Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:  
Summary: Very Good book
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buying this is a no-brainer!
Comment: There are mostly good Ruby books out there now. There are lots of so-so Rails books, none really bad, but this is the place to start with Rails.
After this, get Ruby for Rails.
But when using this book, know that you do need to visit the web site of the authors and they do answer emails personally. They also maintain updates to the pdf version and errata on each print and pdf version. They really have put time and effort into making a good book for learning. It isn't perfect, but it's definitely one of those really well-crafted things that are rarely written by computer people for anyone.
DT is a heck of a good communicator or something
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book to learn Rails
Comment: Ruby on Rails is not just a locomotive moving on down the line. It is a bullet train moving at two hundred miles an hour. I say this because Agile Web Development With Rails is already in its second edition in only a year and a half. There has been that much change to the base framework to warrant an upgrade to the book in so little time.
What is Ruby on Rails - also known as Rails? It is a framework that makes it easier to develop, deploy, and maintain web applications. It uses Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture as do many Java frameworks, but Rails takes it further in that it is almost as if you start out with the skeleton of an application already prepared. Rails is written in Ruby, a modern, object-oriented scripting language that runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
A couple of things I really like about the book and the publisher is that you can buy the book as a standard book as well as a PDF e-book. For a real discount you can get both. To me, this is a bonus since I like having the physical book to hold and read, but when I am working on something or traveling, I can still reference the material without locating the book. I also liked the detailed explanations contained in the footnotes. The authors do not try to overwhelm you with every detail in the dialog. Rather they are saying there is more information if you need it.
In my full review over at Blogcritics I found that at over 700 pages, Agile Web Development With Rails does a great job of taking you to the next level of Rails development. It provides you with a rich depth of information into the Rails framework and gives you the skills to bring your development to the next level.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book - But it should not be your first Rails Book
Comment: I have purposely refrained from posting a review of this book though I had purchased the First Edition of this book back in October 2006 when I was getting started with RoR. I have gone through it and purchased the Second Edition and am going through it now.
The first time around, my knowledge and experience with RoR was quite limited especially the Ruby knowledge. It became clear to me that I needed to learn more Ruby before I could begin to grasp what the first edition of this book was all about. I went back and bought David Black's Ruby for Rails Developers book and went through it entirely working through the whole code base. I had to repeat certain chapters a few times to really understand what was going on. Since then, I have gone through Patrick Lenz's "Build Your Own Ruby on Rails.." book and have now come back to the Second Edition of the Book and working through the Depot application again. This time around though, my appreciation for the material in this book has gone up since I am better able to grasp it. I may have to repeat certain Chapters/Sections a few times to round out my knowledge but that is OK.
My advise to people getting started with Ruby and Ruby on Rails is that do not make this your first RoR book (I would say the same thing about the PickAxe or Programming Ruby book). Instead, buy some of the starters books, e.g., the ones that I mention above, and go through them first. If you do that, you will be in a much better position to learn effectively from this book. This book tries to get you running too soon too fast. You have to walk before you run.
Other than that, the materical in the book is obviously written by people who have an expert level understanding of the product and they know how to communicate it well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource
Comment: Clear, easy to read as well as easy to follow.
If you're interested in Ruby on Rails, it's definitely a must.
|
|
|
