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I'm a moderately competent Python programmer, and am considering working on my first web-app; it seems a very large number of FOSS webapp code is written in Ruby (i.e. Rails), and I suspect that might help with my learning curve (i.e. for building a decent, if useless webapp).

There is lots of material for learning Ruby on the interwebs ofcourse, but wondering if there are any particular tips / resources / approaches that might be handy in moving from Python to rails?

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  • I'm a Rubyist myself, and both Ruby and Rails are definitely good choices, but Python has got some pretty great web frameworks as well. What's wrong with those? Commented Sep 1, 2010 at 22:50
  • Nothing im sure (although personally I didnt enjoy Django, in my early duels with it) but my intention certainly isnt the Python vs. Ruby debate - just that empirically I find a lot more open source code for 'cool' / well-designed webapps to be rails based? Commented Sep 1, 2010 at 23:01
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    Having used both Python and Ruby and without wanting to start a language debate, I'll just say: don't pick languages based on popularity, choose them on merits. (Remember, PHP is absurdly popular, yet not at all a good choice for serious development.) Commented Sep 2, 2010 at 0:07
  • Thanks Glenn, that is a fair point - trying it with an open mind (and party to see what the fuss is about), but so far looks interesting (though python feels more grown-up ;). Commented Sep 2, 2010 at 0:20

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Michael Hartl's Ruby on Rails Tutorial is by far the best introduction to Rails I've been able to find online. It's very easy to understand what's going on if you've already got experience in web application development in general. Versions of the tutorial for Rails 2.3.8 and Rails 3 are available. The introduction also discusses learning Ruby first vs learning Rails first.

Not only does it teach how to use Rails, it explains common Rails conventions (the Rails Way). I think this, in particular, is what you are looking for. It also encourages the use of good practices such as git source control and test-driven development, which is cool.

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Wow - this looks very cool - probably just what I need, thanks man.
A great resource indeed. I generally tend to recommend learning Ruby first. Anyways, even if you decided to learn Rails first, remember that, and I'm quoting Hartl himself, "to become a Rails expert, you need to understand Ruby more deeply."
Ruby on Rails I would suggest (including beginners) Ruby on Rails Tutorial by Michael Hartl. You can read it online. Here is the links Rails 3.0 & 3.1 (last chap)- [ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book][1] Rails 3.2.1 - [ruby.railstutorial.org/… It's also a good introduction to test-driven development. Here is the good book for Ruby Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional[amazon.com/gp/product/1430223634]
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To start getting your head around the similarities/differences between Ruby & Python, you may want to take a look @ this page on ruby-lang.org. It is super basic, but at a minimum gives you the terminology & concept translation you may need to get started. I tend to learn new things best by making mental comparisons to concepts I am familiar with.

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