Preface

Some programming languages excel at turning coders into clockwork oranges. By enforcing rigid rules about how software must be structured and implemented, it is possible to prevent a developer from doing anything dangerous. However, this comes at a high cost, stifling the essential creativity and passion that separates the masterful coder from the mediocre. Thankfully, Ruby is about as far from this bleak reality as you can possibly imagine.

As a language, Ruby is designed to allow developers to express themselves freely. It is meant to operate at the programmer’s level, shifting the focus away from the machine and toward the problem at hand. However, Ruby is highly malleable, and is nothing more than putty in the hands of the developer. With a rigid mindset that tends to overcomplicate things, you will produce complex Ruby code. With a light and unencumbered outlook, you will produce simple and beautiful programs. In this book, you’ll be able to clearly see the difference between the two, and find a clear path laid out for you if you choose to seek the latter.

A dynamic, expressive, and open language does not fit well into strict patterns of proper and improper use. However, this is not to say that experienced Rubyists don’t agree on general strategies for attacking problems. In fact, there is a great degree of commonality in the way that professional Ruby developers approach a wide range of challenges. My goal in this book has been to curate a collection of these techniques and practices while preserving their original context. Much of the code discussed in this book is either directly pulled from or inspired by popular open source Ruby projects, which is an ideal way to keep in touch with the practical world while still studying what it means to write better code.

If you were looking for a book of recipes to follow, or code to copy and paste, you’ve come to the wrong place. This book is much more about how to go about solving problems in Ruby than it is about the exact solution you should use. Whenever someone asks the question “What is the right way to do this in Ruby?”, the answer is always “It depends.” If you read this book, you’ll learn how to go with the flow and come up with good solutions even as everything keeps changing around you. At this point, Ruby stops being scary and starts being beautiful, which is where all the fun begins.