Head First: Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails

I've been interested in Ruby on Rails for the last couple of years. As a Computer Science grad, I didn't so much need a book explaining programming or concepts like object orientation. What I needed was a book explaining the mindset required for the RoR framework. And that is exactly what this book does. I agree with other reviewers; this book would be no good for reference, but it is a great way of getting into RoR. Enjoy.

I got started in programming with Head First Java (1st ed.) back in 2005 at age 27. Having read several or many more titles since then, Head First is a great place to start, especially for those new to programming. The absence of hazing and snark is somewhat priceless. The book calls for existing knowledge of a programming language, and for that I recommend starting here. Everyday Scripting with Ruby: For Teams, Testers, and You These titles in conjunction will make a rewarding experience. Both are very well written and complement each other nicely. There is also room for Head First HTML. You can do it, and this is a good place to start.

I had to learn Rails for one of my classes this year. I'd looked through many Rails books and I didn't find any of them too helpful. They would either be dull to read or too confusing to understand. I bought this book a few days back and it has been very helpful. It works through different "projects" through the book whose complexity keeps increasing as you keep progressing. The best part about the book is that it makes sure you understand each and every small thing you do and that really helps me pick up things. It doesn't have the the "just use this for now and we will explain it later" approach. Also, it makes things "fun" and so your mind is not distracted easily towards other things. I would highly recommend this book for any beginner!

I have to agree with Paul and disagree with the previous two reviews. In fact it's difficult to believe I've been reading the same book as those two guys. I do notice that both those reviewers already have experience using Rails and I suppose this could be the difference. Like Paul I have never used Rails in my life and was attracted by the current buzz around Ruby and Rails generally. I am, however, a pretty experienced software developer in other languages from Java & Python right the way back to the early days of Fortran. When I learn a new language or framework I'm looking for a reasonable amount of detail as to how things work. Just saying, "hey, don't worry about that, Rail's will sort it out magically for you", just doesn't cut it for me. That might be OK if all you want to do is cut a one off bit of code and run, but I personally don't find that approach satisfying as a developer. I like to feel that I've really learnt the language when I buy a book like this. So therefore it's fair to say I WANT to know something about how routing works and to me chapter two in this book just about has it right in terms of detail. Having read it, I now feel I know a little bit about the under pinnings of Rails without having been totally blown away with detail. To be honest this is what I look to Head First books to deliver generally; that balance between depth and breadth of coverage and this book for me certainly does deliver. Now, of cause, there are people who just don't get the Head First formulation. They don't get the humor, they don't get the art work, they can't do the puzzles. Let's just face it, they don't get it. And for those people I'd say this book is probably not for you, because there is no doubt is a classic Head First book. But for people like me; existing developers, who want to get into Web 2.0 coding without being either patronized or bored to tears this book is a great starting point. At the end of the day I suppose that I must just fall into the demographic that this book is aimed at and I assume the two early reviewers didn't. So I'd say if you're a developer that wants to get into Rails with just the right level of detail and wants to have some fun doing it, buy this book, You'll love it.

I've been eagerly anticipating Head First Rails, and it didn't disappoint. I'm a Java developer, and I've wanted to convert to Rails for quite some time. I tried other books, but they seemed to gloss over a lot of the details about how Rails actually works, and I found it difficult to get a real handle on it. Not this book. After working through Head First Rails, I feel as though I really know what's going on, it's less of a mystery to me. I'm amazed by what I could do by the end of the book, and the Google maps application at the end is just awesome! And I just love the chapter on Ajax, it made it way clearer to me what was going on.