Ruby on Rails is a coding framework that allows you to build websites quickly. In this short blog post I’d like to answer: Why learn Ruby on Rails? And how? Let’s being with why!
Why learn Ruby on Rails?
There are three reasons why you should learn Ruby on Rails. Number one. It’s super easy for a beginner to learn. There is a ton of beginner resources out there and a really huge supportive community that is really open to new developers.
Number two. There are a lot of jobs for RoR developers. It’s one of the highest paying developer positions you can get because a lot of startups need a developer and as a RoR developer you can do a lot with just one person.
Finally, number three. Some of the biggest websites in the world currently use Ruby on Rails. Sites like Hulu, Groupon, SoundCloud, Airbnb, Codecademy, Kickstarter, Indiegogo. If you’re intersted, you can see more of the best website examples using Ruby on Rails.
Where did Ruby on Rails come from?
Picture this. It’s 2005. And you see a funny sounding Danish dude named DHH.
“Hey, everyone. I’m David Heinemeier Hansson.”
Back in 2005, DHH was giving a talk at a conference and he’s showing people live on stage how to build an entire blogging system in 15 minutes.
Here’s a screenshot from the Ruby on Rails demo from the conference:
Normally, coding a site like this would take years and a whole team of people. Why? It’s because he built it using a framework called Ruby on Rails that’s specifically designed to help you build websites really quickly!
A year after Ruby on Rails launched, Twitter happened. Twitter just came out of nowhere. How did they do that? It’s because they were the first really famous website to use the framework.
What are the front-end and back-end languages?
Now, you want to build a website really quickly. What do you need? Well, you need to learn the languages of front-end and the back-end coding.
There’s three front end languages you must first learn (HTML, CSS and JavaScript), and one backend. If you want to build a website, I highly recommend starting with Ruby on Rails as your backend language!
How to get started coding with Ruby on Rails
- First! You need to install Ruby on Rails. We suggest you use installrails.com to install Rails. InstallRails has all the steps for setup on Mac, PC and Linux operating systems.
Where to learn Ruby on Rails
- Learn Ruby: learn Ruby first. Ruby is the language that powers Ruby on Rails.
- Learn Ruby on Rails: with One Month’s Rails course you will learn how to build Ruby on Rails websites in 30 days or less.
- Rails for Zombies: by Gregg Pollack at CodeSchool.
- Ruby on Rails Tutorial: by Michael Hartl.
