Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!news.stack.nl!talisker.lacave.net!lacave.net!not-for-mail From: jake kaiden Newsgroups: comp.lang.ruby Subject: Re: Ruby for beginners (was: Re: Hello) Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:30:31 -0500 Organization: Service de news de lacave.net Lines: 38 Message-ID: <1c6dbb359023dbe10dbba60a860a613d@ruby-forum.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: bristol.highgroove.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: talisker.lacave.net 1302640246 67246 65.111.164.187 (12 Apr 2011 20:30:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@lacave.net NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:30:46 +0000 (UTC) In-Reply-To: X-Received-From: This message has been automatically forwarded from the ruby-talk mailing list by a gateway at comp.lang.ruby. If it is SPAM, it did not originate at comp.lang.ruby. Please report the original sender, and not us. Thanks! For more details about this gateway, please visit: http://blog.grayproductions.net/categories/the_gateway X-Mail-Count: 381379 X-Ml-Name: ruby-talk X-Rubymirror: Yes X-Ruby-Talk: <1c6dbb359023dbe10dbba60a860a613d@ruby-forum.com> Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.lang.ruby:2710 Andrew Mcelroy wrote in post #992351: > This is what TryRuby.org is suppose to be. > i think that TryRuby is a great start, though i agree that making the jump from an online irb to actual programming might be frustrating for the "total" beginner. i was in fact confused by irb at first, thinking that it was some kind of command line ide or editor, rather than more of a reference tool. obviously once you know what it's for, it's a great tool. i also used (and still do at times) scite for my first whacks at programming ruby, and i think the ease of pressing F5 and having output in another pane is a great idea for getting folks to see what they can do. ubuntu has a "Ruby Browser" package, which is a great concept, but is unfortunately incomplete and a bit buggy. it's basically a list of all ruby base classes/modules, as well as Atk, Cairo, Gtk, Gst, and other library classes/modules. the idea is that you click on a class or module and up pop the class and instance methods... by clicking on a method, an explaination of the arguments appears. if these two could be combined, so that in one pane you'd have the API information, in another the text editor window, and in another the output - i think it could be a very useful tool for those who are new to ruby and programming in general. this could be combined with the other suggestions (all very good in my opinion) about a package which manages installation and environment, and with some simple tutorials. it's a shame to see folks who would like to get started with programming and ruby get frustrated and give up... -j -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.