Ruby

Average customer rating:

A framework for creating bigots *or *Classist Bigotry in Action*
On Style and Religion
Understanding Poverty
Middle Class Analysis of Generational Poverty
These are My Students!

A Framework for Understanding Poverty
Ruby K. Payne
Manufacturer: aha Process, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Understanding Learning: the How, the Why, the What
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Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities

ASIN: 1929229488
Release Date: 2005-05-15

Product Description

Fourth Revised Edition. People in poverty face challenges virtually unknown to those in middle class or wealth--challenges from both obvious and hidden sources. The reality of being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns attention away from opportunities taken for granted by everyone else. If you work with people from poverty, some understanding of how different their world is from yours will be invaluable. Whether you're an educator--or a social, health, or legal services professional--this breakthrough book gives you practical, real-world support and guidance to improve your effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Since 1995 A Framework for Understanding Poverty has guided hundreds of thousands of educators and other professionals through the pitfalls and barriers faced by all classes, especially the poor. Carefully researched and packed with charts, tables, and questionaires, Framework not only documents the facts of poverty, it provides practical yet compassionate strategies for addressing its impact on people's lives.

Customer Reviews:

A framework for creating bigots *or *Classist Bigotry in Action*.......2007-06-13

Many educators have turned to this book to help them understand the home life that their students come from. Instead of helping them develop a healthy, well-rounded picture, they come away with reinforced stereotypes and bigoted views. Please, conduct a google search and see what many educational scholars have had to say about Ruby Payne's work- it is not pretty. She self publishes, so her research does not have to be valid, replicable, or acceptable to others in the community. Please, if you feel like throwing away your money today, give it to a charity!

While her heart may be in the right place, her research is flawed, and her framework is classist and bigoted.
-A preview of the type of thinking that prevades this book is the following quiz (borrowed from the text) -Could you survive poverty? It includes the following two multiple choice answers and others:
I know how to get a gun, even if I have a police record.
I know how to get someone out of jail.
I am hoping you are as horrified as I was when I first read this. Are you getting the picture now? Balanced and fair, maybe not. Helpful, not so much.
A link to one of her detractors papers for those of you who are intersted.

[...]

On Style and Religion.......2007-06-10

The reviewers here have already addressed most of the major problems with this book, starting with its central assumption that those in poverty are best defined by their lack of the "resources" enjoyed by those in the middle class. That said, two aspects of this book still need attention.

First, the writing is terrible, While Payne claims as her target audience middle-class, college-educated teachers, her sentence-level style fails to obey the "hidden rules" she herself identifies for middle-class communication. I, for one, felt insulted. I'm not asking for Anthony Lane, but I do not feel inclined to listen to someone who apparently thinks I'm not familiar with educated English usage. In addition, the book suffers from the creeping influence of PowerPoint. Fight the bullet!

Secondly, I can't be the only one who was offended by her inclusion of "spirituality" as a middle-class resource. Actually (to argue anecdotally as Payne does), most of the humanists, atheists, and agnostics I know are quite middle-class, while the poor neighborhoods in my city are full of storefront churches. Actually, as an academic in the humanities, I can say that religious belief is quite rare in this utterly-middle-class profession. I certainly don't think that increased wealth and education make one _more_ likely to hold irrational beliefs in imaginary beings.

Understanding Poverty.......2007-05-12

Ruby Payne's Understanding Poverty is an excellent start for teachers and others to understand how different economic classes have different perceptions and attitudes about a variety of things. Payne provides ideas and strategies to work with impoverished students. The vignettes in the book explain the thinking of individuals in the types of poverty explained in the book. Once you have read Frameworks of Poverty, I would suggest that you search for additional sources on the subject so that you understand the more complex issues involved. I used this book in a graduate class in education. Interestingly, many teachers had not thought deeply about their value systems as compared to the students in their class.

Middle Class Analysis of Generational Poverty.......2007-04-08

For a middle class reader and former teacher like myself, it is easy to like this book. There is so much that jumps out from the page to make a reader say, "I know people like that" or "I've seen that before." Still, a more considered, less emotional reading shows that Ms. Payne's analysis does have some limitations.

The strengths: I was impressed by the opening with its reference to the types of resources (of which financial are only a part) people need to break out of poverty. I was intrigued by the section on the "hidden rules" of the different classes. Equally intriguing was the section on use of the "formal" and "casual registers" in speaking. There are also a number of practical classroom techniques described in the latter part of the book.

The weaknesses: Payne did a great job of describing resources but never brought out anything useful from it. The practical examples of speaking registers seemed silly and out-of-date, lessening the impact of a useful idea though I think many teachers already take this into account even if they can't articulate it as well as Payne. Payne also has a tendency to make generalizations I'm not sure stand up across the board. In the end, though I think her analysis is useful in connecting better with parents and students stuck in generational poverty, it is less effective in understand other situations; particularly, borderline cases.

All books are impacted by the experience a reader brings to them. This one, however, even more so. For a someone deeply entrenched in the middle class, this books speaks directly to you. I think that a reader from poverty or wealth (or a middle class reader with wider experience of other classes) will hear a more sour notes in this text. Nevertheless, there is much of value here.

These are My Students!.......2007-04-06

I teach developmental English in a community college. Unfortunately and regretably, I used to enter my classrooms with my middle-class perceptions. Heck... I am middle class. What else could I enter with? I didn't know any better. However, this book has changed my perceptions and therefore my teaching strategies and practices. I want my students to succeed. I'm addicted to student success. I live for it! Still, I just couldn't seem to get my students to think beyond the immediate present, to see a world beyond their own neighborhoods, to see that options do exist, to accept responsibility for their choices, and to stop blaming someone or something for their failures -- that's in the past - deal with what you can do and use NOW! No more "victim" mentality! Where was their motivation to strive instead of slack? Where was their motivation to go to school for something more than a financial aid check? Why did they seem addicted to their adrenalin rush of chaos followed by the crash of their roller coaster lives of happiness and then sorrow? Why were they stuck? Why was it okay to just "get by"? Overall, why weren't they like I was as a student? After reading this book, I found many of the answers I needed to help my students change their thinking -- their perceptions - their unproductive behavior -- most of all my attitudes, teaching methods, and best practices for reaching them and helping them.

In spite of my personal affinity for each student, I often felt frustrated, defeated, lost, angry, unsure of where to turn, but then I read this book. Seriously, I would advise all to turn here! Turn each page! Learn about the defeatist and survivalist mindset so many of our students enter our classes with. Learn about how to change that mindset and inspire a special and unique individual buried within that limiting shell. I am realizing that I can help do this! I can help students make this change. This book is one of the major keys to doing so!

Highly recommended!

Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

You must have one
The weight is equal to the knowledge within
Has faults, but best I've seen so far
All the information you need
a good ruby book

Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition
Dave Thomas , Chad Fowler , and Andy Hunt
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ship it! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects
Agile Web Development with Rails: A Pragmatic Guide (Pragmatic Programmers)

ASIN: 0974514055

Book Description

Ruby is an increasingly popular, fully object-oriented dynamic programming language, hailed by many practitioners as the finest and most useful language available today. When Ruby first burst onto the scene in the Western world, the Pragmatic Programmers were there with the definitive reference manual, Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide.

Now in its second edition, author Dave Thomas has expanded the famous Pickaxe book with over 200 pages of new content, covering all the improved language features of Ruby 1.8 and standard library modules. The Pickaxe contains four major sections: <ul>

An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby. </li>

The definitive reference to the language. </li>

Complete documentation on all built-in classes, modules, and methods </li>

Complete descriptions of all 98 standard libraries.</li></ul>

If you enjoyed the First Edition, you'll appreciate the expanded content, including enhanced coverage of installation, packaging, documenting Ruby source code, threading and synchronization, and enhancing Ruby's capabilities using C-language extensions. Programming for the World Wide Web is easy in Ruby, with new chapters on XML/RPC, SOAP, distributed Ruby, templating systems, and other web services. There's even a new chapter on unit testing.

This is the definitive reference manual for Ruby, including a description of all the standard library modules, a complete reference to all built-in classes and modules (including more than 250 significant changes since the First Edition). Coverage of other features has grown tremendously, including details on how to harness the sophisticated capabilities of irb, so you can dynamically examine and experiment with your running code. "Ruby is a wonderfully powerful and useful language, and whenever I'm working with it this book is at my side" --Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist, ThoughtWorks

Customer Reviews:

You must have one.......2007-06-21

Dave Thomas is surely one of the best writers I've ever seen. He doesn't treat you like an idiot, so it's perfect for experienced programmers to learn very fast many aspects of the Ruby language.

The weight is equal to the knowledge within.......2007-05-22

Fantastic book. Very well laid out and informative. For a ruby/programming newbie, check out why the lucky stiff's "poignant guide to ruby" as well and you'll have all the tools you need.

Has faults, but best I've seen so far.......2007-05-21

I taught myself to program in Ruby using this book. I was already experienced in Fortran and IDL, but Ruby is my first object-oriented language. Although the book can be confusing, and is not written at a beginner level, I was able to get what I needed from it, and still enjoy cruising through the book to learn more about Ruby. I keep it on my nightstand, but hey...I'm a geek.

If you are new to object-oriented programming I would first recommend reading "The Object Oriented Thought Process" by Matt Weisfeld before actually learning Ruby.

All the information you need.......2007-04-11

A Great way to learn ruby and a great reference guide once you have - contains all the information I needed to learn ruby, clearly set out in a chapter progression that facilitates moe advanced learning as you go along.

a good ruby book.......2007-03-11

An interesting book if you want to learn about ruby. It's very useful

Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)

Average customer rating:

Must-read for new Rails developer
Very good
Best Development Book...
Learn Rails from the Experts
Very Good book

Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)
Dave Thomas , David Hansson , Leon Breedt , Mike Clark , James Duncan Davidson , Justin Gehtland , and Andreas Schwarz
Manufacturer: Pragmatic Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition
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ASIN: 0977616630

Book Description

The definitive, Jolt-award winning guide to learning and using Rails is now in its Second Edition. Rails is a new approach to web-based application development that enables developers to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications using less code and less effort. Now programmers can get the job done right and still leave work on time.

NEW IN THE SECOND EDITION: The book has been updated to take advantage of all the new Rails 1.2 features. The sample application uses migrations, Ajax, features a REST interface, and illustrates new Rails features. There are new chapters on migrations, active support, active record, and action controller (including the new resources-based routing). The Web 2.0 and Deployment chapters have been completely rewritten to reflect the latest thinking. Now you can learn which environments are best for your style application, and see how Capistrano makes managing your site simple. All the remaining chapters have been extensively updated. Finally, hundreds of comments from readers of the first edition have been incorporated, making this book simply the best available.

Rails is a full-stack, open source web framework that enables you to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications with a twist...you can create a full Rails application using less code than the setup XML you'd need just to configure some other frameworks.

With this book, you'll learn how to use Rails Active Record to connect business objects and database tables. No more painful object-relational mapping. Just create your business objects and let Rails do the rest. You'll learn how to use the Action Pack framework to route incoming requests and render pages using easy-to-write templates and components. See how to exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails, talk to web services, and interact dynamically with JavaScript applications running in the browser (the "Ajax" architecture).

You'll see how easy it is to deploy Rails. You'll be writing applications that work with your favorite database (MySQL, Oracle, Postgres, and more) in no time at all.

Customer Reviews:

Must-read for new Rails developer.......2007-06-17

This is an excellent book for someone who is new to Ruby on Rails development. You should buy an accompanying Ruby book though for those pesky Ruby questions =).

Very good.......2007-05-30

Of all the books I have read about ruby on rails, this is the most comprehensive and easy to understand, even without deep ruby knowledge.

Best Development Book..........2007-05-24

I've been a software developer for 19+ years, and have been teaching hundreds of programmers for the past year on a wide range of topics...and hands-down...this is the best learn-how-to-program-in-whatever book.

Most other tech books follow certain patterns to get their point across

* deliver concepts in small chunks followed by short samples
* preach endlessly - and then end with a big code-dump
* all text - little code
* too much code - not enough text
* etc...

"Agile Web Dev with Rails" gets the right mix. The first half of the book builds a Shopping Cart application with Ajax features (and even administration screens and REST web interfaces). The second half of the book provides a solid overview of Rails. So you get two books in one -- a great tutorial, and a great Rails reference.

And the tutorial portion is written in a way that you feel as if the author is sitting next to you while doing the exercises. You can hear his thoughts about why certain things are done, or certain code need to be refactored. Using Agile development techniques where the requirements can unfold in real-time, it even sends you down paths only to back-up a few steps once a better-way is discovered (or the mythical client steps in and says they want it done a different way).

[...]

But if you're serious about Ruby on Rails -- just buy the second (current) edition of Programming Ruby along with this book. You'll be glad you did.

...Highly Highly recommend!

Learn Rails from the Experts.......2007-05-07

When I came onto a new project, I needed to learn Rails fast. This book got me up and running in no time. Despite being new to Ruby, I found the examples easy to follow and the sample application easy to work with. This book is the gold standard when it comes to Rails.

Very Good book.......2007-04-18

Very good book for learning rails. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't get too in-depth with why things work and how they work, it just says that they work --this way-- and how to actually use it.

Don't get me wrong, this is a VERY good book. I would recommend it to ALL rails starters. I just wish that it was DOUBLE the size and had this book in the beginning and then a more in-depth behind it. I just ordered ruby for rails thinking this should fill in the whys.

Average customer rating:

Everything you ever wanted to know about PowerShell
Outstanding Book!
Of Scripts and Cmdlets
Remarkable! How To Use the Powershell Language Effectively
Do not stop at think, go straight to buy and read.

Windows PowerShell in Action
Bruce Payette
Manufacturer: Manning Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Microsoft Windows Powershell Programming for the Absolute Beginner
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ASIN: 1932394907

Book Description

PowerShell replaces cobbled-together assemblies of third-party management tools with an elegant programming language and a powerful scripting shell for the Windows environment. In the tradition of Manning's ground breaking "In Action" series, this book comes from right from the source. Written by Bruce Payette, one of principal creators of PowerShell, Windows PowerShell in Action shows you how to build scripts and utilities to automate system tasks or create powerful system management tools to handle the day-to-day tasks that drive a Windows administrator's life. Because it's based on the .NET platform, PowerShell is also a powerful tool for developers and power users.

Windows PowerShell in Action was written by Bruce Payette, one of the founding members of the Windows PowerShell team, co-designer of the PowerShell language and the principal author of the PowerShell language implementation. The book enables you to get the most out of the PowerShell environment. Using many examples, both small and large, this book illustrates the features of the language and environment and shows how to compose those features into solutions, quickly and effectively.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn PowerShell and use it well. Rather than simply being a book of recipes to read and apply, this book gives you the deep knowledge about how PowerShell works and how to apply it.

Customer Reviews:

Everything you ever wanted to know about PowerShell.......2007-05-12

I don't ever remember reading a computer book from cover to cover, but I got hooked on this book and "can't put it down"... Plus, who ever thought that the history of a program could be as interesting as this one is. After all, the book begins by asking "why another shell language?" By the time you are into a few chapters you realize the question should have been "what took you so long?"

The book is peppered with valuable code examples that show off everything from the basics to the most advanced concepts, and the examples are built incrementally so you can see how and why every character in a command line works. Since PowerShell is object oriented, you easily learn why this is important, and how to extract the power of an OO shell.

I've already put PowerShell to work at the office using it for WMI, Active Directory, and file management tasks and have incorporated it into my AutoIT scripts as well. This book was a great help in getting me up to speed as fast as I have.

Outstanding Book!.......2007-03-30

This is a great book for those wanting to learn not only how, but why.

Of Scripts and Cmdlets.......2007-03-23

This is _the_ PowerShell book.

A well written technical reference with an in-depth journey into PowerShell's design.
This book reads more like good fiction than tech, which may be caused, in part, by the disbelief of the things possible with PowerShell.
Payette's style is honest, insightful, passionate and funny.

favorite quote: "Dude! Where's my code?" (chapter 1.4)

Remarkable! How To Use the Powershell Language Effectively.......2007-03-21

The remarkable thing here is that they got the actual inventor of the powershell language and convinced him to write a book.

It's so packed full of good stuff that I wish Microsoft would ship the book, free, with every download of Powershell.

The title 'Powershell In Action' doesn't really give you a clue about just how good this book is. The title is just so that it fits in with Manning's (very good) range of 'In Action' books. But the focus here isn't on action -- it's on really **REALLY** getting to know the language used in Powershell.

Page after page, be astounded at the versatility of this language! Gasp in awe at the wise decisions that were made which allow the language to seemingly read your mind!

There is depth here that you cannot possibly find anywhere else. No one else would know the things Bruce Payette knows.

Do not stop at think, go straight to buy and read........2007-02-28

Where's the 6 stars option? I haven't enjoyed a software engineering book to the same extent for a long time. 'PowerShell in Action' works on two levels. Firstly it delivers immediately in getting you up to speed on PowerShell and being able to use it in-anger for simple tasks (and from there on it just gets better and better as it tackles more complex scenarios).

Secondly however it's not just a 'What' and 'How' tutorial, but also guide to 'Why'. Since Bruce was the design lead for the actual PowerShell language only he can tell you why they choose to implement features the way they did. On this level the book reads like one engineer talking to another. It gives you a fantastic insight into the thought processes behind the choices (what alternatives where considered, and discarded, and why).

The text is full of Bruce's entertaining and sly asides which make it clear that here's a guy that's quite possibly used every language on the planet. As a reader you get the clear impression that nothing in PowerShell is there out of whimsy. And when you start working through the book you'll get a real impression of how every feature of it hangs together and supports the whole. Get this book.

Average customer rating:

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Good Information
The ultimate book for the ultimate demands - For an introduction just too heavy weight
Fantastic resource, don't go without it
What everyone else said...

Mastering Regular Expressions
Jeffrey Friedl
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Regular Expression Pocket Reference
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ASIN: 0596528124

Amazon.com

Regular expressions are a central element of UNIX utilities like egrep and programming languages such as Perl. But whether you're a UNIX user or not, you can benefit from a better understanding of regular expressions since they work with applications ranging from validating data-entry fields to manipulating information in multimegabyte text files. Mastering Regular Expressions quickly covers the basics of regular-expression syntax, then delves into the mechanics of expression-processing, common pitfalls, performance issues, and implementation-specific differences. Written in an engaging style and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

Book Description

Regular expressions are an extremely powerful tool for manipulating text and data. They are now standard features in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL.

If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regular expressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.

As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include: <ul>

A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and tools</li>

How the regular expression engine works</li>

Optimization (major savings available here!)</li>

Matching just what you want, but not what you don't want</li>

Sections and chapters on individual languages</li> </ul>

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

Reviews of this new edition and the second edition:

"There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."
--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems

"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."
--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format

"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regex novice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full of useful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable tools that every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering Regular Expressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstanding resource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of Ten Horseshoes."
--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

Customer Reviews:

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!.......2007-05-23

Are you a programmer working on text-related tasks? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Jeffrey Friedl, has done an outstanding job of writing a cool book that will interest anyone who has an opportunity to use regular expressions.

Friedl, begin with an introduction to the concept of regular expressions. Then, the author takes a look at text processing with regular expressions. Next, the author provides an overview of features and utilities, plus a bit of history. He also explains the details of how regular expressions work. The author continues by working through regular expressions examples. Then, he discusses efficiency in detail. Next, the author covers Perl regular expressions in detail. He then looks at Sun's java.util.regex package. The author continues by looking at .NET's language-neutral regular-expression package. Finally, the author looks at PHP's preg suite of regex functions.

This most excellent book should expand your understanding, even if you consider yourself an accomplished regular-expression expert. Perhaps more importantly, the book concentrates on mastering a particular implementation!

Good Information.......2007-05-07

Many people only barely utilize regular experssions, having been unable to get more than basic expressions to work. There are a lot of reasons for this - shell escapes, man pages that are terse to the point of being cryptic, etc. This book is a clear and very readable trip through practical regular expression creation and application that will enable the reader to get the most out of grep, awk, perl and other programs that use regular expressions.

The ultimate book for the ultimate demands - For an introduction just too heavy weight.......2007-05-03

Jeffrey Friedl describes regular expressions at an amazing depth and precision. Regular expressions are not easy and the quirks of the different tools (including their exact version and for what operating system) make writing them to an irritating black art. A black art to almost anybody. MRE sorts everything out in a comprehensible fashion. The price the reader has to pay: a very dense book, a need to follow the details until your head starts swimming and a lot of strain on the memory about what works, how and where.

MRE is somewhat easier to comprehend for a reader with a strong Pearl background. Also a good prior understanding to regular expressions is a true asset here. If you have neither, you do not need to despair. Jeffrey Friedl explains everything thoroughly from the ground up.

The writing style is very pedagogical. Important things get repeated quite often. Still this book is very dense. The flow is dry: no rhythm, special sense of humor or wit sweetens your wading through the material. Nevertheless Jeffrey Friedl kept my interest through the pages though the reading felt like hard work.

I do recommend this book to the truly dedicated reader.

Fantastic resource, don't go without it.......2007-04-26

This is must-have if you are trying to learn regexps or improve your knowledge of them. It carefully walks you through how to construct expressions, covering everything from the most basic tasks to complicated scenarios. It explains how matching works, so you can really understand what is going on behind the scenes.

What everyone else said..........2007-03-22

What more can I say besides what everyone else has said.
This is a WONDERFUL and POWERFUL book on Regular Expressions.

From just-beyond-beginner to advanced, this book provides a fantastic view into the world of Regular Expressions and the practical thinking involved with them. However, without at least a semi-understanding of the concepts you will not be able to get through the book very quickly.

I walked away with MUCH more knowledge than I had expected to. This applies to not only regular expressions, but also to rational thinking/planning when it comes to data and programmatic analysis.

Average customer rating:

Great recipes
If you are anywhere near ruby coding, you need this by your side...
Another good Cookbook from O'Reilly - very useful for Ruby coding
Writing Ruby on Rails code? You need this book.
Required

Ruby Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly))
Lucas Carlson , and Leonard Richardson
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596523696

Book Description

Do you want to push Ruby to its limits? The Ruby Cookbook is the most comprehensive problem-solving guide to today's hottest programming language. It gives you hundreds of solutions to real-world problems, with clear explanations and thousands of lines of code you can use in your own projects.

From data structures and algorithms, to integration with cutting-edge technologies, the Ruby Cookbook has something for every programmer. Beginners and advanced Rubyists alike will learn how to program with: <ul>

Strings and numbers</li>

Arrays and hashes</li>

Classes, modules, and namespaces</li>

Reflection and metaprogramming</li>

XML and HTML processing</li>

Ruby on Rails (including Ajax integration)</li>

Databases</li>

Graphics</li>

Internet services like email, SSH, and BitTorrent</li>

Web services</li>

Multitasking</li>

Graphical and terminal interfaces</li> </ul>

If you need to write a web application, this book shows you how to get started with Rails. If you're a system administrator who needs to rename thousands of files, you'll see how to use Ruby for this and other everyday tasks. You'll learn how to read and write Excel spreadsheets, classify text with Bayesian filters, and create PDF files. We've even included a few silly tricks that were too cool to leave out, like how to blink the lights on your keyboard.

The Ruby Cookbook is the most useful book yet written about Ruby. When you need to solve a problem, don't reinvent the wheel: look it up in the Cookbook.

Customer Reviews:

Great recipes.......2007-05-30

If you are a learning-by-doing type of guy then reading this book is probably the best way to boost your Ruby skills.
There are a lot of useful recipes, especially on Web stuff.
Nevertheless, I'll give it only 4 Stars because it's lacking some basic info on Ruby syntax that I had to find on my own searching the internet. For someone who is new to Ruby this certainly is a drawback.

If you are anywhere near ruby coding, you need this by your side..........2007-04-23

Having gone through several O'reilly cookbooks, I just went to the store and picked this book even before reading a single review. If you're into hands-on coding, the cookbook series takes you direct into a pool of codes to swim in - you're gonna love it! Each page has valuable code snippets that can help you through your everyday coding tasks. This book is a must have for any Ruby programmer, right next to his desk.

The recipes or code examples are written in a very intelligent manner, not only to learn, but also to appreciate Ruby as a language.

Most of the people I have met who are into Ruby, they come from a Perl, C, Python, Java or other programming background. So this book perfectly addresses those folks. If you're new to programming, I would suggest you pick some other book.

Another good Cookbook from O'Reilly - very useful for Ruby coding.......2007-04-17

As a Perl old timer I have only the most pleasant memories of this book's "sister title" - "Perl Cookbook", also by O'Reilly. The O'Reilly Cookbook series aims to fill the blank space between talkative introductory guides and heavy reference tomes for programming languages. Edited as a set of "recipes" - practical programming problems, divided into topics, the Cookbooks are a great way to quickly find solutions for common problems, and can also serve as a good intermediate / advanced tutorial to the language for those of us who like learning by example.

The Ruby Cookbook can proudly hold a very respected spot in the Cookbook series, being very comprehensive and well written. The authors clearly strove to cover a lot of topics and provide copious examples, not sparing 800+ pages for the task.

The first ten chapters of the book deal with general Ruby programming topics such as strings, code blocks, metaprogramming, etc. These chapters can serve as a good tutorial in advanced Ruby, presenting interesting examples and discussing different approaches to solve problems.

The next six chapters are devoted to more specific topics: XML/HTML, Graphics, Databases, Internet, Rails and Web Services. These can be either very important or barely relevant, depending on what you do with Ruby. I skimmed through a good chunk of these chapters, since I don't use Ruby for web programming.

Chapter 17: Testing, Debugging, Optimizing and Documenting is the one I liked most in the book. The authors skillfully present how to use the special strengths of Ruby to make the work of a programmer easier. The recipes in this chapter are good advocates for using Ruby over other languages.

Next come few more chapters about GUIs, Multithreading, Rake and other miscellanea, providing an overview of the more advanced features of Ruby.

Overall, the scope of this book is just huge - it's a mine of information, and a very good tool for any Ruby programmer. Overlooking a few minor typos and errors, the book is quite well written and the authors know how to get their message through with detailed examples and numerous code samples.

Writing Ruby on Rails code? You need this book........2007-03-12

I think it's safe to assume the following:
1) Ruby on Rails is hot.
2) Many of us are coming over from other languages (C++, C#, Java) and frameworks (.NET, JEE).
3) You need to start by getting the Ruby pickaxe book ("Programming Ruby") and "Agile Web Development with Rails," both by Dave Thomas.

Once you've gone through those two books it is time to face the steep and mysterious RoR learning curve. (Someone else made that statement. I can't remember where I read it, but I like it because it's true.)

That's where this book (and its companion "Rails Cookbook") come in. They contain a ton of succinct, well-written examples. Even if your exact task isn't covered, you can usually find something that's close enough to get you started. And you can usually learn something new by browsing any given example.

Let's face it, programming has become so complex that not owning a book like this is not an option.

Required.......2007-03-11

This book is much better than I expected - I keep it handy while programming because it saves so much time. You can skim through most of it once to get an idea of what's there, and then just refer to it as needed. It does a great job of showing you how to do a lot of interesting tasks in Ruby. It is filled with useful information, not just simple stuff. You could spend hours researching Ruby libraries, or you could just use this book.

Average customer rating:

Top-notch tome
Excellent
Basic libraries coverage with a good example application.

Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action
Dave Crane , Bear Bibeault , and Tom Locke
Manufacturer: Manning Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933988037

Book Description

Prototype and Scriptaculous are libraries that extend standard Ajax. They make it easier to program Ajax and provide powerful features like drag and drop and animation. In this book, developers learn by playing and see how the libraries work in the real world.

As experience with Ajax increases, developers want the standard Ajax capabilities they repeatedly use to be preprogrammed for them--and that's exactly what Ajax libraries do for them. They reduce the pain of handling cross-browser inconsistencies, they add useful language features, and provide sophisticated functionality. Of these, Prototype is the most popular JavaScript and Ajax framework for low-level user interface features such as animation, drag and drop, and pre-built widgets. Together, they free the developer up to concentrate on building the application. They make a rich user experience easy to achieve.

This book guides the reader through the Prototype and Scriptaculous libraries feature-by-feature. In just 350 pages, readers will find over 100 small working examples to help them explore the libraries. As well, they will develop a web-based image gallery that teacher them how to use Prototype and Scriptaculous in the real-world.

Customer Reviews:

Top-notch tome.......2007-06-25

Javascript has exploded onto the web development scene in the last few years, and powers much of the web 2.0 and Ajax revolution. Every web developer now needs to know how to do common Ajax tasks. Thankfully, Prototype and Scriptaculous In Action makes it both easy and enjoyable.

This is a comprehensive book. The size (510 pages) was initially intimidating, but Prototype and Scriptaculous In Action is exceedingly well written and a genuine pleasure to read. The thorough and thoughtful organization of the book provides some real structure to the discussion, making complex subjects easily digestible. This is the defacto bible of Prototype and Scriptaculous, and these days I turn to this book more than anything else on my shelf.

The book is divided up into four multi-chapter parts, any of which could stand on it's own as a definitive guide. The chapters are full of useful examples, and there's strong emphasis given to migrating existing sites to Prototype and Scriptaculous, which is a major plus. You could turn to any section of the book and immediately see how to inject some new behavior into your existing application, but if you take the time to read from cover-to-cover you'll be rewarded with some deep understanding of both the libraries and Javascript itself.

I'll summarize the four parts of the book:

Part 1, Getting Started, introduces the Prototype and Scriptaculous libraries, focusing heavily on Prototype and Ajax. There's a lot of information on re-designing an existing site for Ajax. Two full chapters are devoted to Prototype's Ajax features. You can get up and running VERY quickly after glancing through these chapters. There's also a lot of depth, and consideration is given to the pervasive effects Ajax has on architectural issues and the new ways that an application will have to manage HTTP traffic.

Part 2, Scriptaculous Quickly, covers effects, controls and drag-n-drop. This is hands-down the best Scriptaculous documentation currently available, anywhere. The core effects are explored and tweaked, and there's lot of very practical examples demonstrating some of the niftiest stuff, like running effects in parallel versus sequentially. And the drag-and-drop coverage is incredibly clear, making it easy, almost trivial, to implement. The Scriptaculous coverage is indispensable, and you'll return to it again and again if you implement Scriptaculous-enabled pages.

Part 3, Prototype in Depth, explores Prototype's Javascript-oriented features. There's a fantastic chapter on functions contexts, and the discussion of closures is one of the best I've seen. There's a lot of information about Javascript fundamentals, and how Prototype can be used to implement inheritance, address arrays, and manipulate the DOM in the browser.

And finally, Part 4 Advanced Topics, has two unrelated chapters. The first chapter overhauls an example app, giving it a Prototype and Scriptaculous makeover. The last chapter is about integration with Ruby on Rails. Prototype was initially written as the Ajax interface to Rails, so there's some strong integration.

As a long-time enterprise web developer, dealing with Javascript has always been a chore. But now I actually (gasp) look forward to tasks that involve Javascript. I'm a convert, and I have Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action to thank.

Excellent.......2007-05-22

I wrote a longer review that Amazon has apparently lost. Oh well. This is an excellent book, very well written. The authors are the rarest kind of technical author: they can actually construct prose that is pleasant to read, not deadly boring, but which works well as a reference book later. The book's organized thoughtfully--it's certainly much more than just an API reference. There's also quite a lot of general advanced Javascript information here, too.

There's at least one other book on these libraries in production from Pragmatic Programmers. If you're considering that, I strongly suggest downloading the sample chapters of both books and comparing. The Crane book is much more appealing to me (not to mention it's available now, not in six months).

Basic libraries coverage with a good example application........2007-04-19

This book lacked detailed coverage of the programming techniques and advanced topics of prototype and scriptaculous. The authors covered the basics by discussing only the API's of the libraries (more attention was given to scriptaculous API's, even though its usage is obvious and prototype API's are more extensive). With 500 pages and the libraries as the title, I expected details about the inner workings of the API's and discussions about its usages/ applications. Instead, 150 pages were devoted to verbose repetitive coverage of scriptaculous' API, which could easily have fitted into 50 pages at most. ALL of the info on scriptaculous could easily have been read online at its wiki site - the book provided no further insight (ch. 5 is especially useless)! Prototype's coverage was decent, but lacked details on several parts of its API. Although prototype and scriptaculous are tightly integrated with Rails, there was only 1 chapter devoted to its discussion, which served more like an overview than a usage guide. Based on content on the libraries alone, I would give this book 3 stars. However, if you're in need of an example application, then it may deserve 4 stars. This book provides a good example of applying prototype's ajax and scriptaculous web 2.0 techniques to a photo gallery website. It shows the advantages these libraries have over plain javascript and dhtml. The extra 100 pages wasted on scriptaculous would better serve Rails' RJS templates or a more complete/ thorough discussion of prototype. Of course it can be argued that the book is not titled, "Prototype, Scriptaculous, and Rails in Action," but it should be.

Average customer rating:

Ajax on Rails
A fine pick for any serious programming library holding.
Very comprehensive
Not the First book for a Ruby on Rails Programmer
Sharpen your Ajax and Rails skills

Ajax on Rails
Scott Raymond
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Ruby Way, Second Edition: Solutions and Techniques in Ruby Programming (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series)

ASIN: 0596527446

Book Description

Learn to build dynamic, interactive web applications using the two most important approaches to web development today: Ajax and the phenomenally efficient Ruby on Rails platform. This book teaches intermediate to advanced web developers how to use both Ajax and Rails to quickly build high-performance, scalable applications without being overwhelmed with thousands of lines of JavaScript code. More than just recipes, you also get a thorough, low-level understanding of what's happening under the hood. <ul>

Ajax on Rails includes three fully worked out Rails/Ajax applications, and quick reference sections for Prototype and script.aculo.us.</li>

Testing lessons show you how to eliminate cross-browser JavaScript errors and DOM debugging nightmares using a combination of Firebug, and Venkman.</li>

Advanced material explains the most current design practices for Ajax usability. You'll learn to avoid user experience mistakes with proven design patterns.</li> </ul> Beyond the how-to, Ajax on Rails helps you consider when Ajax is (and isn't) appropriate, and the trade-offs associated with it. For those new to Rails, this book provides a quick introduction, the big picture, a walk through the installation process, and some tips on getting started. If you've already started working with Rails and seek to deepen your skill set, you'll find dozens of examples drawn from real-world projects, exhaustive reference for every relevant feature, and expert advice on how to "Ajaxify" your applications.

Customer Reviews:

Ajax on Rails.......2007-05-12

This helps me to use Rails for building richly interactive web applications with Ajax as the author says.

A fine pick for any serious programming library holding........2007-04-11

Web programmers who want to use Ajax in conjunction with Ruby on Rails for maximum website impact will love AJAX ON RAILS, which shows how to use both to build high-performance web sites. From using RJS to generate JavaScript in Ruby templates to building easy applications and building versatility into an Ajax application, AJAX ON RAILS is a top design pick for any who have the foundations 'down' and who want to move to the next level, making it a fine pick for any serious programming library holding.

Very comprehensive.......2007-02-11

Bought the book using saturday shipping. Continuesly read for 5 hours to finish the first 9 chapters.
It is not a beginner's ruby on rails book. You definitely need the official ROR book first. But this one covers ROR Ajax in great detail.
A must have book for whoever wants to bring Ajax into their rails development.

Not the First book for a Ruby on Rails Programmer.......2007-02-07

But maybe the third book.

The book is good for learning more about programming Rails. You need to read something else if you are just starting in Rails.

For those of you who are alreadying doing rails this adds a few more arrows to the programming quiver. It does not have a bunch of information as it is a thin book. The information it does provide is worth the cost of the book. I always just my professional books as to how much money they would save me and this book has saved me money. It is worth about 40-80 hours Internet searching and trial & error work.

It has explainations of scrip.aculo.us packages. It does have a good set of features that I find useful in a good collection.

For those of you familiar with O'Reilly books of the past, this book can be a little hard to read like the books of 10 years ago. Needs a little better editing.

A good book on Rails, just not a good starting book.

Sharpen your Ajax and Rails skills.......2007-02-01

Scott Raymond's book "Ajax on Rails" (published Jan 2007) serves as an introduction, tutorial, and reference for web development using Ajax and Rails. It is roughly 1/3 introductory and intermediate level text; 1/3 more advanced material for developing "Ajax on Rails" applications; and 1/3 sample - life-sized - applications. (The sample applications can be downloaded from the O'Reilly site.)

The author writes that Ajax is "a really simple idea: web pages, already loaded in a browser, can talk with the server and potentially change themselves as a result." [p. 2] There is elegance in this simplicity and the book reveals a lot of the mystery around Ajax and how it works.

The author does a great job exploring the basics. You will quickly get all the motivation needed to realize why this simple idea is so powerful in practice. You'll also soon see why "Ajax on Rails" is a productive approach for developing next generation applications on the web.

One of the real strengths of this book is its many working examples. I found even tricky techniques described in ways that were easy to understand. As I read the book, I entered sample code described on each page. (Having a working Rails installation is key for getting the most out of the book. The author provides a quick installation introduction which is supplemented with URLs for added help.) It was easy to apply "Ajax on Rails" to my own project, which I worked on as I read the book.

The centerpiece of the book is Chapter 5, which covers RJS (also known as Ruby-generated Javascript.) I expected to learn about Ajax, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned about the magic of Rails and Ruby development! A number of critical technical topics, often overlooked, are also covered - including `Usability', 'Testing and Debugging', 'Performance' and 'Security'.

The author does a great job taking the reader from simple working examples to more complex applications. I certainly felt more comfortable with advanced aspects of Ajax and Rails by the end of the book. It seems to me this is the definitive text on the topic.

"Ajax on Rails" has been a joy to read and work through. It was easy to mark my learning progress along the way. The material is organized clearly. The writing moves at a great pace. Sample code explores how everything works. (I expect I'll be referring back to the extensive examples in the future.) This book is a great tool to sharpen your skills around two of the most exciting aspects of the evolving web - Ajax and Rails.

Average customer rating:

MySQL help!
Thick and Lovely
MySQL Recipes Galore!!!
Excellent Reading for MySQL Users
MySQL Cookbook review

MySQL Cookbook
Paul DuBois
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 059652708X

Amazon.com

Good programming--which is to say, programming that yields both efficient code and a profitable life for the programmer--depends on not reinventing the wheel. If someone else has solved the problem you're facing (and someone almost always has), you'd be foolish to waste your energy figuring out your own solution. MySQL Cookbook presents solutions to scores of problems related to the MySQL database server. Readers stand a good chance of finding a ready-made solution to problems such as querying databases, validating and formatting data, importing and exporting values, and using advanced features like session tracking and transactions. Paul DuBois has done a great job assembling efficient solutions to common database programming problems, and teaches his readers a lot about MySQL and its attendant APIs in the process.

DuBois organizes his cookbook's recipes into sections on the problem, the solution stated simply, and the solution implemented in code and discussed. The implementation and discussion sections are the most valuable, as they contain the command sequences, code listings, and design explanations that can be transferred to outside projects. The main gripe readers will have about MySQL Cookbook is that the author, in his effort to cover the range of MySQL-friendly programming languages, uses different languages in his solutions to various problems. You'll see a Perl solution to one programming challenge (Perl, in fact, is the most frequently used language, followed by PHP), a Python fix for the next, and a Java sample after that. Readers have to hope that they find a solution in the language they're working with, or that they're able to transliterate the one DuBois has provided. It's usually not a big problem. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to make MySQL databases do your bidding--in terms of queries, table manipulation, data formatting, transactions, and Web interfaces--through the database server's command line interfaces and (more importantly) through the MySQL APIs of Perl, PHP, Java, and Python. Particularly excellent coverage deals with formatting dates and times, management of null values, string manipulation, and import/export techniques.

Book Description

Along with MySQL's popularity has come a flood of questions about solving specific problems, and that's where this Cookbook is essential. Designed as a handy resource when you need quick solutions or techniques, the book offers dozens of short, focused pieces of code and hundreds of worked-out examples for programmers of all levels who don't have the time (or expertise) to solve MySQL problems from scratch.

The new edition covers MySQL 5.0 and its powerful new features, as well as the older but still widespread MySQL 4.1. One major emphasis of this book is how to use SQL to formulate queries for particular kinds of questions, using the mysql client program included in MySQL distributions. The other major emphasis is how to write programs that interact with the MySQL server through an API. You'll find plenty of examples using several language APIs in multiple scenarios and situations, including the use of Ruby to retrieve and format data. There are also many new examples for using Perl, PHP, Python, and Java as well.

Other recipes in the book teach you to:<ul>

Access data from multiple tables at the same time</li>

Use SQL to select, sort, and summarize rows</li>

Find matches or mismatches between rows in two tables</li>

Determine intervals between dates or times, including age calculations</li>

Store images into MySQL and retrieve them for display in web pages</li>

Get LOAD DATA to read your data files properly or find which values in the file are invalid</li>

Use strict mode to prevent entry of bad data into your database</li>

Copy a table or a database to another server</li>

Generate sequence numbers to use as unique row identifiers</li>

Create database events that execute according to a schedule</li>

And a lot more</li></ul>

MySQL Cookbook doesn't attempt to develop full-fledged, complex applications. Instead, it's intended to assist you in developing applications yourself by helping you get past problems that have you stumped.

Customer Reviews:

MySQL help!.......2007-05-28

The MySQL Cookbook weighs in at over 940 pages and will help you find quick answers to everything from beginner-level basics up through dba and software developer tricks.

The book is a collection of real-world tasks and compliments Paul's DuBois' other MySQL books very well. It goes beyond basic use and admin-level goodies - it has loads of code examples as well. As a software developer using MySQL for many projects, I find the MySQL Cookbook indispensible.

Thick and Lovely.......2007-03-08

If you deal with MySQL on a daily or weekly basis then this book is a perfect go-to. So many scenarios (recipes) are covered, from simple to fairly advanced.

This second edition is almost twice as thick as the first, but that doesn't mean it's too much to handle since you wouldn't entirely read it from cover to cover because you'll want to go try out so much of it.

This really is worth space on a shelf (digital or not). I would prefer the digital edition since it'd be a breeze to search through.

MySQL Recipes Galore!!!.......2007-02-09

At ~950 pages, the 'MySQL Cookbook' is an EXTENSIVE look at using MySQL from top to bottom. Upgrading this cookbook with lots of new material and Ruby examples, Paul DuBois takes a great book and makes it that much better. There is SO much material it would be difficult to easily condense it all, but I can provide a chapter listing that should make it easier to see all the yummies included within:

01. Using the mysql Client Program
02. Writing MySQL-based Programs
03. Selecting Data
04. Table Management
05. Strings
06. Dates and Times
07. Sorting Query Results
08. Generating Summaries
09. Obtaining and Using Metadata
10. Importing/Exporting Data
11. Generating and Using Sequences
12. Using Multiple Tables
13. Statistical Techniques
14. Handling Duplicates
15. Transactions
16. Stored Procedures, Triggers, Events
17. MySQL on the Web
18. Incorporating Query Results into Web Pages
19. Processing Web Input with MySQL
20. Using MySQL-Based Web Session Management

Add on 4 appendixes and 250+ tips/tricks/recipes/yummies (yes 250!) and you have an indispensable reference for any and all MySQL developers and/or administrators. Solid layout and regular fantastic O'Reilly writing make this a MUST HAVE book for MySQL users. Go out and get it now!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Excellent Reading for MySQL Users.......2007-02-09

The MySQL Cookbook removes some abstraction from reading the docs. The recipes are concise answers to real-world questions about how to accomplish specific goals with MySQL. It covers common vexing problems that would require significant spelunking in the manuals or web search engines. The recipes provide more clarifying context than the manual, making it easier to learn how to use all those arcane features you had barely noticed. Great as a reference or, upgrade your brain by reading a few entries a day.

MySQL Cookbook review.......2007-02-06

As with most of the O'Reilly programming languages cookbooks I think this one is excellent. The problem/solution format helps to quickly drill down to what one wants to know. I wish that there was more discussion of the operating system tablespaces (ie. file systems).

The Ruby Way, Second Edition: Solutions and Techniques in Ruby Programming (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series)

Average customer rating:

Don't buy the PDF version from Sam's
My first reference for Ruby coding tasks
All you need to know about RUBY!
One of the best books I ever read
Fantastic book! A MUST-HAVE for the serious Ruby coder

The Ruby Way, Second Edition: Solutions and Techniques in Ruby Programming (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series)
Hal Fulton
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0672328844

Book Description

Ruby is an agile object-oriented language, borrowing some of the best features from LISP, Smalltalk, Perl, CLU, and other languages. Its popularity has grown tremendously in the five years since the first edition of this book.

The Ruby Way takes a âhow-toâ approach to Ruby programming with the bulk of the material consisting of more than 400 examples arranged by topic. Each example answers the question âHow do I do this in Ruby?â Working along with the author, you are presented with the task description and a discussion of the technical constraints. This is followed by a step-by-step presentation of one good solution. Along the way, the author provides detailed commentary and explanations to aid your understanding.

Coverage includes

• An overview of Ruby, explaining terminology and basic principles

• Operations on low-level data types (numbers, strings, regular expressions, dates)

• The new regular expression engine (Oniguruma)

• Internationalization (I18N) and message catalogs in Ruby

• Operations on hashes, arrays, and other data structures such as stacks, trees, and graphs

• Working with general I/O, files, and persistent objects

• Database coverage including MySQL, SQLite, Oracle, DBI, and more

• Ruby-specific techniques in OOP and dynamic programming

• Graphical interfaces in Ruby (Tk, GTK+, Fox, and Qt)

• Working with Ruby threads for lightweight multitasking

• Everyday scripting and system administration in Ruby

• Working with image files, PDFs, YAML, XML, RSS, and Atom

• Testing, debugging, profiling, and packaging Ruby code

• Low-level network programming and client-server interaction

• Web development tools including Rails, Nitro, Wee, IOWA, and more

• Working with distributed Ruby, Rinda, and Ring

• Ruby development tools such as IDEs, documentation tools, and more

The source code for the book can be downloaded from www.rubyhacker.com

Hal Fulton has worked for over 15 years with variousforms of Unix, including AIX, Solaris, and Linux. He was first exposed to Ruby in 1999, and in 2001 he began work on the first edition of this book–the second Ruby book published in the English language. He has attendednumerous Ruby conferences and has given presentations at several of those, including the first European Ruby Conference.

He has two degrees in computer science from the University of Mississippi and taught computer science for four years before moving to Austin, Texas to work as a contractor for variouscompanies, including IBM Austin. Hal currently works at Broadwing Communications in Austin, Texas, maintaining a large data warehouse and related telecom applications, working daily with C++, Oracle, and, of course, Ruby.

Customer Reviews:

Don't buy the PDF version from Sam's.......2007-06-01

This is not a review of the book as sold buy amazon. The paper version is great. This is a review of the fake pdf sold by Sams the publisher.

This is what I have sent to Sam's and I think that it explains things

"I bought what you claimed was a pdf of this book. It turns out that what you sell is not a pdf but instead a node locked ebook that I can only read on one computer using Adobe's beta Digital Library application. This is useless to me as I work from any number of computers and locations. As far as I can tell this is sales under false pretenses or bait and switch. While I realize that your site says that there is no refunds I still expect one as you did not sell me what you listed on your product description. "

My first reference for Ruby coding tasks.......2007-05-13

Rdoc is great, and deeper than this book, but The Ruby Way is better in terms of examples. O'Reilly books really don't do it for me with Ruby, and I don't even know if they have a Ruby Cookbook, but it doesn't even matter.

This is the only Ruby book I have that isn't from the Pragmatic Programmer's publishing company. I recommend starting with this book, then working your way through the Pragmatic series if you want to get your black belt in Ruby.

All you need to know about RUBY!.......2007-04-11

As the title says it ... don't look any further ...

One of the best books I ever read.......2007-03-28

This book has a very good design. In each chapter, one aspect of Ruby is explained in great detail. The examples also help a lot on comprehending the language.

Fantastic book! A MUST-HAVE for the serious Ruby coder.......2007-01-09

Well, as the headline of my review says; It's a MUST-HAVE for the serious Ruby coder.
Whatever the question, you'll find a very compentent answer and a very good explanation in this book.
The author knows his stuff hands down.
It's a pleasure to read the example code and see how elegantly written Ruby can be.
It's a book that should be used by anyone who has doubts about Ruby's power and elegance.

The first edition was already an amazing book, but the second edition really tops it.
Great work!

I wish other computer science book were this concise...

Programming Book:

Programming Book

Programming Book