[clue] Ruby for newbies (this Saturday 07/21) -- FAQ

[lorin at rickernet.us]

Just a quick FAQ sheet about this Saturday's "Ruby for Newbies" class:

1. What is it?  "Ruby for Newbies" is an introductory class about the
Ruby programming language, expressly for folks who have a desire to find
out more about and start learning Ruby, in a platform neutral (Linux,
Mac & Windows welcome) context.  Bring your friends & colleagues -- even
if they're Pythonista's or Perl-hackers!

2. Who's doing/presenting it?  Software Freedom Society presents...
Lorin Ricker, instructor.

3. Who is Lorin?  He's an old-geek (gray-beard without the facial hair),
a career software developer & engineer, refugee from DEC/PDP/VMS-land
who has written gazillions of lines of production code in MACRO, Pascal,
SQL, TPU, DCL, Algol, FORTRAN, C, LISP and others.  He's taught
real-time programming (laser trimming systems) in high-level programming
languages to process control engineers, and relational databases
technology to corrections officers!... A relatively recent (since 2006)
convert to the Linux/GNU/FOSS ecosystem, he's become proficient in bash,
Ruby and regexs and never looked back!

4. Where? DenHac, 975 East 58th Avenue, Denver, CO 80216 -- Google map:
http://goo.gl/maps/rYD4

5. When?  10AM - 5PM, Saturday, July 21st

6. Cost?  Heck, it's FREE -- $0.00!  (...But donations to SFS are
welcome; tip the instructor only if you learn something worthwhile!)

7. Any prerequisites?  No, not really.  Of course, previous programming
experience will be helpful, but no previous exposure to Ruby is
necessary.  Even if you've not coded before, we're going to make Ruby a
great place to start learning about programming...

8. Classroom method?  Informal, relaxed -- we're going to walk-through a
whole bunch of Ruby code, getting you oriented and comfortable with all
the basics along the way.  We'll also compare Ruby to the other two
popular scripting languages, Python and Perl, tying many concepts
together (or at least down) along the way.

Lorin doesn't believe in teaching from a bunch of silly and contrived
"examples" -- instead, we'll be looking at many "real world" examples of
Ruby code, programs which really *do something useful.*  For example,
rather than belaboring "this is how if/then/else works" yet again, we'll
see many useful idioms (ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom -- how
does this apply to a programming language?) which will make Ruby's
if/then/else (and much more) appear natural and useful.

8. Should I do any preparation for class?  Optional: a) Bring your
laptop (Linux, Mac or Windows).  b) If you can, please pre-install the
latest Ruby distribution for your OS.  c) If you like, install a
favorite IDE (e.g., Aptana, Geany, jEdit, etc.), although a
syntax-coloring text editor (emacs, vi(m), notepad++, etc.) will work as
well -- we're just using an editor/IDE to make code-walkthroughs easier
to see than on (in addition to) the overhead projector.

We'll go over lists of resources -- books, websites, newsletters, etc.
-- so you'll have a good base to continue learning from... Don't worry
about reading anything in advance of class.

No laptop?  Join us anyway... Just lean back in your chair and absorb
Ruby...

9. What'll I get out of this class?  Well, hopefully, a firm orientation
to and grounding in Ruby -- This is, after all, an Introductory Class.

You'll also get a complimentary (free!) Archive (.tgz or .zip) full of
*all* of the example code (useful code that works... and more!) that
we'll be reviewing in class.  But remember, you only get this bonus if
you attend the class -- it won't be posted for public pick-up! ;-)

See you Saturday!
  -- Lorin