Ruby for Rails is becoming all the rage amongst many of my developer friends. They cite the ease of use, the fact that you can pretty much generate the major pieces of web application on the fly, and the power of the Model-View-Controller1 pattern that Rails uses to render scripted web pages. Back when we were starting development on Podiobooks.com, Ruby on Rails was put forth as a possible solution. Unfortunately, trying to get Rails up and running on a Windows box was taking up more time than I had, so, for me, Rails fell by the wayside.

Recently, however, a couple of these developer friends and I began casting our gazes toward new projects, and Ruby on Rails has been proposed once more. The time is right for me to learn Ruby on Rails.

Ruby for Rails by David A. Black is proving to be an excellent resource. This is not a book for someone new to web development. There is no recap of basic development terms and processes. Instead, the author assumes you've been around the block a few times.

"Part 1: The Ruby/Rails Landscape" delves directly into the code, first explaining the basic of the Ruby programming language, then explaining how the Rails framework can be used for rapid application development. These are simply overviews, but by the time you finish them, you are ready for "Part 2: Ruby Building Blocks." "Part 3: Built-in Classes and Modules" gives a mid-level overview of the tools that Ruby comes with, and also explains how to extend the current set of modules. Finally, "Part 4: Rails Through Ruby, Ruby Through Rails," will give you the basic knowledge necessary to get up and running inside the Rails framework.

You'll notice that book title is not Ruby on Rails, and this is significant. This book explains how to use Ruby effectively in conjunction with Rails, but it is neither an exhaustive Ruby reference, nor is it an extensive breakdown of the Rails framework. Rather, it teaches you just enough Ruby to get you ready to work with Rails, and then points you in other directions for more in-depth reading.