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I'm not sure why you guys think Ruby is easier than Java from a "Learn It"
perspective.  Maybe somebody can elaborate on this.  I don't really see it.

In any case, something that I can tell you Dab, is that Java is a very
mature language.  Documentation abounds, and the tools are plentiful.  The
ruby community is just beginning to flower.  That's usually a big
consideration for a lot of people.

If you go with Ruby, there are alot of smart, friendly people on this list
that'll help you out.

Good Luck!

-

Chris

On 11/28/05, Lyle Johnson <lyle.johnson / gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 11/28/05, Dab <dabhar1959 / hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I'm brand new to programming and had just decided to learn Java as a
> > first language, then stumbled accross Ruby, which seems far simpler to
> > learn, but doesn't seem to have as many resources/books etc.
>
> Ruby is going to be far simpler for you to learn than Java. Of course,
> you knew I was going to say that, didn't you? ;)
>
> I'm hesitant to give advice about how to learn programming since I've
> never taught anyone how to do that. Having said that, a lot of people
> recommend "The Poignant Guide to Ruby" (online at
> http://www.poignantguide.net/ruby/) as a fun to read Ruby
> introduction. (I can vouch for the fun-to-read part; I just don't know
> how good it is for teaching someone how to program.)
>
> If you can wait for another month or so, Chris Pine's "Learn to
> Program" is supposed to hit the bookshelves in January 2006 (see
> http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/fr_ltp/index.html). Although
> the book's description doesn't explicitly say so, I think it's safe to
> assume that Chris is using Ruby as the programming language in his
> book.
>
> I also definitely recommend the book "Programming Ruby" (2nd ed.) by
> Dave Thomas and friends, although it's not a book for new programmers.
>
> > I want to eventually write a Windows program for an Apartment
> > Management company that will keep track of their buildings
> > tenants....all their info, lockers, parking stalls, rental monies
> > owing, that sort of thing.
> >
> > Will Ruby lead me to being able to do that eventually? I don't want,
> > nor can afford, to use any programs like Visual Basic that cost wad's
> > of money. And, I especially like the Open Source/Free program concepts
> > and community atmospheres.
>
> You can certainly write such an application with Ruby. At some point
> down the road you will need to make some decisions about how users
> interact with the program, e.g. whether it's a standalone application
> that they run on their PC (such as Microsoft Office) or a Web-based
> application that they access through a browser.
>
> But that's not something that you need to decide about at this point.
> In either case, Ruby's got you covered (and all with free tools and
> software). ;)
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Lyle
>
>

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