How does one learn to program (and think) the Ruby way?

Question

Why I Ask this Question:

I've just starting to learn Ruby (and by extension IronRuby since I work in the Microsoft world). I picked up IronRuby Unleased to teach me the basic syntax of Ruby, and any particulars of IronRuby. However, learning the syntax is not my primary goal (if that was, I would just obtain The Ruby Programming Language, which I might get eventually anyway).

I say this because I could learn the syntax, but still write programs in a non-Ruby way. Such as:

1. Forcing heavy-handed DI via DI frameworks^*
2. Using Ruby to write mostly C, Java, or Perl type code

To me, doing these things sounds the effective equivalent of writing procedural code in Java, or learning the syntax of F#, but writing programs as if the language were C#.

Therefore, my main goal is to learn to program, to think, in the way that embodies Ruby's:

1. Language idioms
2. Dynamic style
3. Tried-and-true principles and patterns of the community

---

_{*Response #28 to the link above (Forcing heavy-handed DI via DI frameworks), asks a similar question to the one I post here. The blog's author suggested reading Jim Weirich's code and perhaps Rails. I'm looking for additional suggestions.}

Answer 1

Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby contains a lot of good, idiomatic Ruby.

Answer 2

I wanted to update this question with an answer of my own (to benefit anyone else new to Ruby). I picked up the following book that just came out, and it is exactly what I was looking for:

Eloquent Ruby

It assumes you already know Ruby (which is fine, I have a different book for Ruby syntax).

Answer 3

Awhile back I was taking a stab at Ruby and found that jumping right into the the Pick Axe book was a bit overwhelming for me. I instead went back to basics, even though I have been programming for a long time now. Check out Chris Pine's Tutorial or his book Learn to Program I found these to be an excellent introduction to Ruby and helped me to get into more advanced topics. I never had enough time to really explore Rails the way I wanted to but it was a fun language to take a look at.

Answer 4

It takes time, the fact that you know you are writing in a non-idiomatic fashion is the first step. Pardon the cliche but Rome wasn't built in a day. Here's a few guidelines that might help you.

1. Write a small program, lets say no more than 100 lines.
2. Analyze each component of the program and find out how this could be implemented in a more idiomatic fashion.
3. Create a new program that attempts to follow your researched best practices.
4. Synthesize your work by comparing the new program to the old.