Original subtitles

Hey folks, Mike and Nicole Clark here with the Pragmatic Studio.

Welcome to our online Ruby programming course.

We are really pleased that you decided to spend some time with us in the studio learning

how to write Ruby apps.

I think we're going to have a good time together.

Now, you may have first heard about Ruby as the language used to write Rails apps, and

thanks to Rails, the interest in Ruby has skyrocketed over the years.

But what often gets lost is that Ruby goes beyond web programming.

Ruby is a standalone, object-oriented programming language.

It was around long before Rails came on the scene, and it continues to be used and developed

independent of Rails.

So whether you're looking to launch a career in programming, or you just want to become

more confident in Rails, it all starts right here.

So what should you expect in this course?

Well, in the studio, we like to build things.

So in this course, we're going to build a Ruby app from start to finish using a step-by-step

approach so you see exactly how it's done.

We'll start with a blank editor and finish with packaging our code up as a Ruby gem for

distribution.

Along the way, we'll cover everything you'd expect to know about an object-oriented programming

language.

Classes, objects, methods, and so on.

But we want to take you a step further in this course.

To write good Ruby programs, you'll need to understand the things that make Ruby different

from other languages.

So throughout the course, we'll discuss techniques and design principles to help you get the

most out of Ruby.

And at the end of the course, you'll be comfortable with all the Ruby language constructs.

And more important, you'll know when and why to use them.

So let's talk a little bit about how we're going to teach this course.

The course is divided into a series of modules.

Each module focuses on an objective, something we want our app to do.

In each module, there's generally a video and a series of hands-on exercises.

Now the video isn't just a recording of one of our live courses.

Rather, it's designed to be your own personal studio.

If you were sitting next to us, this is how we would teach you Ruby.

We'll incrementally build an application through short discussions and some live coding.

And because it's a video, you can stop, rewind, and rewatch it as often as you like.

But simply listening and watching won't be enough.

To really learn Ruby, you'll need to practice writing Ruby code.

That's right.

You'll think of each module, you'll finish watching a video, and then it will be your

turn to go practice.

Each module has a series of hands-on exercises.

You can think of it as a workbook of sort to kind of help you practice what you've learned

in the video.

You can work through these at your own pace.

And if you get stuck, there are plenty of hints and all the solutions are provided.

Now don't skip these exercises.

They're a core part of the course.

And practicing is vital to becoming a proficient Ruby programmer.

So we've got a lot to cover in this course.

So let's head over to the desk and see what it is we're going to create.