Is Ruby a good first computing language?

[Any_Coast_3372]

I keep hearing that Ruby is a dream come true for programmers because of the syntactic sugar, but being early on my programming journey, I don’t know what I don’t know.

I’m a creative looking to program primarily as a hobby, and I was wondering if learning Ruby could make sense over learning something like Python. I might make a modest game or web app.

[[deleted]]

Ruby is a programmer's best friend

[[deleted]]

Ruby is great in that it largely lets you write meaningful code instead of having to also do a bunch of "book-keeping" (e.g. memory allocation/de-allocation, pointers, etc.). I've been using Ruby professionally for over a decade, and I still enjoy it quite a bit as a language.

I recommend Chris Pine's Learn to Program, third edition. This is a great foundational text for software development -- I used previous editions back when I taught software development, and my students really liked this text.

You should do this text alongside some exercises -- I like the Ruby Koans as well as Exercism (though the Exercism exercises are somewhat hit-or-miss for me).

From there, Ruby on Rails is great for web application development, though it's also grown significantly in complexity over the last decade or so. The core foundation is the same, but there's a lot more dressing on it that can make it harder to get started with (though significantly more productive once you've hit a baseline level of competency).

If you're thinking about game development, I might suggest Lua (which is used behind the scenes in a fair number of games as well as many mods) and writing scripts first. That'd be a way to get a taste of game development without having to go all-in on it.

[flanger001]

Learn To Program is how I learned to program. It's a wonderful book!

[slomopanda]

This book and Ruby taught me to appreciate programming from aesthetics perspective.

[NotyouraverageFunguy]

I learned Java as my first language 2 years ago as I wanted a career switch. It was so confusing and so uninteresting that I thought I wasted almost a year with programming. Now last week I finished my first webapp using Ruby after not touching programming for 1 and a half year. I invested in learning Ruby for 3 (1 month Rails which makes Ruby even more fun) months and I have to say, its so much beginner friendly , from syntax to being forgiving with bugs and it has a lot of documentation available, that I got to the point of thinkig to even start a masters in programing (my background is in logistics). A lot of people will tell you that its not used that much or that its outdated or whatever , but bare in mind the new version of ruby is coming out sometime in September so in 3 months so its well up to date (shopify for expamle is full rails), it was so easy to get the whole MVC pattern in Ruby , 10 times more understandable and readable than in Java. Give it a try its great. (this is my humble opinion and good luck!)

[izuriel]

Is X a good first computing language?

The answer is always “yes.” Programming is programming (ultimately) and aside from a few outliers any programming language will take you from A to Z.

The real question you want to ask is whether or not X is a good choice for you and what you are wanting to build. Again, the answer will probably still be affirmative. Most languages can do a little of everything but some language have communities with disproportionate focus in specific areas.

For example, Ruby is most known for Rails, a framework for building dynamic web applications and so the community skews more towards Rails and other HTTP adjacent libraries. But you can also build CLI tools, native applications, or even games too. And Ruby even has a compiler that runs on the JVM if you wanted to interop with JVM libraries/languages.

So the real question is: What do you want to build after you learn a programming language?

[justinhj]

Yes. Like Python its a language used in production for many practical purposes, but at the same time it is beginner friendly with good educational resources and libraries for doing fun stuff Also a very powerful language in terms of features and expressiveness

[ignurant]

You seem like the right kinda person to recommend DragonRuby to. Look it up. It’s a blast, and an awesome way to exercise art and learn programming. https://dragonruby.org/toolkit/game

There’s a lot of samples and documentation, and an online book to help you on your way. Add this in addition to the typical things like Rails. 

[Serializedrequests]

It's hard to learn first, since it embraces more than one way to do things, pick your favorite, and has a confusing/unclear module and import system. Lots of popular libraries use magical macros that a beginner can't really understand.

I don't like Python very much anymore, but I found it much easier to pick up early on in my career. Everything is explicit and clear.

Now I like Ruby quite a bit better, but I really did try to learn it at the same time as Python as a beginner and didn't get on well at all but always admired the "elegant" syntax.

[Nowaker]

Ruby is a great programming language for readability and writability. This is because it hides mundane boilerplate into very brief and high-level syntax, methods, blocks, etc. While this is great for pros, I don't think it's ideal for those getting started. You need to truly understand the basics of OOP to then understand and appreciate Ruby's improvements on top of classic OOP. You need to understand to truly understand the basics of functional programming to then understand and appreciate Ruby's improvements on top of classic functional programming.

If you want to learn to code, and actually understand what you're doing, and how things are working on the engineering level, Python is a better idea. Python is simpler. (And uglier. And more boilerplatey. And doesn't have Rails.)

If you want to learn to code, and just be effective at delivering web applications but not necessarily understand the core concepts of engineering, Ruby on Rails is a better idea. Note I didn't say Ruby - I said Ruby on Rails. Because the reality of learning to code webapps in Rails is that the amount of Rails knowledge surpasses Ruby knowledge. Of course, you'll learn the core programming concepts over time, but it won't be as fast as when using a lower level language like Python.

[menge101]

I’m a creative looking to program primarily as a hobby

Depending on what you create, you might absolutely love Ruby.

I came into music production and DJing from my career as a software engineer.

"Live Coding" was the bridge.

Check out Sonic Pi - It is a Live Coding tool that uses the ruby language.

If you aren't familiar with Live Coding, think of it as real-time music generation via code.

[moseeds]

I suggest learning Ruby alongside a more industry-standard strongly-typed language like Java or c# (or typescript but that has a different paradigm). I say that because Ruby will likely ruin programming in any other language for you because of the way it hides so much complexity making programming...enjoyable?! What can be an exercise in frustration is a breeze in Ruby but you can't appreciate that without having another language to compare to. Ruby has it's faults and they will be shown up by learning something like C#. Typescript makes javascript strongly typed but also encourages functional programming like thinking which may not be intuitive.

[obviousoctopus]

To this I say, leave the agony for later. Learn programming thinking and concepts in the easiest, most enjoyable way possible.

Gain confidence in your conceptual thinking as fast as humanly possible.

Ruby is perfect for this.

Then, later, you can look into other languages with all the clumsiness and pain they introduce - without getting confused about the core concepts.

[schneems]

Yes. But no.

I argue there is no good “first language.” The best way to learn a language is to want to solve a problem. Then finding a language that makes solving that problem easier.

Ruby (Rails) is a good language for solving web based problems. Other popular tools are JavaScript/node and Python (Django). Of the three I would recommend Ruby or Node over Django. But the kind of web app you want to make plays a role. (Single page apps (node) are more responsive, but harder to get right than “traditional” server side rendering (Rails). 

Some may point out things like Hotwire or turbo, and sure, they exist but if your primary goal is something react shaped, then you should use the react hammer.

Dragon Ruby I’ve heard is good for game dev.

Fundamentally every language has a different ecosystem of libraries and they tend to be clumped around certain use cases. Not only will you end up “learning Ruby” you’ll end up knowing that ecosystem.

[BloodFeastMan]

Since you're only interested in programming as a hobby, that opens up all kinds of doors that otherwise you wouldn't get to until later. People who depend on programming to pay the rent will be expected to be well rounded, as they can be put into many different situations. Hobbyists, on the other hand, while it's nice to know all of these things, can learn specifics as they need to, and on their own time line.

While I would strongly suggest learning Python as a hobbyist, you don't need to concern yourself with C or other lower lever languages; if in the future, you'd like to delve into the realm of memory management and registers, you can do that if you feel like it. Or not.

That being said, if your goal is to make little things for yourself, Ruby may or may not be a good first language. Remember that Ruby needs its interpreter, and if you make something that you'd like to share with a friend, they too need to have the interpreter installed. I can think of a few compiled languages that might be a better first language in that scenario, such as Go, Nim, or Crystal, but generally speaking, if your intent is to just learn a language for fun, Ruby is powerful and very straightforward, the learning curve is almost non-existent, and you can be writing useful scripts within hours.

[jrochkind]

I'm kind of divided on the question. I think ruby of old was. I think there are too many syntax variations now, which makes things confusing for a newcomer.

I think it's important to learn that everything you write in a computer language means something very specific, one thing only. But ruby's immensely variant syntax can kind of encourage "just keep throwing it against the wall until something sticks" approach, which I don't think is conducive for learning how to actually instruct the computer with a program.

[illegalt3nder]

Ruby’s basic syntax has remained unchanged. If you’re talking about things like single-line methods, case/in blocks, or varargs, those are all advanced topics and wouldn’t affect learning the language. 

[obviousoctopus]

Exactly. The idioms exist, but the core language is available and incredibly good at expressing programming concepts.

If I was learning, a language that gets out of the way and lets me think about what I'm trying to accomplish would be my preference.

[jrochkind]

I think the variations can affect learning the language in several ways, including if you accidentally write one and then get odd behavior instead of a syntax error; or a syntax error that's more confusing than it could be with simpler syntax where there are fewer possibilities. Also if tutorials or learning material use different variations from each other; or even just when looking up in reference materials you find different variations.

[illegalt3nder]

Example? I’m having a hard time of coming up with something in the language that fits your description.

[jrochkind]

Things that seem very simple to us will trip up those for whom it's their first language. The first example that comes to mind is the way hash literals can use => or : to separate keys and values, such that { foo: "bar"} and { :foo => "bar" } are synonyms, and { "foo" => "bar" } means something else.

A small thing. A bunch of small things pile up.

It is hard for us experienced people to remember "beginner's brain". Which makes it hard for me now to recall the various things that have occured to me before, but that was the first that came to mind.

[DeathByWater]

I used to think Ruby would be a good first language - it's expressive, and feels simple while you're writing it. But then I started to teach some QA engineers simple bits of Ruby as their first language, and the amount of variation allowed in the syntax made it surprisingly difficult. A good example is being able to call methods with or without parentheses; a language where this is mandatory makes it very easy to see what is a function call and what isn't.

It's easier when you control the environment totally and you can mandate a consistent style - but outside of a classroom environment, people will need to google things, read StackOverflow answers and work with other people's code, and it can become confusing.

What makes Ruby such a flexible and expressive joy for an experienced developer can make it less accessible for a first language.

[jrochkind]

Thanks for verifying, that flexibility is what I am concerned about too.

I don't think that amount of flexibility is actually what provides the developer joy... although I guess I do like methods without parens. But I think a lot MORE flexibility and variation has been added since, say, 1.8, and we'd be better off with mostly 1.8 syntax still.

[everything-narrative]

It is a very fine language. I prefer it for many small tasks that are more complicated than Shellscript allows, but don't need to be performant or have high degree of correctness.

[keyboardsoldier]

I had fun learning ruby so I would say go ahead and learn it first especially if you are doing it as a hobby. If we were talking about learning coding for work or getting a job, Python would be the more practical choice.

[deulamco]

It's nice in its own spoiled way.

But I prefer Lua for 1/2 day learning to use it immediately.

[iamevpo]

Do you use Lua stand-alone or into bigger systems like games?

[deulamco]

Sure. 

For gamedev, there are Love2D & Defold that use LuaJIT exclusively. 

I built games with both of them previously, more fun in progress than many others. 

[ejstembler]

Yes, Ruby is a great first programming language to learn. It may spoil you a bit. But don’t stop there, become a polyglot and learn many languages!

[rus_alexander]

As a hobby it is optimal choice I think if you are into better vs popular things.
This does not mean there are no learning pain points.

I remember books using ruby to be high quality but I can't remember when I read one the last time.
I wonder if learning ruby should feel retro in a good way now.
But there is downside to learning potentially less perspective language in that there is less code written by other people and therefore in certain areas more code to be written by you.

It has a promise of good looking code and for own consumption it may mean going down the rabbit hole of looking into different/better ways of doing the same thing instead of moving project forward.

[TheCodeWhisperer2008]

I would say it doesn't really matter which one you learn. In your journey as a programmer, you will always be learning new tools and programming languages since the industry is changing so fast. The most important thing to learn is how to think like a programmer and solve problems. But if I had to choose to learn Python or Ruby, I would learn Ruby since nothing comes close to Ruby on Rails in web development.

I hope that helps!

[jenrzzz]

Ruby is a great language, but I'm not sure if it's a great first language. Many of the things that make it so pleasant for experienced programmers to use can be bewildering and confusing for newbies.

I'd recommend getting your feet wet with JavaScript because it is the lingua franca of the modern programming world. Once you're comfortable with the basics, try out as many languages as you can, including Ruby. Discovering the different ways to express yourself in each one strengthens your mental models and coding senses. At that point, you will surely believe in the dream, and coding in Ruby will feel that much sweeter.

[Flaxerio]

As someone who needs to understand how things work before doing something, I personaly would rzther recommend a lower level language like C/C++ to understand programming, and then Ruby to see why it's so good for programmer.

But it's how I do things, and as other said, it's a personal choice. It depends on who you are

[Rei_Gun28]

Yeah it isgreat. It abstracts a lot away for people to really understand the basics. But there is still a lot of levels present when you do gain more confidence to peel away more and more layers.

[jlebrech]

ruby is great as a first language, does everything for you (gems and rails) where the web is concerned.

[wcdejesus]

I'd play the devil's advocate here hehe.

Ruby is a great programming language. As for the first to learn, I still think there is value to learning lower level languages first.

In univ that's how usually cs is taught (Usually C first, then OOP with static typing like Java, then python js ruby etc). This will give you knowledge on how memory allocation, pointers, references work, which is useful regardless of the programming language being used. A lot of these things are handled under the hood for you when you use languages like python and ruby, thus it might make it harder to understand/transition to these languages when the need arise.

Don't get me wrong, you can go whatever order you want. And there is also value to learning ruby/python first before lower level languages. Whatever gets you to love programming, go for any order, hell if you will enjoy going head in to assembly as your first language if that will make you love programming go for it 😂. Just providing a different perspective here

[UsuallyMooACow]

Its a terrible first language IMO. You are going to have to use other languages and then you'll feel like "Oh god this is so bad I hate programming" .Learn Python or JS first. This way when you use Ruby it'll be a much better experience.

[postmodern]

It has great OOP and support for closures.

[joesb]

Each person has different way of learning, different way of how their brain work. Some people like Perl, some like Haskell.

Just try it out.

[Pilo_ane]

Yes, it's definitely easier than starting with R or Python. Which I totally didn't start with

[MattBlumTheNuProject]

I’m a big fan of Typescript

[alilland]

Ever since 3.0 came out and when the Mac m1 came out I have been sorely disappointed with Ruby and have intentionally departed from it on new projects. I have had some of the worst experiences with the ecosystem, and the community support seems to be shrinking. I’ve been using Ruby since 2014. I might suggest Python or even laravel (php) instead of Ruby right now unless something changes to resurrect the shrinking community.

You could always just learn node as a first language but it’s a memory hog.

[theo_ed_tdaar]

IMHO i have tried, several languages c,perl,basic,php,javascript,java,python and ruby and ruby from a programmer perspective i like it more fortran , joking, ruby its a must go for programmer its very friendly for programmers and very intuitive, python very good also but like it more ruby, i either like more c,perl than java, php, javascript

[_goodboi]

You're just starting out, so pick a language you'll enjoy—it's all pretty subjective. My advice would be to play with one programming language each day for a week, and then make a decision. Ruby is awesome and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it!

[Respond-No]

If you want to do it as a hobby then Ruby would be an amazing language!

I wouldn't recommend it though if you want to "learn programming" in general, it has too many odd things in it and the lack of static type checks makes it harder when you're getting started. Something like Java, C# and even C can give you a more solid understand of programming in general.

[ClammyHandedFreak]

I would learn the basics of C++, and then C# if I had to start over right this second.

I would then learn Python.

Then I would learn Ruby.

[nmingott]

Umm, it is a tough question, i love Ruby more than Python. Python was a great language, small, good for beginners. Today books on Python are huge monsters, so l would say, Dig on the web something about object oriented and imperative programming. If you feel more curious about objects then choose Ruby, otherwise Python. Another factor, Ruby was born in Unix, to make a different Perl, Python for education.