fantastic introduction to them both, but especially to Rails.
Starting out with 'Hello World' and then building a useful web application called 'Depot', an online store, explaining at a good level what is going on in the framework at all times it then finishes off with some more advanced chapters on Active Record (the model), Deployment and Scaling etc...
What I like about Ruby on Rails, that this book communicated so well to me, coming from a mainly Perl (with a little Java experience) background, is the great advantages of Model View Controller architecture, Object Relational Mapping, Test Driven Development and other topics without ever talking down or over-complicating as so many techie books seem to do.
Other good chapters include: 'Web 2.0 (with AJAX)', 'Web Services with Rails', 'Securing your Application' and an 'Introduction to Ruby' which is based on The PickAxe tutorial.
To learn more about Ruby, once you have completed this book, (and you will complete it as Rails is such a great technology you will simply want to know more about Ruby to get deeper into Rails!) you should get Dave Thomas's 'Programming Ruby'.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant pace for quick results, 3 Feb 2007
This review is from: Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers) (Paperback)
I am working through the examples in the book and find the pace is spot-on. When I start learning a new language, library or framework, I like to see quick results and then delve deeper to learn the details. That's how Rails works and it's how this book works. I am learning Rails very quickly and am continually amazed at the power of this remarkable framework. For anyone who wants to learn Rails, I can highly recommend this book. It isn't essential to know much Ruby before starting this book, but if you are new to the language, then Dave Thomas' "Programming Ruby" is an excellent companion.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From Novice to Professional, 1 Jun 2007
This review is from: Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers) (Paperback)
Well what can I say? There are a number of books out there that boldly proclaim that they can assist readers in the transition from novice to the nirvana of professional programming. Whilst many do fulfil their promise, I'm certain that very few of them make the transition as enjoyable an experience as Dave does in this exceptional offering.
Being versed in a number of languages/frameworks, I'm used to sitting at a desk with a mammoth of a book and working my way through it. However, I have to honestly say that the way in which this book is written makes it both simple and enjoyable for those new to concepts such as OOP (Object Oriented Programming) and the MVC way of life(Model, View, Controller), let alone Rails (By the way, that'll all make sense once you've worked through the book).
Not being one to make empty statements, I borrowed the book to a friend that is a designer, with no real interest in programming (might I add), to give it a test drive. Long story short, he's kept the book and I've just ordered another. Knowing that I was going to write a review he asked me to quote him, so here goes... "By the time I finish this book, and have messed around with a project or two, I'll have to change my business cards to designer/developer!" I think you get the picture.
To wrap it up, I love this book. For those that are new to any form of programming, please don't be intimidated. Dave has made Rails as easy to learn as it is powerful, which is great for those wanting to 'cut their teeth' on Rails. However, this book is written for both the complete novice and programming guru, explaining things in enough detail to enlighten entry level programmers, but not quite enough to bore the more advanced.
In a word Dave, Kudos!
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