Learning a new language and a new framework can be daunting. What you need is a guide to help leverage your existing knowledge and skills, and show you just what you need to know to get up and running with a new system quickly. You're already a .NET developer; we'll help you get up and running as a Ruby on Rails developer on any operating Windows, Mac, or Linux. We start with a gentle introduction to the object-oriented Ruby language with examples and direct comparisons to C#, so you'll quickly feel at home writing Ruby code for the first time. We then get to the heart of Rails development by showing how to tackle everyday tasks in Rails compared with typical ASP.NET implementations, with a tutorial focus. You'll build a sample airline reservation system using Rails, learning essential techniques along the way. You'll come to learn the joy and power inherent in the "convention over configuration" philosophy, the natural elegance of the MVC architecture, and the essence of REST-based design as you develop applications that accommodate web browsers, handheld devices, and even XML web service clients with unparalleled ease. Along the way, you'll see good agile development practices, explore test-driven development with Rails. You'll be prepared for real-world application deployment, and we'll give you a taste of how Ruby and Rails are reshaping the Microsoft application landscape, including a look at IronRuby.
Author
Librarian note: This author also goes by the pen name E.J. Copperman Jeff Cohen has worked in news since 2001, most recently as the city reporter for the Hartford Courant. He lives in Middletown, CT, with his wife, two daughters, and their cats. Jeff Cohen is the nom de plume for Jeffrey Cohen, writer of intentionally funny murder mysteries in the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker series. As E.J. Copperman he writes the Haunted Guesthouse mystery series, and now collaborates with himself on the Samuel Hoenig Asperger’s Mystery series. He’s been writing for a (nominal) living since graduating from Rutgers College during the Paleozoic Era, and has had articles published in The New York Times (which included lawn care tips from the head groundskeeper at Yankee Stadium, back when it really was Yankee Stadium), USA Weekend, TV Guide, Premiere, Writer’s Digest, American Baby, Hollywood Scriptwriter and many others. When the idea for one of his countless unproduced screenplays wouldn’t cooperate and become a script, Jeff wrote it as a novel called For Whom the Minivan Rolls, and the book was published by Bancroft Press in 2002. It was followed in the Aaron Tucker series by A Farewell to Legs and As Dog Is My Witness. Aaron returned in a 2011 short story, The Gun Also Rises, in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. The story won the Barry Award (at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame!) for best short story of 2012. The Double Feature Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime began with Some Like It Hot-Buttered, which introduced Elliot Freed and his all-comedy movie theater, Comedy Tonight. It was followed by It Happened One Knife and A Night at the Operation. Under the name E.J. Copperman, Jeff writes the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series, which began with Night of the Living Deed and continues with An Uninvited Ghost, Old Haunts, and Chance of a Ghost. The series will continue in December with Inspector Specter. In his copious spare time, Jeff is an unaccomplished amateur guitar player, a fan of Major League Baseball, a couch potato and a teacher of screenwriting at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He’s also available for weddings and bar mitzvahs, but don’t expect an expensive gift. Visit Jeff on Facebook and Twitter, and read him at Hey, There’s A Dead Guy In The Living Room, the most comprehensive blog on mystery writing. Besides Jeff Cohen (Monday’s blogger), you’ll see perspectives from literary agent Josh Getzler on Tuesdays, publisher Lynne Patrick on Wednesdays, editor Terri Bischoff on Thursdays, publicist Erin Mitchell on Fridays, bookseller Marilyn Thiele on Saturdays and librarian Jessy Randall on Sundays. Check in every day for something new on mysteries, books and publishing!
