Posted January 20, 2012 Hello! I don't know if any of you guys dabble much with programming, but I'm considering trying to teach myself something. Two that have come up are Python, or Ruby, and I basically know zilch about both. I can't find/figure out which would be better for pretty much a total noob to programming, and from there on, which would be easiest to find good resources to teach myself. Does anybody have any advice? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 It depends on what you hope to produce using your programming skills! Python is a nice scripting language with emphasis on readability, and would be more well-rounded in terms of application compared to Ruby. Ruby (combined with the Rails framework), however, is very strong for web application programming. It's become really popular lately resulting in lots of creative solutions to learning online. The creator of Ruby intended for it to be a fun language to use, and the online community have really picked up on that. Personally, I think that Ruby is more fun to learn, and you should definitely go for it if you want to make web applications. If you're looking more for an introductory language to programming (to give you a good foundation to pick up any other programming language with relative ease), I would suggest an object-oriented language like Java, or C++. Python is nice though, I do know someone who started with Python and is now learning Java and C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 I'm just doing it for shits and giggles really, not thinking of particular applications. I've always wanted to learn something, and have heard these are both good for beginners. I'm guessing from your post that you've learnt Ruby, what sort of resources did you use to teach yourself? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 I learned Ruby using Ruby in 20 minutes and why's guide (links below), then I took a Ruby class for one semester. Here are the best resources I've found, in the order you should read/do them in. Ruby Ruby in 20 minutes - tutorial to code along with. http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/quickstart/ why's guide - a very entertaining "book" teaching Ruby. http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/ Try Ruby! - interactive Ruby, code in your browser. http://tryruby.org/levels/1/challenges/0 -- Ruby on Rails - you probably won't be moving on to Rails for a while, but still good to bookmark. Ruby on Rails http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/ruby/the-best-way-to-learn-ruby-on-rails/ Starting Ruby on Rails: What I Wish I Knew http://betterexplained.com/articles/starting-ruby-on-rails-what-i-wish-i-knew/ The Intro to Rails Screencast I Wish I Had - I highly recommend this screencast, it's the best I've found on Rails - better than my lecturer's explanation. http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/ruby/the-intro-to-rails-screencast-i-wish-i-had/ RailsForZombies - this is ok only, do it if you run out of resources. http://railsforzombies.org/ -- The book recommended by my lecturer was The Ruby Programming Language, David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto (the creator of Ruby). I haven't gotten past the first chapter as I found lectures + web resources satisfactory to learn with, but I've been programming with OO languages for four years so you should probably read the book. Apparently good (concise, correct) books on Ruby are rare, but that seems to be the best one. If you give me some time I can type out all of the topics I learned in class, but the book should cover all of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 Cheers, I was just googling about and found a 'top 10 free guides' sort of thing, one of which is something called Hackety Hack, apparently developed by why originally, it's aimed at helping kids to start learning ruby or something, so I'm gonna give it a go and see. I'm already aware/used to some aspects of programming but think it's best to start right back at the beginning. I'll give your stuff a read before hackety hack though, thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 Ooooh I hadn't ever come across Hackety Hack, must add that to my list Maybe try that after the first three links I posted! Good luck and have fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 But both of them are object-oriented, and every other fecking paradigm :p I think if I had to start with one I'd pick python, especially if you don't know what you want the language for, it is better supported and has a module already written for just about everything. It even has Django, which is comparable to rails. Python is the more structured and consistent of the two languages too, there is a mentality of keeping things consistent so that you can pretty much guess what a method does in a module, whereas Ruby tends to have people give things silly names, or has multiple methods doing the same thing. To sum it up ruby would think "there is more than one way to do the same thing" whereas python would think "there should be one way, and one obvious way, to do something". Not that that is a bad thing for Ruby, I just think it might confuse. I know Ruby but not python btw, and am considering learning python myself. Ruby is a great language and fun to use but if you aren't sure where your focus is then python is better suited to general-purpose programming and will probably serve you better. One of few languages that are supported for Google's App Engine is python, too, if you are ever likely to want to do anything there. Also here! http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-189-a-gentle-introduction-to-programming-using-python-january-iap-2008/ Learn python from that. MIT course for people with no prior programming experience, with lecture notes, assignments and solutions. Edit: I should really answer when I open the page or at least refresh after late breakfast. But it's my day off and that means it's the best. day. everrrrr. *drifts into fantasy* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 20, 2012 Ooooh I hadn't ever come across Hackety Hack, must add that to my list Maybe try that after the first three links I posted! Good luck and have fun! Sorry, I skipped to hackety hack :p It's like an interactive learning thingy, built in guide while you code sort of thing, so I thought it'd make it easier to start getting to grips with things. It's totally having C++ runtime errors on this PC though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
