On 01/02/07, Richard Conroy wrote:
I am curious what everyone thinks of this (new) book. It starts off well, with the first example tutorial being how to test if an uninstaller worked. No hello world, silly arithmetic examples etc. Well it is ordered, I will know myself soon.
I reviewed a late draft of the book late last summer 2006. I think that the book is a great companion to the Programming Ruby 2nd edition that has been (and still is!) an invaluable reference for me. The thing is that I'm not a programmer by trade and my Ruby/Watir scripts were all horribly pieced together like some kind of franken-code based on example snippets and email posts that I came across. After reading Brian's book, I was able to construct well-designed Ruby scripts, refactor all of my earlier Watir scripts, and can now understand more lengthy and complex pieces of Ruby code. I also really like how Brian didn't start with the typical "hello world" example and instead jumped right into scripts that can solve real-world problems. A "test the water with both feet" kind of approach. =) I certainly learned many useful things from "Everyday Scripting with Ruby" and am looking forward to putting a hardcopy on my shelf next to my "Programming Ruby" copy. There's more in there that I need to digest but it will take time (for me) since I only script in cycles, and I test more than I script. The book covers a lot and has many different layers in it that I think would be useful to both beginners and intermediate scripters, and not just testers. Most importantly (for me) is that it is a fairly easy-to-read book. Most of the programming/scripting books that I have read or skimmed through really seem to be speaking a language I almost, but don't quite always, understand -- and that includes the "Programming Ruby" book. I found that Brian's book uses clear, simple language and builds upon terms that he has already introduced and explained earlier in the book. That made it easier for me to stick with it and work through the more complex examples. I'd recommend it. Paul C.
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