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Ruby is celebrated for its emphasis on simplicity and productivity, featuring an easily comprehensible syntax that appeals especially to newcomers. It is also recognized for its integral role within the Ruby on Rails framework, which is vital for the development of sophisticated web applications.
This Best Courses Guide (BCG) highlights a selection of exceptional online courses, tutorials, and resources designed for learning Ruby as well as the Ruby on Rails framework. Some offerings are extensive, containing numerous hours of informative material along with tips for job hunting, while others focus on getting you coding in Ruby in a short period.
For quick navigation, here are the key sections:
Below are our top course recommendations. Click to access course specifics:
Understanding Ruby
Ruby is a dynamic, high-level programming language that is highly regarded for its equilibrium between ease of use and developer productivity. Founded by Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, Ruby was designed with the philosophy of making coding a joyful and efficient experience. Matsumoto sought to merge the best characteristics of various languages, resulting in a syntax that is not only clear but also intuitive. Ruby is distinguished by its object-oriented nature, which promotes the reuse of code and modular designs, although it is versatile enough to accommodate several programming styles, making it suitable for various applications.
In the realm of web development, Ruby’s significance is amplified by the Ruby on Rails framework, which simplifies the application-building process by automating repetitive tasks and offering a systematic approach to development. This has enabled Ruby to become the foundation of several prominent platforms, including Twitch, Shopify, GitHub, and Airbnb. Such success stories showcase Ruby’s ability to support intricate, scalable web applications, making it a favored option among developers and businesses.
The demand for Ruby developers continues to rise. As noted in the 2024 StackOverflow Developer Survey, Ruby ranks as the fifth-highest paying technology, with a median salary exceeding $90,000. This indicates that acquiring Ruby skills can lead to a rewarding professional journey.
Course Statistics
Here are some aggregated insights:
- Combined, the selected courses have 236,000 enrollments and upwards of 2.4 million views.
- All courses listed are either entirely free or offer free initial access.
- The majority are designed to accommodate beginners.
- The leading provider is freeCodeCamp, featuring two courses.
- Class Central’s Ruby subject boasts 3,800 followers.
My top recommendation for learning Ruby is the Full Stack Ruby on Rails pathway offered by The Odin Project. This free, open-source coding curriculum immerses you in Ruby on Rails, enabling you to create visually appealing and responsive websites.
There’s no prerequisite programming experience needed to enroll in this course; you will learn the fundamentals of Ruby programming from the ground up before advancing to the Rails framework.
By course completion, you’ll be well-prepared for job opportunities. Want validation? Check out the numerous success stories shared by former students. Additionally, you can connect with The Odin Project’s supportive developer community on Discord.
Most of your learning will be through reading articles and completing knowledge checks to reinforce your understanding. Each segment concludes with a project where you will apply new skills. Once satisfied with your project, submit it through GitHub for collaborative feedback.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding Ruby fundamentals, including variables, loops, and essential programming techniques
- Mastering Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) to enhance code organization and reusability
- Learning code structuring for reusable components
- Gaining basic computer science knowledge
- Exploring recursion and common data structures
- Implementing test-driven development for effective coding practices
- Utilizing advanced Git features and professional workflows
- Building a complete chess game project
- Applying Ruby on Rails skills and improving HTML and CSS knowledge for project design
- Managing databases for optimal data handling
- Understanding the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern within Ruby on Rails
- Integrating JavaScript for dynamic and interactive website features
Note: If your goal is solely to learn Ruby programming, you may focus on the corresponding sections within this course. However, if you’re keen on mastering the Ruby on Rails framework for web projects, completing the entire curriculum is recommended.
Institution
The Odin Project
Level
Beginner
Workload
500–1000 hours
Certificate
None
For those aiming to create a sophisticated web application, consider the course titled Ruby on Rails: Learn 25+ Gems and Build a Startup MVP 2023.
This course guides you through constructing an advanced e-learning platform using Ruby on Rails, making it one of the most comprehensive courses on Ruby on Rails 6 available today. It provides a detailed roadmap for developing an application analogous to platforms like Udemy or Skillshare.
This constantly updated course equips learners with best practices for utilizing more than 25 popular Ruby on Rails gems and modern technologies. You’ll not only learn to code but also understand the reasoning behind development decisions, troubleshooting in various stages of production, and acquiring a wide-ranging skill set to create virtually any web application.
While having prior familiarity with Ruby and Rails is beneficial, this course is structured to help you grasp new features or master the complete development workflow.
What you will explore includes:
- Building an online educational platform using Ruby on Rails, with user authentication, role management, and authorization
- Incorporating modern technologies and gems to facilitate form creation, data presentation, file storage, and payment processing
- Leveraging Rails 6 features, such as ActionText and ActiveStorage, along with advanced routing and database handling techniques
- Engaging with supporting technologies like AWS Cloud9, AWS S3, PostgreSQL, Git, GitHub, Heroku, and API integration
Instructors for this course include Yaroslav Shmarov, an accomplished Ruby on Rails developer and educator with multiple hackathon victories to his name.
Provider
Udemy
Instructors
Yaroslav Shmarov
Level
Beginner / Intermediate
Workload
21 hours
Enrollments
5,000
Rating
4.4 (439 reviews)
Certificate
Paid
The Ruby Programming Language – Full Course provided by freeCodeCamp is tailored to equip students with the essential skills to kick off with Ruby through the development of mini applications, including games and calculators. By the conclusion, learners will establish a robust foundation in the Ruby programming language.
This course is crafted for absolute beginners; learners will closely follow along with the instructor as coding takes place.
Course content includes:
- Installing Ruby and setting up a text editor
- Executing your inaugural Ruby program
- Understanding foundational concepts, such as variables and data types (strings, numbers)
- Capturing user input
- Utilizing conditional statements and loops to control program flow
- Applying data structures like arrays and hashes
- Diving into object-oriented programming (OOP)
- Learning about classes, objects, and inheritance principles
- Gaining experience in file manipulation and method grouping within modules
To further expand your knowledge, freeCodeCamp offers a variety of courses in different programming languages on its YouTube channel and on its website. Additionally, Mike Dane has several free courses on diverse programming topics like MongoDB, C, Ruby, and PHP available on his personal site. He is currently developing Dev Simulator, a coding RPG featuring a captivating storyline to facilitate enjoyable learning!
Institution
freeCodeCamp
Provider
YouTube
Instructor
Mike Dane
Level
Beginner
Workload
4–5 hours
Views
1.1 million
Likes
21,000
Certificate
None
If you are a software developer with basic Ruby knowledge, a computer science student preparing for interviews, or a professional transitioning between companies, the Four-Week Coding Interview Prep in Ruby can be an excellent fit for you.
This structured learning path bridges basic concepts with advanced algorithms, addressing crucial data structures and problem-solving skills. Each week builds on the previous one, ultimately leading to proficiency in intricate algorithmic topics.
Course content includes:
- Week 1: Basic coding exercises focusing on string manipulation, basic array tasks, and foundational problem-solving
- Week 2: Classic coding challenges featuring matrix searches and standard algorithm implementations
- Week 3: Exploring complex algorithms, including linked lists and binary trees
- Week 4: Advanced topics such as hash table implementation and bit manipulation
This learning path comprises four courses that emphasize practical implementation through 20 lessons in text and video formats, complemented by 98 interactive exercises. In case of challenges, the AI tutor, Cosmo, is present to assist with queries and provide hints.
CodeSignal operates on a freemium model. Users can primarily access features without charge, including receiving a certificate upon course completion, although AI tutor interactions are limited in the free version. Users seeking more extensive AI assistance or frequent exercise submissions might explore premium subscription options.
Provider
CodeSignal Learn
Level
Intermediate
Workload
4 weeks
Cost
Free
Rating
4.6 (10 reviews)
Exercises
Interactive
Certificate
Free
The Learn Ruby course by Codecademy provides an introductory overview of fundamental programming principles using Ruby. By completion, you will possess a solid understanding of Ruby, focusing on the object-oriented paradigm.
No prior knowledge of programming is necessary, as the course features interactive tutorials and hands-on coding exercises.
For Codecademy Pro members, a certificate is available upon course completion, as well as access to three portfolio projects to showcase your skills, along with quizzes that solidify your grasp of programming concepts.
Course highlights include:
- Understanding variables and their associated data types
- Learning how to capture user input and display output
- Training in conditional statements and loops for controlling program flow
- Introducing arrays and hashes as key data structures
- Refining code readability through refactoring
- Understanding best coding practices and conventions for writing clean Ruby
- Diving into advanced OOP concepts like modules, mixins, and method privacy
Codecademy, co-founded by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski, aims to empower everyone worldwide with the requisite skills for success in the 21st century. They offer a wide array of free courses on 12 different programming languages, with Python, JavaScript, HTML, and C++ being among the most popular.
Institution
Codecademy
Level
Beginner
Workload
10 hours
Enrollments
416,000
Rating
4.5 (2.6K reviews)
Certificate
Paid
freeCodeCamp’s Learn Ruby on Rails course enables students to grasp Ruby on Rails by developing a friends list application. It’s a comprehensive introduction to web programming and design, delivered in an engaging coding format.
The curriculum encompasses the following topics:
- Introduction to Ruby on Rails and how to set it up
- Understanding the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern to implement user interfaces and business logic
- Initiating your first webpage using the MVC framework
- CRUD operations (CREATE, READ, UPDATE, DELETE)
- Creating a webpage to interact with SQL database storage
- Styling the web application with Bootstrap
- Implementing multiple views based on user authentication
- Building user features such as adding friends within the application
- Utilizing Git for code management and submitting project work on GitHub
- Hosting the final product on Heroku for public access
John Elder’s Codemy.com channel also offers other programming education, encompassing a range of topics including Python, Django, HTML, and CSS. You can find the Ruby source code here.
Institution
freeCodeCamp
Provider
YouTube
Instructor
John Elder (codemy.com)
Level
Intermediate
Workload
4–5 hours
Views
886,000
Likes
14,000
Certificate
None
To refine your programming skills, Exercism is an excellent platform for practicing Ruby. It offers a free online space with over 100 thoughtfully designed programming exercises.
Each exercise provides instant feedback following code submission, and learners can also request reviews from human mentors for constructive insights on improving their coding abilities.
Exercism accommodates programmers across all experience levels, offering challenges that range from straightforward to complex.
Your journey will encompass:
- Beginning with basic Ruby exercises and gradually enhancing complexity
- Manipulating strings and conditionals, exploring loops, exception handling, and enumerating
- Engaging in exercises tailored to three levels: easy, medium, and hard
- Examples of easy tasks include create acronyms or implementing the Affine Cipher
- Medium difficulties include OCR number computations and Pascal’s Triangle
- Challenging exercises may involve regex searches and advanced problem-solving
Exercism supports numerous programming languages and aims to enhance coding skills for everyone, fostering community contributions and mentorship opportunities.
Institution
Exercism
Level
Beginner to Advanced
Workload
Self-paced
Enrollments
56,000
Certificate
None
Learn Ruby on Rails for Beginners offers a free opportunity to learn Ruby on Rails while working on a project to create a Buffer clone featuring authentication, OAuth, Twitter’s API, and effective background processing. Through coding demonstrations, you will develop skills necessary for becoming a proficient Rails developer.
Some prior Ruby programming knowledge is beneficial for this course.
Topics covered include:
- Setting up your Rails environment and building your initial application
- Understanding HTTP requests and their operations in web browsers
- Exploring the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture
- Working with routes and enhancing design responsiveness using Bootstrap CSS and JavaScript
- Creating a user authentication system and managing password validation
- Integrating Twitter’s API to facilitate in-app tweeting
- Optimizing the application for enhanced performance and deploying it on Heroku
Chris Oliver, the creator of GoRails and Jumpstart, provides insights and tutorials to challenge and aid Rails developers in enhancing their application-building processes.
Website
gorails.com
Instructor
Chris Oliver
Level
Intermediate
Workload
5 hours
Views
430,000
Certificate
None
If you’re relatively familiar with Rails yet haven’t developed production-grade projects, the course Learn Ruby on Rails for Free guides you through creating, testing, and launching a real-world Rails application—a fitness tracking app.
This hands-on course offers valuable experience in real product development processes, including troubleshooting and documentation searches as the instructor takes you through the learning process.
Key content includes:
- Setting up Rails and GitHub
- Configuring Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)
- Deploying and testing Rails applications on Heroku
- Creating user models and conducting system tests, implementing user authorization
- Enhancing application performance through query optimization
- Designing custom search forms and implementing callbacks for task automation
Steve Polito, a full-stack web developer with a focus on Ruby on Rails, is the course instructor. The project code is available here.
Website
railscodealong.com
Instructor
Steve Polito
Level
Intermediate
Workload
14–15 hours
Views
1,300
Certificate
None
Trust in Our Recommendations
Class Central, often considered a ‘Tripadvisor’ for online education, has empowered millions of learners in search of suitable courses. With a decade-long effort in curating online educational offerings, we have compiled a catalog featuring 250,000 online courses alongside an equally vast number of user-generated reviews. Our team consists of dedicated online learners, and collectively, we have successfully completed over 400 online courses, including full degrees.
Our Selection and Testing Methodology
The quest for the best courses can be daunting, even for seasoned online learners. Here’s our approach to identifying standout offerings.
I commenced this search by exploring Class Central’s extensive catalog and other resources to compile a diverse range of free and paid Ruby and Ruby on Rails courses, some of which provide certificates.
During my selection process, I evaluated:
- The instructor’s expertise: I prioritized instructors with substantial experience in Ruby and engaging teaching methods.
- The course content: I examined courses covering various topics and levels, ensuring a mix of introductory and advanced material. I also viewed videos from courses I had not previously experienced.
- Student feedback: I read reviews across Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand learners’ sentiments about each course.
This research informed the scope of my recommendations, aimed at presenting high-quality options.
By integrating data along with personal judgment, I am confident these selected courses will be effective resources for learning Ruby and Ruby on Rails.
Pat has since revised the findings and updates of this piece.
Source
www.classcentral.com