On 9/29/06, Jonathan Denni <jonsdenni / gmail.com> wrote:
> Wilson Bilkovich wrote:
>
> > The section betewen the 'do' and the 'end' is called a block. In this
> > case, Ruby will automatically make sure the file is closed for you
> > when leaving the block. Convenient, because it saves you a whole bunch
> > of error checking.
> >
> > I recommend that you pick up 'Ruby for Rails', and 'Programming Ruby,
> > 2nd Edition' (a.k.a. The Pickaxe) to help get you started.
> > Even if you aren't interested in Rails, don't be put off by the title
> > of 'Ruby for Rails'. It is an excellent book that just happens to use
> > Rails as its example code.
>
> It worked! Thank you very much. is this one of the books you are talking
> about?
> http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/
> also, is Ruby for Rails available to read online like the Pragmatic
> Programmer's Guide, or do I have to buy it?
>
> thanks again
>

That's the book, but it's the 1st edition, and doesn't cover Ruby 1.8.
I highly recommend purchasing the the 2nd edition. You can buy it as
hardcopy or PDF.
http://pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/ruby/index.html

This is the other book that I highly recommend:
http://www.manning.com/black/
..also available as hardcopy or PDF.

If I had to pick one, I would choose 'Ruby for Rails'. Luckily, they
are both pretty affordable as programming books go.