For the last couple years, I've been dabbling with learning Ruby and Rails. For the most part, the process has pretty much looked the same: I'd devote hours to reading and watching with not enough time spent actually coding. I would start some projects but always felt like I just didn't "get it." Eventually, I would encounter a problem or a bug I couldn't fix and would give up in frustration.
I would like to avoid this frustrating carousel of disappointment this time around.
Nearly all of the advice I've read online has said that teaching is the best way to truly learn a subject. So, this blog is my attempt at learning how to become a proficient web developer by teaching what I learn.
Why?
I like solving problems. From what I understand, this is the majority of what programmers get to do during the day AND they get paid for it. I understand it isn't all rainbows and glitter but it sounds like an interesting and challenging way to make a living.
I'm pretty happy with what I do now (I work in Marketing for a small creative firm) but I've wanted to work on web applications for years.
I love the web. I love the power it has to connect and automate.
My goal is to self-teach my way to the status of Competent Rails Developer.
Materials
This is not an exhaustive list but these are some of the resources I'll be using:
- Ruby Programming video course by The Pragmatic Studio
- Agile Web Development with Rails 4 by Sam Ruby, Dave Thomas, and David Heinemeier Hansson
- Rails Casts by Ryan Bates
Suggestions?
If you've gone down a similar learning path and have any suggestions, I'm all ears. You can find me on Twitter at @gregelizondo.