CSE 413 Au12 Ruby Resources

The main source for all things Ruby is http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/. We will be using Ruby 1.8.7. You should be able to develop assignments using either 1.8.7 or 1.9.x, but be sure to test your code with 1.8.7 before you submit it, since that's what we'll be using for grading.

Downloads: Main download page, including links to source code and precompiled versions. If you run Windows, get the latest RubyInstaller for 1.8.7 and select all of the options when you install it. For OS X, install the developer tools, which include Ruby 1.8.7. Linux users can download Ruby using the regular package manager if it is not already installed. Be sure to install irb as well as ruby.

Documentation: The Ruby documentation page has many good tutorials, manuals, and links to detailed infromation. You might start with Try Ruby! and Ruby in Twenty Minutes if you want a quick overview.

Reference material: See www.ruby-doc.org. Specific links: 1.8.7 core API, 1.8.7 standard library. You can also download copies of the reference pages to use when you're offline.

Books: The best tutorial, including a basic class library reference, is Programming Ruby by Dave Thomas and colleagues. The first edition is available free and covers what we need for CSE 413. More recent editions can be ordered through any bookstore, but you can also get electronic (pdf, ebook) versions as well as printed copies through the publisher's web site (Pragmatic Programmers). Links: second edition, covering Ruby 1.8 (which is what we're using), third edition, covering Ruby 1.9, which should also be fine.

Let us know if you find other resources that would be good to add to this page. Send mail to cse413-staff@cs.