Feeble documentation - weakness of Ruby on Rails
Directly I apologize for my English - I used the automatic translator. If there is a possibility, find the person, knowing Russian better, it will translate you correctly the text.
Address to developers of Ruby and Ruby on Rails:
Hi
It would be desirable to express the subjective judgement on a problem of popularity of Ruby and the Ruby on Rails in particular. It is very beautiful and laconic language, very powerful language. I studied it according to the book, it was necessary to read 2 times up to the end to understand all details. And I not for nothing spent the time. It is very powerful tool for development. The same it is possible to tell and about the Ruby on Rails. Agree that it not the simplest systems that here so from the first everything to understand. I am the professional programmer with more than 20-year experience, studied many systems and programming languages - Pascal, C, C ++, Java, Prolog, Delphi, PHP, developed different systems. Don't think that I am a school student any. Knowing all this languages, I after all delighted with Ruby!
And here, by the way, about PHP. I learned it an ex-remental way, with site use www.php.org. Here in than all charm of this site - there is ALL and directly! There is as the language syntax description, and the description of all functions in case of what if it is function, that is links to the similar functions accompanying. Everything is easy and simple - the person gradually learns more and more, plunges into this environment more and more development. Any puzzles and guesses. For me the study of PHP was simple and fast.
And so I have a question. Why, possessing, so powerful possibilities of Ruby and the Ruby on Rails still possess such feeble documentation? After all this most important in popularity of ANY system - existence of good documentation when to the person always is where to address for the sparvochny information instead of to build own guesses, not to rummage in source codes. To rummage in source codes is programming for the sake of programming, and after all people simply want to use the tool. To receive quickly necessary information on system is already a success half, I read. Not enough description of functions, is necessary still that the person could see similar functions that could follow as on a chain. You look on documentation on the same www.php.org also look at Ruby and Ruby on Rails documentation. In yours documentation (Index of Files, Classes & Methods in Ruby 1.9.3 (Ruby 1.9.3)), for example, I couldn't find the description of method_missing, but in other source (http://apidock.com/) it is. Unless it is impossible to create a normal site with documentation where there would be all and directly? Why the person shall guess, rummage about something in source codes? About Ruby on Rails documentation (http://api.rubyonrails.org/) I generally am silent - there is no description many methods if there is a description, not clearly what it can accept parameters and that they mean, there is no description of classes, their correlations.
You developed such fine system, a magnificent programming language, excellent framework, so why you can't develop normal, distinct documentation? In it popularity of PHP and weakness of Ruby, only in it. There would be same good documentation, then long ago Ruby would walk ahead Planet (Earth) at all - ("To be number one"). It seems to me davny already it is time to supply design team with design team DOCUMENTATION. After all the maturity of any product is characterized just by convenient and extensive documentation, including.
I think that many are stopped just by this moment in study when people face that simply can't move easily further in study and use of these systems - Ruby and the Ruby on Rails.
And once again thanks for so excellent tools!
Yours faithfully, Sergey