Is learning a framework harder than to learn programming?

Re:Is learning a framework harder than to learn programming? by dutchrapley on Wednesday January 16, 2013 @10:00AM (#5067052)

It depends on context. If you have never built a web application, it can be very difficult task grasping what exactly Rails does for you (even it your are experienced in programming languages). For someone who has been building web applications for years, the it may be easier for that person to understand the pain points that Rails solves. Since Rails is domain specific to web development, you're not necessarily learning programming, but really how to apply programming to web development based on the framework's conventions. The bottom line is that you're learning something new. How hard the learning is depends on the foundation you're currently have that you can build upon. Having a foundation in a programming language doesn't necessarily mean that you're poised get up and running quickly with a web framework if you've never done web development.

The art of building web applications today, in itself, is much more complex than it was 10 years ago - mostly due to the every growing selection of tools that make it easier for experienced developers to build web applications. This in turn can make web development seem daunting.

Personally, when I started learning Rails, I had a foundation of working with rudimentary frameworks in other languages. When I discovered Rails, it did quiet a bit of what those other frameworks accomplished and then some. Then it took it further and pushed the envelope (i.e. REST support for urls and routing, more recently including CoffeeScript and the Asset Pipeline).

While there's a ton of learning resources out there for learning Rails, it can be really hard to put them together and figure out what in what order you need to learn new concepts.

That being said, I think The Flatiron School did an excellent job getting together a list of learning resources: http://prework.flatironschool.com/ - Just a heads up that it recommends CodeSchool and Tree house which are subscription services. If you're serious about learning, I'd consider the subscription cost to be a small investment.

The one resource that Flatiron Prework didn't mention is the Rails Tuturial: http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

If you really want to dive into ruby, I'd recommend The Well Ground Rubyist by David Black.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Is learning a framework harder than to learn programming? by nicolasd on Wednesday January 16, 2013 @11:24AM (#5067463)

Thank you for the links. I know Michael Hartl's ruby on rails tutorial, and it's nice written, but when I read programming books and come to parts like data-structures, then I think - "Oh no, I already know that stuff" and skip this part. But in this section you really learn about string handling… I probably should just read everything and keep on learning..

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Is learning a framework harder than to learn programming? by dutchrapley on Wednesday January 16, 2013 @12:56PM (#5068045)

Very true. While you may know about strings, integers, floats, and arrays, it's always good to read about them in the context of a new language you're learning. The Well Grounded Rubyist is riddled with useful tidbits. The predecessor to that book was Ruby for Rails (also by David Black). Each time I read the book, I picked up new information, even the third time around.

When we learn, we learn by applying new material to what we already know. Hence foundations and context. When you read, especially something like a book on programming, you're not going to absorb it all. Also, programming books shouldn't be treated as one and done reading. Each time you read, I guarantee something will pop out based on previously acquired knowledge.

[ Parent | on HN ]