
Ask HN: How much Ruby do I need to learn before moving into Rails? - rodolphoarruda
Is there a learning track with topics that are needed to be learned as preparation for starting with Rails?
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sellingwebsite
If you know other programming languages, especially object oriented ones, I'd
recommend spending a couple days on Ruby. Line between Rails and Ruby is kinda
blurry

* Have a look at the syntax: [https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/](https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/ruby/)

* Work through the Ruby koans: [https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans](https://github.com/edgecase/ruby_koans)

* If you have time or desire, look through the Poignant's Guide to Ruby: [https://poignant.guide](https://poignant.guide)

It is a wonderful language. Good luck.

~~~
rodolphoarruda
Thanks for the references. I'll check them out.

> It is a wonderful language.

That was my first impression. Now I want to learn more to be productive.

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wadkar
Not much, I actually learnt RoR before I got into Ruby. The basic syntax is
simple and you don’t need much Ruby magic to get a typical CRUD app up and
running in RoR.

~~~
rodolphoarruda
Got it, thanks. And that's good to know. I was learning Python to transition
into Django so I could develop a CRUD web app. I realized it would take me
longer than I expected to get to the basics. A friend of mine suggested that I
tried the same project in RoR, but starting with Ruby as its "foundations". I
bought this pretentious book "Ruby, from novice to professional", and so far I
think the language is beautiful. Thanks

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karmakaze
I learned both Ruby and RoR simultaneously on the job and somehow managed to
avoid the pitfall of confusing the two. Maybe it's my interest in languages
that makes me look at the note on the doc page that indicates it part of
ActiveSomethingOrOther vs Ruby since version x.

I don't know if it will matter for you, but I've found it useful to know what
it is that I know. If this seems like you then pay attention to those notes
whenever you see them mentioned. I don't specifically look for it but if
mentioned on a doc page or StackOverflow comment will pick up on it.

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andrei_says_
Try ruby kickstart, CS puzzles introducing you to the language. Fun and
addictive, will bring you up to speed in less than a week.

[https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-
kickstart](https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart)

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mud_dauber
I dove into Rails before really learning Ruby. Agree with other commenters -
if you have exp with other languages, take a little time to recognize the
nomenclature:

[http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting](http://hyperpolyglot.org/scripting)

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AlchemistCamp
This guide is enough, and it's an excellent primer:
[https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/](https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/)

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burlesona
You don’t really need to know any Ruby to do Rails. It’s so much it’s own
ecosystem that you’ll end up learning Rails-flavored Ruby no matter what you
do.

That being said, vanilla Ruby is a real joy and you’ll be a better developer
if you do take the time to learn it deeply. One fun source of lessons is Ruby
Tapas, which is a subscription video “channel” that presents tons of best
practices and neat tricks in short ~5’ videos. I highly recommend subscribing
for a month and plowing through the back catalog :)

~~~
rodolphoarruda
Generally speaking, tapas are always good. I will check them out. Thanks!

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siriniok
I'd recommend to get some confidence with Ruby before moving to Rails. It's
better to spend 2-3 months learning Ruby and then focus on learning Rails,
than struggle with both right from the start.

When people say that you can learn only basics of Ruby in few days and then
move to Rails, they are right, you can, but this way you will learn two things
in parallel, and it's pretty exhausting. So this doubtfully will save you any
time.

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lmiller1990
I learned them together as my first web development lang/framework, coming
from C for microprocessors.

I used the excellent Rails Tutorial [0] by Hartl.

Just look up things you don't know/understand as you go - he also introduces
Ruby in chapter 4 though, so you should be fine.

[0] [https://www.railstutorial.org/](https://www.railstutorial.org/)

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dyeje
I think you can just dive in personally. If you want some prep work, read
through Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby to grasp the basics.

~~~
rodolphoarruda
I tried to read it but since English is not my first language I found it
particularly hard to understand because of its allegories, which I had to
decode at the same time I'm organizing Ruby inside my head. I will leave it to
a further stage of my learning. Thanks

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haidrali
[http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-
rails/](http://haidrali.com/newbies-introduction-to-ruby-on-rails/)

