Ruby Programming 43rd Batch: Registrations now open

by on June 7, 2013

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Registrations are now open for RubyLearning’s popular Ruby programming course. This is an intensive, online course for beginners that helps you get started with Ruby programming.

Course Fee

Please create a new account first and then pay US$ 63.95 by clicking on the PayPal button Paypal

Download ‘Advice for Ruby Beginners’ as a .zip file.

Here is what Demetris Demetriou, a participant who just graduated, has to say – “When I joined this course I was sceptical about how useful this course would be for me instead of reading material and watching videos on YouTube and thus saving money. After the course started I realised how valuable this course was. In the past I had read many Ruby books over and over, but never got into really getting practical with it and never had confidence in it. Lots of theory but couldn’t use it. I feel that the exercises in this course and the support, monitoring from our mentor Victor, made the huge difference that all books in the past didn’t. It wasn’t about reading lots of books, but simply few things and get practical and understand them well. I feel I learnt a lot and I’m coming back for more to rubylearning.org Thanks a lot Victor and Satish and all the other Rubyists who gave us today’s Ruby.”

What’s Ruby?

Ruby

According to http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/ – “Ruby is a dynamic, open source programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity. Ruby’s elegant syntax is natural to read and easy to write.”

Yukihiro Matsumoto, the creator of Ruby, in an interview says -

I believe people want to express themselves when they program. They don’t want to fight with the language. Programming languages must feel natural to programmers. I tried to make people enjoy programming and concentrate on the fun and creative part of programming when they use Ruby.

What Will I Learn?

In the Ruby programming course, you will learn the essential features of Ruby that you will end up using every day. You will also be introduced to Git, GitHub, HTTP concepts, RubyGems, Rack and Heroku.

Depending on participation levels, we throw a Ruby coding challenge in the mix, right for the level we are at. We have been known to give out a prize or two for the ‘best’ solution.

Who’s It For?

A beginner with some knowledge of programming.

You can read what past participants have to say about the course.

Mentors

Satish Talim, Michael Kohl, Satoshi Asakawa, Victor Goff III and others from the RubyLearning team.

Dates

The course starts on Saturday, 29th June 2013 and runs for seven weeks.

RubyLearning’s IRC Channel

Most of the mentors and students hang out at RubyLearning’s IRC (irc.freenode.net) channel (#rubylearning.org) for both technical and non-technical discussions. Everyone benefits with the active discussions on Ruby with the mentors.

How do I register and pay the course fees?

  • The course is based on the The Ultimate Guide to Ruby Programming eBook. This book is priced at US$ 9.95
  • You can pay either by Paypal or send cash via Western Union Money Transfer or by bank transfer (if you are in India). The fees collected helps RubyLearning maintain the site, this Ruby course, the Ruby eBook, and provide quality content to you.

To pay the Course Fee:

Please create a new account first and then pay US$ 63.95 by clicking on the PayPal button Paypal

At the end of this course you should have all the knowledge to explore the wonderful world of Ruby on your own.

Here are some details on how the course works:

Important:

Once the course starts, you can login and start with the lessons any day and time and post your queries in the forum under the relevant lessons. Someone shall always be there to answer them. Just to set the expectations correctly, there is no real-time ‘webcasting’.

Methodology:

  • The Mentors shall give you URL’s of pages and sometimes some extra notes; you need to read through. Read the pre-class reading material at a convenient time of your choice – the dates mentioned are just for your guideline. While reading, please make a note of all your doubts, queries, questions, clarifications, comments about the lesson and after you have completed all the pages, post these on the forum under the relevant lesson. There could be some questions that relate to something that has not been mentioned or discussed by the mentors thus far; you could post the same too. Please remember that with every post, do mention the operating system of your computer.
  • The mentor shall highlight the important points that you need to remember for that day’s session.
  • There could be exercises every day. Please do them.
  • Participate in the forum for asking and answering questions or starting discussions. Share knowledge, and exchange ideas among yourselves during the course period. Participants are strongly encouraged to post technical questions, interesting articles, tools, sample programs or anything that is relevant to the class / lesson. Please do not post a simple "Thank you" note or "Hello" message to the forum. Please be aware that these messages are considered noises by people subscribed to the forum.

Outline of Work Expectations:

  1. Most of the days, you will have exercises to solve. These are there to help you assimilate whatever you have learned till then.
  2. Some days may have some extra assignments / food for thought articles / programs
  3. Above all, do take part in the relevant forums. Past participants will confirm that they learned the best by active participation.

Some Commonly Asked Questions

  • Qs. Is there any specific time when I need to be online?
    Ans. No. You need not be online at a specific time of the day.
  • Qs. Is it important for me to take part in the course forums?
    Ans. YES. You must Participate in the forum(s) for asking and answering questions or starting discussions. Share knowledge, and exchange ideas among yourselves (participants) during the course period. Participants are strongly encouraged to post technical questions, interesting articles, tools, sample programs or anything that is relevant to the class / lesson. Past participants will confirm that they learned the best by active participation.
  • Qs. How much time do I need to spend online for a course, in a day?
    Ans. This will vary from person to person. All depends upon your comfort level and the amount of time you want to spend on a particular lesson or task.
  • Qs. Is there any specific set time for feedback (e.g., any mentor responds to me within 24 hours?)
    Ans. Normally somebody should answer your query / question within 24 hours.
  • Qs. What happens if nobody answers my questions / queries?
    Ans. Normally, that will not happen. In case you feel that your question / query is not answered, then please post the same in the thread – “Any UnAnswered Questions / Queries”.
  • Qs. What happens to the class (or forums) after a course is over? Can you keep it open for a few more days so that students can complete and discuss too?
    Ans. The course and its forum is open for a month after the last day of the course.

Remember, the idea is to have fun learning Ruby.

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Posted by Satish Talim

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7 secrets every developer should know before getting into a manager or lead role

by on May 24, 2013

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7 secrets every developer should know before getting into a manager or lead role

This guest post is contributed by Pramod Paranjape, who till recently ran a diverse delivery team of IT engineers and managers. He writes articles for new managers at ConverSight.com. He actively contributes on Quora on topics like team management and IT outsourcing. He releases slide decks based on real life management case studies on slideshare.

Pramod Paranjape At some point of time in your career, you have to decide if you want to continue on a technical path or to take up a management role.

Imagine that you have taken up a management role; how would your life look like?

The foundations remain the same for both technical and management tracks. Here is what will not change:

  1. Sound technical background: Many successful project managers have been excellent technical developers earlier in their careers. Strong technical skills go a long way in identifying technology risks in projects. If you have a sound foundation of technical skills, you have equal chances of taking up either of these career paths.
  2. Using software engineering techniques in daily life: Delivering good code in a timely manner requires understanding of standard coding practices, defect management system, version control system and timesheet systems. It may sound obvious, but using the basic software engineering techniques ensures predictable delivery. Whatever path you choose, make sure you have an in-depth knowledge of software engineering techniques.

What will change when you get into manager or lead role?

7 secrets nobody told you:

  1. A developer has to focus on his/her own tasks. When you become a manager, you will need to get the tasks done by the team members. You will need to allocate work to your team members based on their abilities. You will have to identify strengths and weaknesses of each team member. You will also give due consideration to their aspirations.
    As a manager, you will need to allocate tasks according to team members’ strengths to maximize output.
  2. While completing the assigned work, a team member may be stuck. A manager listens to him/her and analyses the situation. The team member may have adopted an unconventional approach to complete the task. This approach may be vastly different from the approach you would have taken.
    In a manager’s role, you will need to analyse from the team member’s perspective.
  3. A manager plans the work based on an overall strategy of solving a problem. Based on the strategy, he/she sets priorities. Prioritizing is deciding what is important over what is less important.
    A manager decides the strategy to obtain a solution because a developer focuses on completing the work assigned to him/her. Be ready to take the bigger picture into account in a manager’s role.
  4. Team members may need protection from conflicting power centers within the organization. Managers who can provide ‘air cover’ get their team’s respect.
    A manager defends his/her team members, so that they can focus on their work. This is a critical leadership trait to succeed as a manager.
  5. Team members like to work with a manager from whom they can learn. A conscious effort to share knowledge motivates the team.
    As a manager, you will have to share your knowledge and let the team learn from you.
  6. A manager conducts meetings to communicate various messages. He/She writes to different stakeholders to communicate the task status. Speaking and writing may seem basic skills, but using these skills effectively is very important for a manager.
    You have to hone your communication skills to become an effective manager.
  7. A manager does not develop code or test it. In some cases, a manager may take up some part of a team member’s work. Ultimately, a manager’s success depends on his team members completing their work. Highly motivated and happy team members complete their work in time.
    You will need to motivate team members to complete their assigned work.

To summarize the seven secrets

To be an effective manager, you must:

  1. Allocate work based on the abilities of a team member.
  2. Analyse issues from a team member’s perspective.
  3. Be ready to take the bigger picture into account in a manager’s role.
  4. Defend your team as your team’s leader.
  5. Let the team learn from you.
  6. Communicate with stakeholders effectively.
  7. Motivate the team to get the best out of them.

Feel free to ask questions and give feedback in the comments section of this post. Thanks!

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Posted by Pramod Paranjape

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