Ruby Cookbook: Recipes for Object-Oriented Scripting

by Lucas Carlson, Leonard Richardson

Why spend time on coding problems that others have already solved when you could be making real progress on your Ruby project? This updated cookbook provides more than 350 recipes for solving common problems, on topics ranging from basic data structures, classes, and objects, to web development, distributed programming, and multithreading.

Revised for Ruby 2.1, each recipe includes a discussion on why and how the solution works. You’ll find recipes suitable for all skill levels, from Ruby newbies to experts who need an occasional reference. With Ruby Cookbook, you’ll not only save time, but keep your brain percolating with new ideas as well.

Recipes

Data structures including strings, numbers, date and time, arrays, hashes, files and directoriesUsing Ruby’s code blocks, also known as closuresOOP features such as classes, methods, objects, and modulesXML and HTML, databases and persistence, and graphics and other formatsWeb development with Rails and SinatraInternet services, web services, and distributed programmingSoftware testing, debugging, packaging, and distributingMultitasking, multithreading, and extending Ruby with other languages

Genres: Programming, Coding, Computers, Software, Technology, Nonfiction, Reference

994 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Lucas Carlson is a bestselling novelist. He takes his first-hand experiences as an entrepreneur and computer programmer, and turns them into thrillers that pack a punch and are hard to put down.

His writing has often been compared to Michael Crichton, Joseph Finder, Harlan Coben and Blake Crouch. They deal with technology and business themes and how they affect society.

Carlson lives in San Diego with his family.

Reviews

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This enormous book provides tons of ready-made Ruby code snippets for common and not-so-common problems. With books this big, I usually suspect the author of wasting words, but not this one. It just covers a ton of stuff, everything I could fathom anyone would want to use the language for, including object-oriented programming, metaprogramming, MIDI, XML, HTML, graphics, databases, persistence, internet services, web development (Ruby on Rails), web services, distributed programming, debugging, testing, optimizing, testing, packaging, automation, multitasking, multithreading, GUI, command line interfaces, C extensions, and system administration. Like I said, EVERYTHING.

Each solution also comes with a thorough discussion, which really helps you understand the solution in-depth. These "recipes" aren't intended to document everything completely, but to give you a good understanding of it, and tell you where to look for more information. They're like mini-tutorials. Plus, this book also provides fun little tricks that aren't necessarily useful, but really interesting. These are like dessert recipes.

The best part is, most everything in this book is well-written and easy to follow. Things I thought I'd already understood, this book helped me understand better, and it really got me a lot more comfortable reading Ruby code. The book is also arranged in a very logical way. I think this is the perfect reference manual, not only for syntax, but also for how to solve problems. And yet, despite its enormous size and excellence as a reference, it's also surprisingly easy to just read cover-to-cover.

[Ash Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to find an answer to a Ruby problem on the net and found it in here. Great examples on a wide range of topics, from the core language, to the stand library, to common gems. It could do with updating in places, but 80% of if it gold.

[John Orman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very large O'Reilly book covering many standard Ruby techniques. Many code snippets listed, but no CD/DVD included. The book can be accessed online for a limited time, guess you could cut code segments from there and run them in your test programs. I used the book for my online class in Cloud Computing/Ruby on Rails. Useful in working on a few assignments.

[masaki komagata · Rating 3 out of 5]

良くも悪くもクックブックという感じ。

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby par l'exemple by Lucas Carlson (2006)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent practical reference book filled with solutions.