The Best Ruby programming Books

1.The Ruby Programming Language: Everything You Need to Know 

The Ruby Programming Language is a comprehensive guide to Ruby, covering versions 1.8 and 1.9. Written by David Flanagan, a bestselling author of programming language “bibles,” and Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, the creator and lead developer of Ruby, the book provides a detailed explanation of the language’s structure, datatypes, expressions, statements, methods, blocks, lambdas, closures, classes, and modules. It also introduces the Ruby platform’s rich API, demonstrating its facilities for text processing, numeric manipulation, collections, input/output, networking, and concurrency. The book is intended for both experienced programmers and current Ruby programmers who want to challenge their understanding and increase their mastery of the language.

Rated 4 on Goodreads.

This book can be purchased here.

2.The Book of Ruby: A Hands-On Guide for the Adventurous

The Book of Ruby is a comprehensive guide to Ruby, a popular programming language. It teaches users how to write clear, maintainable code, starting with basic concepts like types, data structures, and control flows, and progressing to advanced features like blocks, mixins, metaclasses, and more. The book takes a hands-on approach, focusing on productivity from the start. It covers how to leverage Ruby’s flexible syntax, balance its functional, imperative, and object-oriented features, write self-modifying programs using dynamic programming techniques, create new fibers and threads for managing independent processes, catch and recover from execution errors, and develop powerful web applications using the Ruby on Rails framework. Each chapter includes a “Digging Deeper” section to provide a deeper understanding of Ruby’s workings. The Book of Ruby is a valuable resource for both new and experienced Ruby users looking to develop rapid, real-world software.

Rated 4.2 on Amazon.

This book is available on Amazon.com.

3.The Little Book Of Ruby Programming: Learn To Program Ruby For Beginners (Little Programming Books)

The Little Book of Ruby is a comprehensive guide to learning Ruby programming from the ground up. It covers topics such as Object Orientation, classes, methods, modules, mixins, file operations, and exception-handling. The book is designed for both new and experienced programmers, offering a quick and easy way to learn Ruby. Author Huw Collingbourne, a programmer with over 30 years of experience, has taught thousands of students in languages like Ruby, C, C#, Java, and Object Pascal. He has written programming columns for various computer magazines and is the Technical Director of SapphireSteel Software. Collingbourne has also written for PC Plus and Computer Shopper and is the author of several programming books, including The Little Book Of C, The Little Book Of C#, The Little Book Of Pointers, and The Little Book of Recursion. The Little Book of Ruby provides a concise and effective approach to learning Ruby programming.

Rated 4.5 on Amazon.

It can be bought on Amazon.

4.Intro To Ruby Programming: Beginners Guide Series

Learn Ruby Programming with ease and fun by Veteran Codemy.com programmer John Elder. This book is designed for beginners, allowing them to set up a development environment and write their first program. It covers topics like variables, math, IF/THEN statements, arrays, hashes, loops, and methods. By the end of the book, readers will be well on their way to becoming a professional Ruby coder. Practice exercises are provided at the end of each chapter, and a math flashcard game is built using the skills learned. Note that C9, the development environment used in the book, was purchased by Amazon and is no longer accepting new users.

Rated 4.1 on Amazon.

This book is available here.

5.Ruby For Beginners: Your Guide To Easily Learn Ruby Programming in 7 days (Programming Languages Book 9)

This book is designed to assist novices in Ruby programming by covering everything they need to learn. It acknowledges that programming offers vast information and knowledge, but it may overwhelm beginners if it tackles advanced features. The book aims to build a solid foundation in programming, which can be used to write their own Ruby code.

Practice is key, and the book provides numerous practice programs and exercises to enhance your experience. The exercises are simple and easy to understand, and error messages can be noted to help avoid future mistakes.

Learning Ruby programming in 7 days is achievable, even for those with little or no experience. However, it is essential to practice and discover new things with Ruby as you progress. Even expert programmers need to spend time honing their skills to create more complex programs.

The book presents everything a novice may need in understanding basic Ruby programming, keeping technical jargons minimal. Chapters include “Getting acquainted with Ruby,” “Initial Preparations,” “Starting with the Basics,” “Ruby Variables,” “All About Methods,” “Flow Control,” “Iterators and Loops,” and “More on Arrays and Hashes.”

Rated 4 on Amazon.

This book can be purchased here.

6.Computer Science Programming Basics in Ruby: Exploring Concepts and Curriculum with Ruby

This book teaches basic high-school math to quickly understand and apply computer science concepts. It focuses on understanding the difference between computer science and programming, and how algorithms help solve computing problems. The book uses the Ruby programming language to explore fundamental topics like loops, arrays, objects, and classes. The last chapter combines the material by programming a game of tic-tac-toe. The book covers computer architecture, programming tools, sequential, conditional, loop programming structures, array data organization, searching techniques, object creation, and manipulating files for software development.

Rated 4.3 on Amazon.

You can buy this book on Amazon.com.

7.Ruby Wizardry: An Introduction to Programming for Kids

Ruby Wizardry is a fun and engaging way to learn programming using the Ruby language. The story follows the adventures of young heroes Ruben and Scarlet, teaching them to use fundamental concepts like variables, symbols, arrays, and strings. They also learn to control program flow with loops and conditionals, test ideas in IRB, create mini-wizards with their own superpowers, organize and reuse code, and write interactive stories using Ruby. Along the way, they meet colorful characters from the kingdom, such as the hacker Queen, the Off-White Knight, and Wherefore the minstrel.

Rated 4.5 on Amazon.

You can purchase this book here.

8.Beginning Ruby 3: From Beginner to Pro

Beginning Ruby 3, 4th Edition is a comprehensive guide to learn Ruby from the ground up, covering object-oriented programming principles, creating a functional Ruby 3-based application, and understanding ancillary technologies like databases, XML, web frameworks, and networking. The book includes updates for the latest version, such as improved allocator and decreased heap fragmentation, and a just-in-time compiler. The light and agile Ruby programming language remains popular for web application developers. The book can be used as a textbook or companion to a textbook on beginning Ruby programming. The course covers the fundamentals of Ruby, using libraries, gems, documentation, working with files and databases, writing and deploying Ruby applications, effectively using various web frameworks, and network programming.

Rated 4.2 on Amazon.

The book is available here.