Reddit reviews Agile Web Development with Rails 4 (Pragmatic Programmers)

I don't know if there is a rails for node developers but they definitely come from two different perspectives on application development. Having written apps in both ecosystems I can say you'll be hard pressed to write an app faster with any framework other than rails, that being said it is convention over configuration and you need to do things the rails way to get results. If your looking for a starting place, there is a book called Agile Web Development with Rails 4 ( link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937785564 ). Its written in part by one of the inventors of the framework and is definitely worth the read. If your more familiar with NoSql I'd also recommend checking out mongoid, its an ORM for MongoDB and RoR and its pretty robust.

EDIT: While ruby and javascript have similar syntax ( if you can look past the curly braces and semi-colons ), learning about using ruby before starting with rails will be very helpful. Ruby is a wonderful language with a relatively easy learning curve but it does have its own idoms and caveats that are unique to it.

I believe Agile Web Development with Ruby on Rails builds an ecommerce store while going through the features on Rails. Highly recommend!

It's never too late, I too started when I was 27. My advice is to meet others, both starting out like you are and very experienced. Also reach out to companies you like, Ruby/Rails speakers, even DHH answers emails he gets. But don't go for the bootcamps. They cost an arm and a leg, don't teach you anything you can't learn by yourself and are very demanding (i.e. 60h/week).

A bit about me, to show you it's perfectly possible to get where you want to be:


I had some basic knowledge like you did but was very much outdated on most stuff web (last time I did HTML was when tables were a good way of laying your page out...)

I had 4 months where I couldn't work so I decided to put this time towards turning my life around and getting proficient enough to get paid to write webapps.

I started with M. Hartl's tutorial and this book: http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Development-Rails-Facets-Ruby/dp/1937785564/ but I was quickly overwhelmed.

So I took a step back and spent some time to learn Ruby first with rubymonk, the Ruby Koans and by asking a lot of questions on #ruby @ freenode. The people there were very helpful and I found this IRC channel to be crucial in my learning.

At the same time, I was getting up to speed on CSS and HTML with treehouse. Although their acting is a bit annoying at times because you feel a bit like a child and the things they teach are a bit outdated, you still can get a solid grasp on CSS and HTML in a few weeks.

Then I tried diving into Rails again. And again, it was too much. I was getting frustrated because a lot of things in Rails are automagical and you don't really understand where they come from.

I was fortunate enough to have a very active Ruby/Rails meetup group in my city. It took a few missed meetups to build up the courage to finally show up. There, I discovered that they were planning to run a railsbridge event where, for one weekend, volunteers assemble classes of about 10 persons and teach you Rails. There were 3 levels, complete beginner, intermediate and advanced. I took the intermediate class (which was actually an intro to Rails) and it gave me enough ammo to finally get on with M. Hartl's tutorial.

Over that weekend, I also met another guy who was also getting started with Rails. We eventually did the edX course together: https://www.edx.org/course/engineering-software-service-uc-berkeleyx-cs169-1x, helping each other out and doing the required "homework" together. Railscasts were also helpful. It hasn't been updated in a very long time now and probably won't be ever again but some of the stuff is still very relevant. The pause button is very helpful because Ryan explains quite a lot of stuff over a short period of time.

By going regularly to the meetup, I also befriended much more senior devs who I could come up to with questions. One of them knew of a junior position at a startup that needed to be filled and asked me if I was interested. And this is how I got my first paid job as a developer.

The takeaway is this: don't hesitate to reach out. Most people in this field love what they are doing and are very happy to give you some of their time either by giving advice, recommending you for a job etc. The key is motivation. If you can put 4-5 hours a day for the next 6 months, you can definitely get to a point where you have enough knowledge to be a junior dev. Don't forget to build things in the process and put them on Github.

Good luck!

I might also suggest a good agile development in rails book. And perhaps try ruby. Seriously, ruby is almost too simple to understand from a programming perspective (where are the line ends?!).

I felt the same way coming from a C++/Java background where I started with a blank text file and just started writing my program. Rails felt too magical and I wanted to know how it works! Well the answer is you need to get Agile Web Development or [The Rails 4 Way] (http://www.amazon.com/Rails-Edition-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Series/dp/0321944275) and just start reading. They explain how every single line of every single default file in a Rails project works.