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I have Netbeans 6.7 on the Mac Os X platform and its quite an ordeal to get it to install gems without putting it in the wrong directory because it executes installation that requires installation using sudo and does not prompt for the password, so stuff gets installed in the wrong directory.

I agree, that for a beginner like me, it's best to use the command line ... I do not trust the choices Netbeans makes when creating a project, without asking me, and its rather confusing to search for the waldo I need to use every time I turn around.

So, I have been doing the Axe book stuff in command line because if the exercise doesn't work, and I didn't do exactly as told to do, there would be more of that nagging idea that I might not have done it right.

Besides, knowing how to do it without the IDE, will come in handy in that day where the IDE gets upgraded with some nasty bug and you can't use it, or when you do you don't get the expected results. 

Example:

Yesterday I learned that simply because some thing has been out for awhile and few are complaining doesn't mean its working ... I had been trying to use jEdit as my editor but the Ruby Plugin it uses, was accidentally compiled with a later java than a lot of folks have on their machines.

Trying to find the correct java for this Mac is a nightmare, of confusion, nothing is clear, everything is ambiguous. I see stuff called J Something 5 that claims to install version 6 of j something and vice versa. 

Lesson: The more complex tools you use to build a project, the more chances things will go wrong due to bugs in the tools.



________________________________
From: Robert Dober <robert.dober / gmail.com>
To: ruby-talk ML <ruby-talk / ruby-lang.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 8:43:51 AM
Subject: Re: ruby IDE's

On 7/20/09, Tom Cloyd <tomcloyd / comcast.net> wrote:
<snip>
> James, I'm a big fan of yours, but I'm also keenly aware of poorly
> constructed arguments (e.g., ad hominem it bastard brothers). I think I
> have to agree with Marc here. I think he was making a legitimate
> proposition - in form if not in substance. He may be right, but I cannot
> confirm it.
Nor can he (or nor does he want ) It is easy to tell phrases like
"experience will show [you]"
but there is no useful information at all. So I asked him twice to
provide some...
Your advice however was sound in the way that you clearly stated why a
sophisticated IDE might be harmful for a beginner (Xavier elaborated
nicely).

Given that, poor OP is reading a plethora of posts indicating cool
IDEs and it will be difficult and time consuming for him to chose.

Cheers
Robert
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