Rails 2.3.4 Vs Rails 3 + Book - Beginner in RoR

Question

Hi,

I have started with Ruby and Rails development and I am a Java developer from the last 2 years (student). I am in for two things:

1. Learn Ruby
2. Make my website on ROR

I have Agile Web Development with Rails, 2nd Edition.

So, here are my questions:

1. How is the Agile Web Development with Rails book to start with, where I don't know anything about Ruby and proficient with Java.
2. What is the difference between 2nd and 3rd edition? People say the changes are irrelevant for a starter, how far is that statement correct?
3. Should I start with Rails 2.3.4 or Rails 3 (around the corner)? Rails3 It Is!

Answer 1

I don't have the Agile Book, but I can answer question 3.

Firstly, I have no idea why you would start with 2.3.4 when theres 2.3.8 out already.

Secondly, I would might do a little testing and mess around a bit with 2.3.8, but not start anything big and wait for Rails 3. This is because Rails 3 is largely different but better and you will probably want to upgrade an application once it comes out. Hence, it would be smart to wait for Rails 3 to be released before starting any large projects so that you don't have to go through the trouble of upgrading.

As a bit of note on question 1, I have done fine learning without the Agile Book, but there are probably some thing I could pick up better with that book rather than looking things up on Google and the RDoc.

Answer 2

As someone who went on the same path, from java to rails, recently, I'll give my two cents.

Start with whatever version you have book/tutorial/guide for. (assuming it's good book/tutorial/guide, of course) Unfortunately, backwards compatibility is a big problem for rails and I often saw that code examples created just 2-3 years ago need significant fixes to become workable now. And fixing them especially difficult if you're a greenhorn.

As for "Rails 3 is cooler" argument, you could skip it as well and wait for Rails 5. IMHO, if you're doing a website for fun/to learn, both second and third versions will give you basic understanding of the platform and language. And once you know it, 'upgrading' your knowledge to the next version is much simpler than learning it anew.

Good luck with your quest, you'll need a lot of it :)

Answer 3

The Agile book is good, but the 2nd edition is for Rails 1.2 - which is quite old now! You could buy the 3rd edition (which is for Rails 2), but with Rails 3 coming out soon that'll probably also be outdated soon.

My recommendation is the website: http://www.railstutorial.org/book

It's a really well written online book called 'Learning Rails by Example', it gives a thorough introduction to Rails (using the latest Rails 2.3.8). Two of my colleagues have used it recently to get into Rails.