Reading Assignment

Now that you’ve had some experience with Ruby (on Rails), it is useful to reflect on these topics further. You do not need to read all of these, although they are short and have different perspectives on what is interesting about Ruby.

• Hartl Chapter 4 on Rails-Flavored Ruby
• Learn Ruby the Hard Way by Zed A. Shaw
• To Ruby from Java

If you learn better with hands-on practice, you could try some of the online tutorials instead:

• Odin Project Ruby on Rails
• Try Ruby
• Ruby in Twenty Minutes
• Codeacademy’s Ruby tutorial

What to Hand In

In a text file (submitted via PioneerWeb), answer the following questions:

1. In what ways is Ruby similar to other languages you have learned?
2. How is Ruby different from other object-oriented languages you have learned (such as Java)?
3. What is the most surprising thing about Ruby for you?
4. Explain what you think “duck typing” is?  What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of duck typing?