Beginning Ruby 3: From Beginner to Pro Paperback – 9 December 2020

I was hoping for something more definitive about Ruby 3. I was hoping for something to replace "Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers Guide" published in 2005, since I am returning to developing Ruby programs after a ten-year absence. Alas, this book was neither. The lack of being able to see at least the Table of Contents prior to purchase proved to be a mistake. Yes, it was a book for beginners and yes it walks through developing different projects to learn the language. That is typical of almost any programming language book today. Where the book fails however is not being there for what happens next after having learned those skills. The index is lightweight: one cannot even find entries related to major items discussed in the book: YAML, P-Store, and Marshalling being three examples. Any programming book spanning 500+ pages should at least have an accurate Language Reference Section showing syntax and depth; should at least have an index covering all of the major topics referenced in the book; and a standard library guide showing (at least) major standard library items, their whats & whys & hows. This book has a "Useful Ruby Libraries" Chapter, and the items selected are reasonable; but it lacks any amount of depth for library methods. Even Appendix A: "Ruby Primer and Review for Developers" is anything but. It is still the same shallow beginner-level once-over that happens in the front of the book.I would return my still brand new copy if I hadn't foolishly added a few handwritten items to the index!Stick with The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide: it's still better than this book.

I've taken a few programming courses in other languages and I think that this is one of the best books out there for learning a (any) language. I particularly liked the way in which this one was structured as well as the concert examples of basic programs along with (current) links to more in-depth books/resources was very helpful. A few typos throughout was the only thing stopping me from a 5 star rating