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| Source: Iconspedia |
The
fact that it’s based in Ruby is also a draw.
One thing that’s always been a mystery to me is more “hardcore”
programming. I’ve never taught myself a
C based language or worked with a programming that required that I hang out in
Terminal. So I wanted to take some time
in the safe space of my New Media Theory and Practice class to play with
learning this form of programming. Right
now we’re working on a project simply called “Individual Tutorials and
Reflection” where we are tasked with people a language or development tool and
spending time working through tutorials on it and reporting what we’ve
learned. I am learning the basics of
Ruby and terminal commands as necessary to make a web application by using Ruby
on Rails. The tutorials I am following
are mostly Ruby on Rails tutorials, but have been using Ruby and basic
programming tutorials (or wiki pages) as I’ve worked to help me when I get
stuck or run into an error the book I’m working through doesn’t explain.
Ruby
on Rails really appeals to me because I am the kind of person that needs to see
a product of his or her time. I need to
be able to play with something real. So,
I tried learning Ruby alone through just basic tutorials. I found a few that were really quite
user-friendly, in fact:
However,
after I worked through a number of exercises in these sites, I found myself
getting antsy. I wanted a product beyond
what was possible from the puts command.
So—off to Rails I went after having watched the video below and being amazed by what the creator, Davide Heinemeier Hansson could accomplish so quickly during his demo:
I am able to see the product of Rails tutorials more concretely by viewing how my changes effect the first application I’ve created (more on that in my next blog). The tutorials I’m currently working through are from Ruby on Rails 3 Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example.
I am able to see the product of Rails tutorials more concretely by viewing how my changes effect the first application I’ve created (more on that in my next blog). The tutorials I’m currently working through are from Ruby on Rails 3 Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example.
What
I hope to do in Rails is develop my own web space from the ground up. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m really
something of a control freak. I want to
put together a site for my portfolio, but I want to be able to do so in a space
that I have more control over than what many web development sites provide
(Wordpress or GoogleSites for example).
In the meantime, I’m hoping what I learn through this exploration can
next be transferred into a larger project for New Media Theory and Practice and
then become the foundation for the New Media Application project that I will complete in place of the foreign language requirement for
my degree.
I look forward to seeing/reading your process. You've definitely taken on one of the more complex languages for the course. I also appreciate that you have a goal but acknowledge that this just might be play this round.
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate the honesty you expressed in this posting about taking on the challenge of a new programming language. For me, much of this course has been about overcoming fears and anxiety about technology and my very amateur advances into the field. However, to read that you still harbor some reservations about exploring Ruby, even after having some proficiency with other languages, made me realize that we will always have new things to learn. We will probably always have to push ourselves outsude our comfort zones and jump into the chaos of something new. It can be overwhelming at times, but this project gives us a framework for "safe" exploration. Choosing a tool, viewing and reflecting on tutorials, and outlining a project on which the tool can be applied seems to be a viable framework for future explorations. My question (with having myself just created a WordPress site) is what controls would you have with your own site that you do not have with the others? Best of luck to you as you work on your project!
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