I’ve wanted to learn Ruby for quite a while now, but never taken the time to read much about it. My reason for wanting to learn the language is not for web design like most, but for security. One of the best security tools out there is based in Ruby and to do much with it you need to know the language.
This week I have finally taken the time to start learning the basics of the language and I am amazed. I have worked in PHP for a few years now and dabs of other languages when needed, but this is simply the best language I have played with. Ruby seems to take the very best parts of each of the languages and make them all work together. Not only that but the language is very logical, you can read it like English.
In my quest to learn the language I came across many good tutorials, but my two favorite are actual ebooks that are completely free. The first is a book that should be good for anyone wanting to learn the language and the second is for learning the security side of things.
If you could care less about learning the language for security reasons than I would suggest reading why’s (poignant) guide to ruby. This book does a great job at explaining the language in a way that is easy to understand. The author does an amazing job at creating comedy in a programming book which I have never seen before.
For someone looking to learn Ruby for the same reason as myself you will want to read The Voyage to 0-day[PDF]. This book starts off by explaining the language of Ruby and then goes on to the metasploit framework. The book is very interesting if you want to learn how to break into systems, but for the common programmer it would be rather dry.
I also picked up a paperback book from Amazon that quite often fills in the gaps I have in the other two. The Ruby Way seems to fill in the gaps I have with the other books. It has been a great reference book when I am stumped over something mentioned in one of the other two. I have yet to dive heavily into this book, but what I have read thus far has been very informative.
If you have ever thought about learning Ruby for any reason I would highly suggest doing so. It is a beautiful language that has a ton of support.
