I know a lot of web designers who are familiar with XHTML/CSS and possess no programming skills. It’s easy for these people to edit a WordPress theme or build a simple 4 page site, but anything beyond that is way too technical. This post is for those people – because learning a programming language is NOT that hard. It takes time and a willingness to learn.
I’m no Rails expert, but I remember what it’s like to make the leap from front-end development to database driven development and I know it’s frustrating to just get started.
Here are a list of resources that I’ve found to be helpful and if you really want to learn Rails, are the most helpful. I’ve starred the must-haves; if you only pick up those three resources, you’ll be in good shape.
Books
- *Agile Web Development with Rails, 3rd Ed. (if you only buy one book, this is the one you should buy)
- Learning to Program (builds familiarity with basic programming concepts)
- why’s poignant guide to ruby (you’ll either love it or hate it)
Posts
- *RailsGuides (official documentation on how to get started)
- My Rails tags on del.icio.us Rails (tons o’links)
Screencasts / Podcasts
- *PeepCode (buy Rails from Scratch Pt. 1 & Pt. 2, Git Source Code Control, and Meet jQuery)
- The Ruby Show (the latest and greatest Rails news)
- RailsCasts (good for learning about specific topics)
For the other Rails devs I know, what helped you get started?
