This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and comes with full source code. It's available for free download from http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
On Saturday 17 June 2006 13:41, Huw Collingbourne wrote:
> This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and > comes with full source code. It's available for free download from > http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
I haven't really delved in to the content much, but the first thing that hits me is the typeface used for code examples - Comic Sans MS or something similar. I dislike this sort of typeface anyway, but when it's used as a code example (which would normally be given in some monospace typeface), it's especially jarring. At first glance, it looks like a fairly solid tutorial to get people up to speed with the basics.
Flicking through, I couldn't see any mention of regular expressions. An explanation of regular expression syntax is outside of the scope of this tutorial, but it should be noted that /regex/ is a standard type. Perhaps I missed it.
I think the Moving On... section at the end should link to ruby-doc.org, and in my opinion ruby.outertrack.com. Once you know the basics, the API documentation provide a lot of useful information. Perhaps mention Programming Ruby as a book that looks at some more advanced ruby programming techniques?
Just some initial thoughts. I'd get very excited over this if it was CC or GFDL licensed, but it's not something I'd want to start an argument about.
No, I do not cover regular expressions in The Little Book. There will be more tutorials online later looking in more depth at specific subjects.
As for the choice of Comic Sans. That was absolutely deliberate as this font is close to the ones used in some older books on Smalltalk. The modern tradition is to use fixed fonts such as Courier for code samples (this is the font I have used myself in the many Java, Delphi and C# columns which I've written for computing magazines over the years). It's all a matter of taste, I guess, but I have to say that I've just got a bit fed up of the 'formal' (i.e. dull) look of Courier type fonts for code samples and wanted to get back to a slightly more frivolous font that evokes the old Smalltalk books.
FWIW, I find that font quite acceptable for Ruby code. Something like 'C' you expect it to be straightlaced and boring, but this font gives a hint of Ruby's character without going overboard and making it hard to read. I just imagined what that same code would look like with semi-colons at the end of each line and it was "all wrong". 'C' would not work with this font, but Ruby does, IMO.
Thanks for giving me yet another pdf to read on the plane today!
jp
Huw Collingbourne wrote: > This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and > comes with full source code. It's available for free download from > http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
On 17/06/06, Huw Collingbourne <h...@darkneon.com> wrote:
> This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and > comes with full source code. It's available for free download from > http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
It's nice to see a name I recognise from British computer magazines of old! I've had a brief scan through the book. I think there's been a gap for a straightforward, simplistic introduction to Ruby, and the Little Book does a good job of filling it.
I noticed one example of particularly un-idiomatic usage: you define get_name and set_name methods in chapter 2. More Rubyish would be to define name and name=. The seamless handling of getter/setter is one of the joys of Ruby, in my opinion.
Paul Battley wrote: > I noticed one example of particularly un-idiomatic usage: you define > get_name and set_name methods in chapter 2. More Rubyish would be to > define name and name=. The seamless handling of getter/setter is one > of the joys of Ruby, in my opinion.
Huw Collingbourne wrote: > This is an eBook for newcomers to Ruby: it contains 10 chapters and > comes with full source code. It's available for free download from > http://www.sapphiresteel.com/
Very nice and concise eBook!
It goes into just enough details to get a great enough understanding about what is available and how to use it.
I have the Programming Ruby book, but this eBook explained some things that my large "paid-for-book" doesn't!
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