Learn Ruby on Rails in 2020

| 5 minutes read

beginnerlearn Tags  railsrubylearn

This article will walk you through the pros/cons of learning Ruby on Rails in 2020 and provide you with all the learning resources to get a head start.

Should you learn Ruby on Rails in 2020?

In short, absolutely!

Don’t believe all the chatter you hear on the web stating “Ruby or Ruby on Rails in dead”. This is far from the truth…

What are the benefits of using Ruby on Rails?

Let’s run through some high levels pros/cons;

Pros

  • The language and framework are mature and stable
  • Rails solves 99% of all web app problems
  • Rails is still the fastest way to get your idea and/or business to ship!
  • Ruby is the most beautiful programming language around (IMO)
  • Both the Ruby and Rails communities are super friendly
  • Ruby developers are paid well
  • Using various techniques, Rails web apps are snappy and responsive, side by side with most SPA’s.
  • Rails scales very well (Github, Shopify, Airbnb)

Cons

  • It’s not the latest technology, cool kid on the block.

In case you didn’t notice my sarcasm, the con is not actually a con, however, lots of people seem to judge RoR (Ruby on Rails) based on this notion…

Learn Ruby on Rails

New to programming?

If you’re new to programming or at least relatively new, a good learning practice is to absorb as much content as possible then join the dots and you exercise your newly acquired knowledge and skills.

What exactly does that mean?

  • Learn a lot, learn more then learn some more. Really, programming keeps you on your toes, you need to actively learn new skills on a daily basis.
  • Absorb massive amounts of content from all types of sources, even if you don’t completely understand everything. Read news, books, blogs, watch videos, take courses, read source code and fiddle with side projects. This will provide you the context you need to join the dots.
  • Only learn what matters… Although I’m advising you to absorb a massive dose of content, stick to the beginner content only. No point in learning about meta programming if you don’t understand basic OOP (Object Orientated Programming). Once you have mastered the beginner skills, move onto intermediate then eventually the pro level content.
  • Learn at the right time. Timing is important, you should aim to learn subjects when you need to solve related problems.
  • Practice makes perfect! Seriously… you need to exercise your new skills and knowledge on a near daily basis or using a regular schedule if you have other commitments. Otherwise, you’ll forget everything.

Piece by piece, all that content you’ve been absorbing will start to make sense - context.

Learn Ruby First

You can probably learn how to build Rails apps without actually having to spend too much time learning Ruby in isolation. However, I believe the benefits of learning some basic Ruby first are worth the added effort. I highly recommend learning Ruby basic before diving into Rails.

Ruby Learning Resources

Each section lists content in order of importance

Official Ruby Documentation

Free Online Interactive Ruby Learning Resources

Free Offline Interactive Ruby Learning Resources

Free Online Books/Reading Resources

Free Video Courses

Podcasts

API Docs

Ruby on Rails Learning Resources

Once you have a basic to moderate understanding of Ruby, you can go ahead and start learning Ruby on Rails.

Each section lists content in order of importance

Official Rails Documentation

Free Online Reading Resources

Free Video Courses

Podcasts

API Docs

Closing Notes

I personally have used or know of all these resources, all highly recommended. Start on the free content, then move onto the paid content.

Enjoy both Ruby and Ruby on Rails 😀

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