Hello!! I have been interested in learning RoR since I was first introduced in 2006. Although my career tends to limit free time for programming, I have recently set a goal to teach myself RoR, or at least the basics, by the end of the year. I set out to find some instructional books so I can still learn when I can't be in front of the computer.
I discovered the O'Reilly series of books and thought it would be a great start. I first read Learning Ruby by Michael Fitzgerald. At this particular time I couldn't be near my home or computer, but I was so excited that I read the whole book anyways. My intention was to set a foundation of knowledge BEFORE going back to the beginning and trying the examples a few days later.
When I finally got home to try out some magic, not much seemed to work. I went back to the book and tried a few examples (the ones I remembered wanting to try the first time I read through) and that didn't work either. Very confused, I set about to figure out where I went wrong.
I think my problems seems to be that the books were written for older versions of Ruby/Rails. I really didn't expect that the platform had changed much, but it appears I could be very wrong. It was discouraging to know that I may have wasted my time and money on these books, and for awhile, made me reconsider wanting to learn more.
To sum it all up, I would like to get some opinions of those who know more about this: Is it important to learn about previous versions, or should I just find the latest, greatest book on the market? Where do most people (new to the scene) learn what they need to get started? Should I trash those old books, or could they be worthy reference? Should I even continue reading them? Did RoR really change that much in two years (since these books were printed)?
I know it's a lot to ask, but I really need some encouragement to get back on the right path. I would absolutely love to become a member, AND contributor, to the RoR community. Thanks for reading and I hope to read your opinions soon. -JKnowlage
