Go to content
The Codest
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Our Team
  • Case studies
    • Blog
    • Meetups
    • Webinars
    • Resources
Careers Get in touch
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Our Team
  • Case studies
    • Blog
    • Meetups
    • Webinars
    • Resources
Careers Get in touch
2020-03-04
Software Development

How to start programming in Ruby in 7 easy steps

Damian Watroba

Software Engineer

How to start programming in Ruby in 7 easy steps - Image

How to start programming in Ruby? This question tends to appear in various groups and online forums. To make things easier, I have prepared a shortlist for people who would like to start their adventure with the Ruby language.

1. Choose the right operating system

The basic element of every programming environment is the operating system. Let's start with the most popular one, Windows. Until recently, learning Ruby on this operating system was very hard due to problems with the configuration of the environment. Such problems could effectively discourage further learning. Now, there is nothing to worry about – it all changed some time ago thanks to the Windows Subsystem for Linux tool (WSL for short). As the name suggests, it is a Linux subsystem. The principle is simple – you run Linux on your Windows computer.

How to install WSL?

I started my own adventure with Ruby by installing Linux on one of the most popular distributions, Ubuntu. As a Windows user, I was curious to test another system. Additionally, this system was often mentioned in job offers for Junior Ruby Developers, mentioning the requirement of at least basic knowledge of Linux. So, if you are a Windows user, I sincerely recommend installing an additional system on the side. The time spent with Ubuntu allowed me to both learn about one of the most popular open-source software types and form my own opinion about it.

How to install Ubuntu?

If you own and use a macOS, you don't need to install any additional systems or software. This system comes from a family of Unix operating systems, just like Linux, so you can safely move on to the next point.

Fronented Report for 2020

2. Terminal – learn the basics

The next step is to familiarize yourself with the terminal (also called the console or the command line) in your system and learn to navigate among catalogs, file operations, data displays and many other things you can encounter there. This is one of the developer's basic tools. The beginnings may seem difficult, but in time you will see that there is nothing to be afraid of. The sooner you start using the terminal and learning commands, the better. At the very beginning, I recommend a course from Codecademy: Learn the Command Line. Unfortunately, it is only available in the PRO version, but you can use a 7-days free trial during which you can access the material.

Terminal for beginners - part 1

3. Find a good text editor

The next tool you need is an appropriate text editor. I encourage you to try one of the popular ones (i.e., Visual Studio Code, Atom, Sublime, or Brackets) and decide for yourself which editor work best for you. I use VSC with the appropriate Ruby plugins.

How to install the Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code

4. Master the Git

Git is a distributed version control system. It’s another basic tools that your will have to master to become a Ruby developer. One of the main functionalities of Git regards recording changes in your project. It also allows you to view history and, if necessary, restore the selected version of your program. For now, you will need it to install another tool as the next step. Time for more installing!

How to install Git?

5. Install rbenv / rvm

Tools such as rbenv and rvm allow you to install and support different versions of Ruby on our system and switch between them. The thing to keep in mind is that those tools don't work together, so your need to choose one of them. I recommend rbenv.

How to install rbenv or rvm?

6. Install Ruby

When we are publishing this entry, the 2.7.0 version of Ruby is underway. Nevertheless, I recommend installing the latest (to date) stable 2.6.5 version. To do this, your need a rbenv extension called ruby-build. How to do it? You can learn it in the link below:

How to install: ruby-build?

7. Get acquainted with gems and the bundler

Gems are libraries designed for Ruby. On rubygems, you can find various useful gems to use while studying and continuing your work as a developer. One of them is the bundler, which provides a consistent environment for various projects and installs the necessary gems in their appropriate versions for specific projects.

How to install the bundler?

Ruby gems

With the environment set up in this way, you can easily start learning the programming and basics of Ruby. If you would like to start learning right away but you're uncomfortable with the number of tools you may need, you can use online editors. One of them is repl.it, where you can run a simple code written in Ruby.

Good luck! And here you can read the article in the polish version.

Read more:

- How to start building your product from scratch?

- 10 UI/UX design trends for 2020. What’s new?

- The most tiresome contemporary challenges for Tech Leaders

Related articles

Software Development

3 Useful HTML Tags You Might Not Know Even Existed

Nowadays, accessibility (A11y) is crucial on all stages of building custom software products. Starting from the UX/UI design part, it trespasses into advanced levels of building features in code. It provides tons of benefits for...

Jacek Ludzik
Software Development

5 examples of Ruby’s best usage

Have you ever wondered what we can do with Ruby? Well, the sky is probably the limit, but we are happy to talk about some more or less known cases where we can use this powerful language. Let me give you some examples.

Pawel Muszynski
Software Development

Maintaining a Project in PHP: 5 Mistakes to Avoid

More than one article has been written about the mistakes made during the process of running a project, but rarely does one look at the project requirements and manage the risks given the technology chosen.

Sebastian Luczak
Software Development

5 reasons why you will find qualified Ruby developers in Poland

Real Ruby professionals are rare birds on the market. Ruby is not the most popular technology, so companies often struggle with the problem of finding developers who have both high-level skills and deep experience; oh, and by the...

Jakub
Software Development

9 Mistakes to Avoid While Programming in Java

What mistakes should be avoided while programming in Java? In the following piece we answers this question.

Rafal Sawicki
Software Development

A quick dive into Ruby 2.6. What is new?

Released quite recently, Ruby 2.6 brings a bunch of conveniences that may be worth taking a glimpse of.  What is new? Let’s give it a shot!

Patrycja Slabosz

Subscribe to our knowledge base and stay up to date on the expertise from industry.

About us

We are an agile software development company dedicated to empowering our clients' digital transformation projects and ensuring successful IT project delivery.

    United Kingdom - Headquarters

  • Office 303B, 182-184 High Street North E6 2JA London, England

    Poland - Local Tech Hubs

  • Business Link High5ive, Pawia 9, 31-154 Kraków, Poland
  • Brain Embassy, Konstruktorska 11, 02-673 Warsaw, Poland
  • Aleja Grunwaldzka 472B, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland

    The Codest

  • Home
  • About us
  • Services
  • Case studies
  • Know how
  • Careers

    Services

  • PHP development
  • Java development
  • Python development
  • Ruby on Rails development
  • React Developers
  • Vue Developers
  • TypeScript Developers
  • DevOps
  • QA Engineers

    Resources

  • What are top CTOs and CIOs Challenges? [2022 updated]
  • Facts and Myths about Cooperating with External Software Development Partner
  • From the USA to Europe: Why do American startups decide to relocate to Europe
  • Privacy policy
  • Website terms of use

Copyright © 2022 by The Codest. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on the site for marketing, analytical and statistical purposes. By continuing to use, without changing your privacy settings, our site, you consent to the storage of cookies in your browser. You can always change the cookie settings in your browser. You can find more information in our Privacy Policy.