Head First Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails

Head First Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails
by David Griffiths

Head First Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails
List Price: $49.99
Our Price: $24.55
You Save: $25.44 (51%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.05 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: David Griffiths
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-01-06
ISBN: 0596515774
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780596515775
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Head First Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails

Book Review: Brilliant Book
Summary: 5 Stars

I have to agree with Paul and disagree with the previous two reviews. In fact it's difficult to believe I've been reading the same book as those two guys.

I do notice that both those reviewers already have experience using Rails and I suppose this could be the difference. Like Paul I have never used Rails in my life and was attracted by the current buzz around Ruby and Rails generally. I am, however, a pretty experienced software developer in other languages from Java & Python right the way back to the early days of Fortran.

When I learn a new language or framework I'm looking for a reasonable amount of detail as to how things work. Just saying, "hey, don't worry about that, Rail's will sort it out magically for you", just doesn't cut it for me. That might be OK if all you want to do is cut a one off bit of code and run, but I personally don't find that approach satisfying as a developer. I like to feel that I've really learnt the language when I buy a book like this.

So therefore it's fair to say I WANT to know something about how routing works and to me chapter two in this book just about has it right in terms of detail. Having read it, I now feel I know a little bit about the under pinnings of Rails without having been totally blown away with detail.

To be honest this is what I look to Head First books to deliver generally; that balance between depth and breadth of coverage and this book for me certainly does deliver. Now, of cause, there are people who just don't get the Head First formulation. They don't get the humor, they don't get the art work, they can't do the puzzles. Let's just face it, they don't get it. And for those people I'd say this book is probably not for you, because there is no doubt is a classic Head First book. But for people like me; existing developers, who want to get into Web 2.0 coding without being either patronized or bored to tears this book is a great starting point.

At the end of the day I suppose that I must just fall into the demographic that this book is aimed at and I assume the two early reviewers didn't. So I'd say if you're a developer that wants to get into Rails with just the right level of detail and wants to have some fun doing it, buy this book, You'll love it.

Summary of Head First Rails: A Learner's Companion to Ruby on Rails

Ready to transport your web applications into the Web 2.0 era? Head First Rails takes your programming -- and productivity -- to the max. You'll learn everything from the fundamentals of Rails scaffolding to building customized interactive web apps using Rails' rich set of tools and the MVC framework.

By the time you're finished, you'll have learned more than just another web framework. You'll master database interactions, integration with Ajax and XML, rich content, and even dynamic graphing of your data -- all in a fraction of the time it takes to build the same apps with Java, PHP, ASP.NET, or Perl. You'll even get comfortable and familiar with Ruby, the language that underpins Rails. But you'll do it in the context of web programming, and not through boring exercises such as "Hello, World!"

Your time is way too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Rails uses a visually rich format designed to take advantage of the way your brain really works.

Languages & Tools Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Languages & Tools Books
Eclipse Plug-ins (3rd Edition) ImageEclipse Plug-ins (3rd Edition)
by Eric Clayberg, Dan Rubel
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2008-12-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $38.33
Price in other shops: $59.99
Java Software Solutions: Foundations of Program Design (6th Edition) ImageJava Software Solutions: Foundations of Program Design (6th Edition)
by John Lewis, William Loftus
Addison Wesley; Published: 2008-03-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $74.40
Price in other shops: $128.00
C++ Primer (3rd Edition) ImageC++ Primer (3rd Edition)
by Stanley B. Lippman, Josée Lajoie
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 1998-04-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.47
Price in other shops: $49.99
Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example ImageAccelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example
by Andrew Koenig, Barbara E. Moo
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2000-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.99
Price in other shops: $49.99
Patterns of Software: Tales from the Software Community ImagePatterns of Software: Tales from the Software Community
by Richard P. Gabriel
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $64.55
Just Java? 2 (6th Edition) ImageJust Java? 2 (6th Edition)
by Peter van der Linden
Prentice Hall; Published: 2004-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $35.00
Price in other shops: $64.99
UML for Java? Programmers ImageUML for Java? Programmers
by Robert C. Martin
Prentice Hall; Published: 2003-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops: $44.99
Thinking in Java (3rd Edition) (One-Off) ImageThinking in Java (3rd Edition) (One-Off)
by Bruce Eckel
Prentice Hall PTR; Published: 2002-12-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.80
Price in other shops: $54.99
SQL Fundamentals with CDROM ImageSQL Fundamentals with CDROM
by John J. Patrick
Prentice Hall; Published: 1999-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.00
Price in other shops: $44.99
C How to Program, 2nd Edition ImageC How to Program, 2nd Edition
by Paul J. Deitel
Prentice Hall; Published: 1994-01-13; Textbook Binding; Book
Best price: $29.86
Price in other shops: $70.00
Similar Books and other products
Beginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional ImageBeginning Ruby: From Novice to Professional
by Peter Cooper
Apress; Published: 2009-07-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.58
Price in other shops: $39.99
Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML ImageHead First HTML with CSS & XHTML
by Eric T Freeman, Elisabeth Freeman, Elisabeth Robson
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2005-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.54
Price in other shops: $39.99
Head First JavaScript ImageHead First JavaScript
by Michael Morrison
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2008-01-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.00
Price in other shops: $39.99
Head First Python ImageHead First Python
by Paul Barry
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2010-12-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.00
Price in other shops: $49.99
Head First jQuery ImageHead First jQuery
by Ryan Benedetti, Ronan Cranley
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2011-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.73
Price in other shops: $39.99
Head First HTML5 Programming: Building Web Apps with JavaScript ImageHead First HTML5 Programming: Building Web Apps with JavaScript
by Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Robson
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2011-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.16
Price in other shops: $49.99
The Ruby Programming Language ImageThe Ruby Programming Language
by David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2008-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.55
Price in other shops: $39.99
Head First PHP & MySQL ImageHead First PHP & MySQL
by Lynn Beighley, Michael Morrison
O'Reilly Media; Published: 2008-12-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.39
Price in other shops: $44.99
Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers) ImageAgile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)
by Sam Ruby, Dave Thomas, David Heinemeier Hansson
Pragmatic Bookshelf; Published: 2011-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.46
Price in other shops: $43.95
Ruby on Rails 3 Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series) ImageRuby on Rails 3 Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series)
by Michael Hartl
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2010-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.89
Price in other shops: $39.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories