List of Ruby and Ruby on Rails Tutorials

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been working with Ruby and Rails to broaden my skills. While books are a great way to learn a new language, for Ruby and Rails, there are plenty of online tutorials to help you get started. Here's a partial list of Ruby and Ruby on Rails tutorials

Ruby
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby: While I'm a .Net guy, I do know that every Ruby developer needs to read Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby. Its pretty close to a law. I hear your Ruby code won't run unless you answer some Microprose-esque like questions about Why's Guide to Ruby. In all seriousness, it is an excellent read and very informative, if not somewhat unconventional in the realm of Computer Language books.

Ruby in 20 Minutes: This is from the official Ruby website, and as one would expect, is an excellent introduction into Ruby. While I didn't time myself, the lesson did move pretty quickly and was easy to understand.

Ruby from Other Languages: Again, this comes from the official Ruby website and offers a comprehensive look at how Ruby compares with other languages.

Learning Ruby:If you are looking for a more classical training in the Ruby language, then Learning Ruby from a University of Maryland website is the closest I've found online.


Ruby on Rails


Setting up Rails on Windows: While I haven't gone through the tutorial myself, this seems to be a pretty comprehensive tutorial on setting up Ruby on Rails for a Windows development environment.

Getting Started: This comes from the official Ruby on Rails website, and while it explains a great deal about the Ruby on Rails methodology, it also requires a working database setup and provides little guidance for the user if things go wrong.

Tutorials Point: This sites starts at the beginning of Ruby development and introduces the reader to concepts that the reader will use, but may take for granted. In all, this is one of the better tutorials on Rails.

Rad Rails Tutorial: This tutorial is geared towards the users who use Aptana's Rad Rails plugin for Eclipse and Subversion. While I prefer Mercurial, I was still able to do this tutorial by skipping over the portions regarding Subversion.

Ruby on Rails Tutorial (book): This is a fairly comprehensive book regarding Rails that is still being edited. As such, there may be mistakes. But, the book covers many more advanced topics then any other tutorial on this list.


While these tutorials will not turn anyone into a Ruby or Ruby on Rails guru over night, they do provide a starting point for the Developer. Ruby is a new technology, but like any new technology, time and effort must be put in to understand how to use.