2 Questions about RoR

1. Agile Web Development with Rails<p>2. Because it's been designed by smart people who "get it" with regards to agile development, which is what startups need. In addition, the community has a "culture" which many startups identify with.

I just got 'The Rails Way' and my first impressions are that it is a definitive reference work (covering Rails 2 no less). I already prefer what I have seen to a lot of other Rails books I have gone through.<p>In particular I am not a fan of the Agile Web Development with Rails book; apart from anything else it is way behind the state of the art at this stage.<p>I actually like to learn from reference books; maybe its just me.

I'd highly recommend "Ruby For Rails" if you're learning Ruby and Rails at the same time.

1) I've never gotten much utility out of Rails books. I've generally gotten much more use out of the API docs and blogs. That said, the Agile Web Development with Rails book is pretty much standard, and Rails Recipes is good for code examples. However, if you're doing something in Rails Recipes, there's probably a plugin for it by now.<p>2) Because it is very easy to implement an idea in a day and see if it sticks. More than that, when you're faced with a task that might not have much reward, it is easier to do if it doesn't feel like work. Programming in PHP/Java/C#/etc generally feels like work. Programming in Ruby generally feels like fun.

And don't touch Ruby on Rails for Dummies with a 10ft pole. That book is horrible.<p>Here's my liveblogging take of my first three weeks with Rails:<p><a href="http://internetducttape.com/category/ruby-on-rails/" rel="nofollow">http://internetducttape.com/category/ruby-on-rails/</a>

Hey,<p>Books are not always the easiest thing to learn from. I found screencasts to be an excellent way to pick up all sorts of stuff for Rails.<p>Check out peepcode.com, railscasts.com and showmedo.com for starters.<p>Some content is free (railscasts), others not so free.

1) I've used the Agile Ruby on Rails book along with the free Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby online. (Cartoon Foxes!) I suggest checking out Why's Guide first and learn Ruby before you hit Rails. Ruby's a fairly easy language to learn while Rails is a totally different programming scheme you may be unfamiliar with (ActiveRecord).<p>Look at CakePHP to get familiar with ActiveRecord for PHP. I don't really recommend CakePHP as a development platform, but it's a great way to understand Rails if Ruby+Rails at the same time is too complicated.<p>2) My opinion of why RoR has taken off is because ActiveRecord makes normal day-to-day activities simple. Verification is already handled. Although PHP and Ruby are roughly equal in speed (Ruby 2.0 is going to be a lot faster though!), Rails isn't. But once you're done, built-in caching features help it scale at least a little bit. Of course if you're worried about scalability, just program the whole thing in C. :P (That's what Amazon does!)

Justin.tv is alllll python. Not Ruby. Python baby.

Agile Web Development with Rails is a little too old now. I'd follow the other people and go with the Rails Way instead.<p>And don't bother with RESTful Web Services.. if you're using Rails 2.x then you only need a half page tutorial on how to use REST, not an entire book.

I strongly recommend Beginning Rails by Jeffrey Hardy. I liked it even more than AWDWR. Here's the companion site: <a href="http://beginningrails.com/" rel="nofollow">http://beginningrails.com/</a>. The author is active on the Google mailing list for this book as well.

1) I highly recommend Agile Web Development with Ruby on Rails. I also recommend the Pick Axe (Pragmatic Programmers Ruby book). I do not recommend Ruby for Rails. I bought it and skimmed it to realize I already knew everything in it after reading the other two.<p>2) B/c it has a great ORM layer (ActiveRecord) and strong ajax libraries (integration with prototype/script.aculo.us) which make it easy to quickly put together a very well organized app that has a lot of UI sizzle.<p>I also expect Merb to continue to gather steam, especially for people who "get" rails and who want to take it in specialized directions.

Take a look at RailsSpace, which is an extended tutorial introduction to Rails. As one of the authors, I'm biased, but the Amazon reviews are pretty good: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321480791" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321480791</a><p>N.B. As with virtually all Rails books, it's a bit out of date (despite having only just come out last summer!), but we focus on general techniques that are plenty useful in Rails 2. I'm currently building a site with some of the same features as the book application, and I often find myself referring to the book for guidance.

1) Beginning Ruby by Peter Cooper is a good one for learning Ruby, the Pickaxe book is a great reference for Ruby as well. Agile Web development with Rails is good, also the Rails Way is good for Rails 2.0.

1) RailsSpace by Hartl and The Rails Way by Fernandez are the best books out there right now.<p>2) Right time, right place. Rails came out around the same time the second wave of web startups picked up.<p>Also the argument is that Rails allows a smaller team (or even just one person) to write more functionality in less time. Whether that's true or not for you may vary.

Just as an FYI, but I believe Justin.tv switched to Python.

I'll have to check out some of these listed books, if only to have a reference around.<p>Like with PHP, ASP, Perl and others, I learned the language simply by looking at existing apps, hacking them up, then sitting down and making something of my own and all the fun trial and error that gives.<p>I find it a much nicer way to learn a language than from a book. But then, I'm a very hands-on person.