“Ruby on Rails™ Tutorial by Michael Hartl has become a must-read for developers learning how to build Rails apps.”
— Peter Cooper, Editor of Ruby Inside
Used by sites as varied as Twitter, GitHub, Disney, and Airbnb, Ruby on Rails is one of the most popular frameworks for developing web applications, but it can be challenging to learn and use. Whether you’re new to web development or new only to Rails,
Ruby on Rails™ Tutorial, Fourth Edition, is the solution.
Best-selling author and leading Rails developer Michael Hartl teaches Rails by guiding you through the development of three example applications of increasing sophistication. The tutorial’s examples focus on the general principles of web development needed for virtually any kind of website. The updates to this edition include full compatibility with Rails 5, a division of the largest chapters into more manageable units, and a huge number of new exercises interspersed in each chapter for maximum reinforcement of the material.
This indispensable guide provides integrated tutorials not only for Rails, but also for the essential Ruby, HTML, CSS, and SQL skills you need when developing web applications. Hartl explains how each new technique solves a real-world problem, and then he demonstrates it with bite-sized code that’s simple enough to understand, yet novel enough to be useful. Whatever your previous web development experience, this book will guide you to true Rails mastery.
This book will help you
- Install and set up your Rails development environment, including pre-installed integrated development environment (IDE) in the cloud
- Go beyond generated code to truly understand how to build Rails applications from scratch
- Learn testing and test-driven development (TDD)
- Effectively use the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern
- Structure applications using the REST architecture
- Build static pages and transform them into dynamic ones
- Master the Ruby programming skills all Rails developers need
- Create high-quality site layouts and data models
- Implement registration and authentication systems, including validation and secure passwords
- Update, display, and delete users
- Upload images in production using a cloud storage service
- Implement account activation and password reset, including sending email with Rails
- Add social features and microblogging, including an introduction to Ajax
- Record version changes with Git and create a secure remote repository at Bitbucket
- Deploy your applications early and often with Heroku
Praise for Michael Hartl’s Books and Videos on Ruby on Rails
“My former company (CD Baby) was one of the first to loudly switch to Ruby on Rails, and then even more loudly switch back to PHP. (Google me to read about the drama.) This book by Michael Hartl came so highly recommended that I had to try it, and the Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial is what I used to switch back to Rails again.”
–From the Foreword by Derek Sivers (sivers.org)
Formerly: founder of CD Baby
Currently: founder of Thoughts Ltd.
“Michael Hartl’s Rails Tutorial book is the #1 (and only, in my opinion) place to start when it comes to books about learning Rails. . . . It’s an amazing piece of work and, unusually, walks you through building a Rails app from start to finish with testing. If you want to read just one book and feel like a Rails master by the end of it, pick the Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial.”
–Peter Cooper, editor, Ruby Inside
“For the self-motivated reader who responds well to the ‘learn by doing’ method and is prepared to put in the effort, this comes highly recommended.”
–Ian Elliot, reviewer, I Programmer
“Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial is a lot of work, but if you’re careful and patient, you’ll learn a lot.”
–Jason Shen, tech entrepreneur, blogger at The Art of Ass-Kicking
“Michael Hartl’s Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial seamlessly taught me about not only Ruby on Rails, but also the underlying Ruby language, HTML, CSS, a bit of JavaScript, and even some SQL–but most importantly it showed me how to build a web application (Twitter) in a short amount of time.”
–Mattan Griffel, co-founder & CEO of One Month
“Although I’m a Python/Django developer by trade, I can’t stress enough how much this book has helped me. As an undergraduate, completely detached from industry, this book showed me how to use version control, how to write tests, and, most importantly–despite the steep learning curve for setting up and getting stuff running–how the end result of perseverance is extremely gratifying. It made me fall in love with technology all over again. This is the book I direct all my friends to who want to start learning programming/building stuff. Thank you Michael!”
–Prakhar Srivastav, software engineer, Xcite.com, Kuwait
“It doesn’t matter what you think you will be developing with in the future or what the framework du jour is; if you want to learn how to build something, there is no better place to start than with this tutorial. And for all the ‘non-technical’ people out there who want to see their ideas come to life, who are considering hiring contractors, paying for a class, or ‘founder dating’ in the search for a technical co-founder: stop. Take a step back. Forget about your idea for a short while and immerse yourself in this tutorial to learn what it takes to put something together. You and your software-related projects will be better for it.”
–Vincent C., entrepreneur and developer
“It has to be the best-written book of its type I’ve ever seen, and I can’t recommend it enough.”
–Daniel Hollands, administrator of Birmingham.IO
“For those wanting to learn Ruby on Rails, Hartl’s Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial is (in my opinion) the best way to do it.”
–David Young, software developer and author at deepinthecode.com
“This is a great tutorial for a lot of reasons, because aside from just teaching Rails, Hartl is also teaching good development practices.”
–Michael Denomy, full-stack web developer
“Without a doubt, the best way I learned Ruby on Rails was by building an actual working app. I used Michael Hartl’s Ruby on Rails(TM) Tutorial, which showed me how to get a very basic Twitter-like app up and running from scratch. I cannot recommend this tutorial enough; getting something up and going fast was key; it beats memorization by a mile.”
–James Fend, serial entrepreneur, JamesFend.com
“The book gives you the theory and practice, while the videos focus on showing you in person how it’s done. Highly recommended combo.”
–Antonio Cangiano, software engineer, IBM
“The author is clearly an expert at the Ruby language and the Rails framework, but more than that, he is a working software engineer who introduces best practices throughout the text.”
–Greg Charles, senior software developer, Fairway Technologies
“Overall, [Hartl’s] video tutorials should be a great resource for anyone new to Rails.”
–Michael Morin, ruby.about.com
“Hands-down, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into Ruby on Rails development.”
–Michael Crump, Microsoft MVP
