el·o·quent

The past week has been a lot more reading than grinding through lessons.  I've been working through the book Eloquent Ruby.  I absolutely love it!  Eloquent Ruby, by Russ Olsen, is by no means a textbook.  It is written with a "casual conversation" tone, but also very applicable (application ready?).  I'm just starting Part II and can't wait to hone my concepts of  "Classes, Modules, and Blocks."  What is wonderful is the code is available on GitHub and I can practice while I read.  It is a very useful companion and I cannot recommend it more!

Once I'm done with Part II, I'll be caught up to my place in RubyMonk and then start working on the Metaprogramming lessons online (RubyMonk) as well as reading the chapters in the book.   I already have my sights set on the next title Design Patterns in Ruby.  What books have been of use to you while learning a new language??

Like Pig Latin and Street Lights

Well everyone I finally finished some Test Driven Development exercises tonight.  I did 14 in total.  They were not in any particular "challenge level" order but that may be depended on what areas I (vs you) consider challenging.  The challenges I was using are publicly available on GitHub from user alexch.

There was one exercise, in particular, that really had me stumped.  I knew how I wanted to do it but for some reason just couldn't get there!  Tonight, with my hubby sleeping in the next room, I really went at it.  I think for the first time I felt comfortable using RSpec.  I used it as my primary testing area (instead of using Codecademy's console) and read each error message with a sort of new understanding.  RSpec was very, very helpful in helping me finish the challenge.

It might have been one of the easier ones for someone else, but for me, this one was the final climb.  I'm really excited to be done with them.  I will turn all of my focus to the RubyMonk: Ascent book I've been gushing about the past few days.

Off to sleep for me!

Up and Running!!

As of today, I am up and running with all the tools available to me for using Ruby!!  I have my IRB working, SublimeText 3, GitHub, and GitHub for Windows all working together and running smoothly.  It did take a bit, as I had to revert to Ruby 1.9.3 due to a bug with Windows and Ruby. Its all working now though and I'm full speed ahead with my latest bit of homework Ruby in 100 Minutes.