Why You Should Learn Ruby Programming in 2023 and 5 Best Learning Resources
Have you ever admired the simplicity of a Shopify store’s admin or marveled at the speed of an Airbnb prototype? Chances are, Ruby and its phenomenal Ruby on Rails (Rails) framework laid the foundation.
Once dubbed “A Programmer’s Best Friend”, Ruby delivers a unique blend of reader-friendly syntax, flexible metaprogramming, and rapid web app development through Rails. Instilling the principle of “Developer Happiness”, Ruby remains a vibrant staple at companies needing to build cloud-based products fast.
In this post, we’ll highlight why learning Ruby in 2023 continues unlocking abundant career opportunities. You’ll discover specific examples where Ruby shines along with stellar courses elevating your skills.
By the end, you should have a firm grasp of Ruby’s capabilities suiting today‘s agile delivery needs. Let‘s dig in!
The Staying Power of Ruby in 2023
While warnings of Ruby‘s demise circulate among news sites every few years, the reality tells a different story. Stack Overflow’s 2021 survey placed Ruby among the top 10 most popular languages at over 30% developer usage.
What explains the lingering affection developers hold for Ruby? For starters, Ruby strikes an elegant balance between approachable reading and writing syntax while enabling developers to metaprogram ambitiously leveraging Ruby’s flexible nature.
Combining high developer velocity with lean, low-ceremony coding drew swarms to the Ruby ecosystem since the 2000s. This popularity birthed Ruby on Rails in 2004, a monumental web app framework promoting “convention over configuration” and rapid building. Soon iconic brands like Basecamp, GitHub, Airbnb, Hulu, and countless ventures followed Rails to craft consumer experiences rapidly.
The Ruby/Rails craze even spawned conferences and publications nurturing its community globally. This momentum never faded but subtly persisted powering recognizable digital brands you likely engage with regularly via Shopify, StubHub, Motorola, Punchh, FreshBooks or Hellosign to name a few.
In short: love for Ruby endures because it works wonderfully. Let‘s analyze why…
What Makes Ruby an Essential Language in 2023
Mature languages like Ruby boast extensive resources underpinning developer success like…
Vibrant Global Community – Conferences like RailsConf and RubyKaigi connect international Ruby fans discussing emerging best practices. Ruby’s culture fosters engaged collaboration.
Ideal for Rapid Prototyping – Lean startups thrive on testing ideas quickly. Ruby on Rails empowers spinning playable prototypes rapidly validating concepts. This accounts for much of Ruby’s relevance today.
Metaprogramming Superpowers – Ruby’s flexible design enables developers customizing functionality on the fly through metaprogramming. By tweaking classes, methods, even missing functions during runtime, Ruby cuts verbose boilerplate code plaguing larger apps. This means cleaner, more maintainable projects.
Consistency and Conventions – Rails utilization of MVC architecture and preferring ‘convention over configuration’ enhances developer speed through reusable conventions rather than reinventing standard building blocks.
Testing Supports Quality – A culture valuing reliable, bug-free experiences leads Ruby developers contributing exceptional testing tools like RSpec and Cucumber to the ecosystem. These libraries allow test-driven and behavior-driven development methods produce robust code.
Portability and Platform Support – Data centers and cloud hosting unlock immense scaling capabilities for Ruby apps. Popular services ensure Ruby deployment anywhere whether AWS, Heroku, Azure and more supporting enterprise needs.
Data Analysis and ML Capabilities – While not the first tool for machine learning tasks, Ruby GPU accelerated services now unlock AI capabilities to the language. See SciRuby for math, visualization, processing stacks.
As evidenced above, Ruby on Rails specifically turbocharges development velocity which translates business ideas into real-world software rapidly. This reliability captivates entrepreneurs and enterprises today.
Now we’ll analyze some ideal use cases showcasing Ruby’s versatile talents…
When Ruby Shines Over Other Languages
Thanks to Ruby‘s expansive capabilities spanning web, mobile, API, automation tasks and more – many project types stand to gain tremendous leverage employing Ruby or Rails for their foundation.
Here are sweet spots where choosing Ruby delivers a strategic edge:
Ideal for Startups – Startups require moving fast validating product-market fit. Ruby on Rails empowers spinning an MVP in weeks instead of months to capture early adopters and learn.
SaaS Applications – Software-as-a-Service apps prioritizing speed resonate with Ruby for quickly standing up subscription app capabilities, self-service portals, and dashboards.
E-Commerce at Scale – Shopify’s ascendance to leading commerce platform validates Ruby on Rails suitability for high-volume shopping experiences ensuring reliability.
Content Management Systems – Flexible structures like Rails enable building customizable CMS solutions companies increasingly demand for content production.
Browser Test Automation – Scripting cross-browser testing harnesses Ruby’s process automation strengths verifying web apps function properly everywhere. See tools like Selenium.
Server Configuration – Ruby thrives for DevOps workflows automating server and infrastructure provisioning, deployment, and management via scripts maximizing productivity.
Data Analysis and ML – While Python dominates data science, Ruby sciences ecosystem including ML tools now secures a foothold for analytics and predictions needs.
Clearly Ruby delivers tangible advantages spanning multiple contemporary tech disciplines – especially recognizing speed imperative in competitive climates.
Now let’s showcase stellar resources jumpstarting your Ruby education…
Top Ruby Learning Resources in 2023
Many newcomers and experienced developers alike leverage online courses accelerating their Ruby and Rails skills. The abundance of material might overwhelm though!
I’ve compiled some excellent Ruby training rated highly producing extremely satisfied students:
- Learn to Code with Ruby (Udemy)
Learn to Code with Ruby receives rave reviews for clearly explaining programming basics through Ruby lessons. Absolute beginners build 7 real mini-apps applying concepts mastering strings, arrays, OOP principles and much more across 30+ hours of video. For ~$15 when discounted, it‘s an unmatched Ruby introduction.
Key topics include:
- Ruby programming fundamentals
- Variables, data types
- Conditionals and logic
- Methods, arguments
- Classes and objects
- Blocks, enumerators
- File input/output
- Building CLI apps
Udemy students praise the course’s methodical approach, flexibility accommodating different learning speeds and styles, and the instructor’s dedication helping newcomers thrive. It enjoys a stellar 4.7 average rating.
- The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course (Udemy)
Transitioning to advanced material, The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course unpacks building substantial web apps leveraging pure Ruby on Rails code. Across 430+ video lessons spanning 45+ hours, the training builds a real social platform teaching critical concepts like:
- Rails MVC and project structure
- Active Record models and relationships
- Validation, callbacks, concerns, and observers
- Controllers, views, layouts, and components
- Authentication, authorization
- AJAX integrations
- Action Cable and Websockets
- Action Mailer messaging
- Asset Pipeline
- Deployment options
You gain confidence tackling personal or professional projects after absorbing so many Rails best practices through genuinely constructing a production-grade app. Priced around $100, the breadth surpasses most books.
- Practical Ruby Projects (Udemy)
Sometimes applying knowledge proves most productive cementing lessons. Practical Ruby Projects delivers hands-on learning building 5 gems (libraries) and 4 CLI tools exercising critical language fluency including:
- Building a Lisp-style calculator
- Markov text generation
- A gem for distinct RGB values
- Image processing gem + filters
- Multi-threaded web downloader CLI
- Password strength checker
- Interactive command line quiz game
Not only do the real-world exercises motivate students solving problems, but also exemplify how everyday tools leverage Ruby’s power behind the scenes. These could inspire potential portfolio pieces too!
- The Well-Grounded Rubyist (Book)
For those preferring textbooks, The Well-Grounded Rubyist provides 500+ pages systematically advancing through the Ruby language. Veterans praise author David Black’s clear explanations deconstructing complex topics like callable and singleton methods, code blocks and binding, dynamic dispatch, runtime introspection and more.
With a methodical progression from basic syntax and OOP through metaprogramming, The Well-Grounded Rubyist suits self-driven learners seeking rock-solid language foundations before applying Rails. Code examples accompany each subject allowing you to experiment live practicing lessons.
It‘s considered one of the most essential guides for cementing idiomatic Ruby programming habits early on.
- Eloquent Ruby (Book)
After absorbing formal syntax rules, Eloquent Ruby by Russ Olsen examines “writing Ruby the Ruby way” reflecting the expressive capabilities and eloquence master Rubyists leverage daily. Olsen shares design approaches, abstraction techniques, and programming wisdom crafting truly Rubyist code beyond merely working scripts.
You learn tackling challenges like:
- Leveraging dynamic typing
- Metaprogramming for cleaner apps
- Constructing domain-specific languages
- Consistent conventions aid reading
- Balancing OO composition/inheritance
- Graceful degradation fundamentals
If apprenticeship insights from 20+ year software veteran Russ Olsen inspires your journey toward Ruby fluency, Eloquent Ruby delivers in spades. Reviewers praise the book‘s clarity and creativity inspiring a deeper passion for the art of Ruby coding.
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Ruby!
Hopefully this analysis spotlights why Ruby will continue driving global digital experiences for the foreseeable future. Master Ruby fundamentals unlocking huge career options as companies constantly seek engineering talent sustaining their market edge.
With abundant educational resources nurturing newcomers, no better time exists amplifying your skills within the Ruby community! Whether pursuing freelance projects or full-time roles, Ruby fluency sets you apart delivering reliable code at startup speed.
I welcome hearing your Ruby journey highlights and questions below!
