The Well-Grounded Rubyist

Preface

In 2006, Manning published my book Ruby for Rails: Ruby Techniques for Rails Developers. My goal in writing Ruby for Rails—or, as it has come to be known, R4R—was to provide Rails developers with both an understanding of the fact that being a Rails developer means being a Ruby developer, and a solid grasp of Ruby. I chose Ruby topics for inclusion (and exclusion) based on my judgment as to their relative importance for people who wanted to learn Ruby mainly in order to use Rails correctly and effectively.

Critical response to R4R was very good. The book filled a void: it was neither just a Ruby book nor just a Rails book, but a Ruby book “optimized,” so to speak, for the Rails developer. I was pleased by the book’s reception—and particularly ...