Head First Ruby: A Brain-Friendly Guide

What will you learn from this book?

Whatâ??s all the buzz about this Ruby language? Is it right for you? Well, ask yourself: are you tired of all those extra declarations, keywords, and compilation steps in your other language? Do you want to be a more productive programmer? Then youâ??ll love Ruby. With this unique hands-on learning experience, youâ??ll discover how Ruby takes care of all the details for you, so you can simply have fun and get more done with less code.

Why does this book look so different?

Based on the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory, Head First Ruby uses a visually rich format to engage your mind, rather than a text-heavy approach to put you to sleep. Why waste your time struggling with new concepts? This multi-sensory learning experience is designed for the way your brain really works.

Jay McGavren was doing automation for a hotel services company when a colleague introduced him to Programming Perl (a.k.a. the Camel Book). It made him an instant Perl convert, as he liked actually writing code instead of waiting for a 10-person development team to configure a build system. It also gave him the crazy idea to write a technical book someday.

In 2007, with Perl sputtering, Jay was looking for a new interpreted language. With its strong object-orientation, excellent library support, and incredible flexibility, Ruby immediately won him over. He's since used Ruby for two game libraries, a generative art project, in support of a Java development job, and as a Ruby on Rails freelancer. He's been using Rails in the online developer education space since 2011.