With the fast paced changes that Ruby on Rails is going through it is often handy to have some notes aside. These remind you of the Ajax, activerecord and REST principles.

Rails 2.1 brings a new level of stability and power to this acclaimed web development framework, but keeping track of its numerous moving parts is still a chore. Rails Pocket Reference offers you a painless alternative to hunting for resources online, with brief yet thorough explanations of the most frequently used methods and structures supported by Rails 2.1, along with key concepts you need to work through the framework’s most tangled corners.

from the author:

Save yourself hours of frustration: If you use Rails daily and just want the facts — fast — this is your book.

what others say:

“Just got this book the other day I think its a must have for if you are a rails developer.”

G. Garrod on Amazon.com

“I have been searching high and low for a text that actually explains something, not just offers massive tutorials. This book fits the bill perfectly. The writing is precise and succinct. Both the author and the O’Reilly editors deserve kudos for writing this.”

By M Rogers on Amazon.com

“Like many who dabble with Rails, I own many books on the subject. I like this format in general, and this book does not disappoint. Rails is a loose set of tools/scripts, and this brings together the “how”, with just the right amount of “why”.”

By M. Blankenship on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Rails Pocket Reference today!

Every Ruby on Rails programmer probably owns one of the three editions of this book. Since it’s first edition this book has been updated to use Rails 2 and the RESTful approuch. As with the previous editions of the book, it start’s with an extended tutorial that builds parts of an online store.

Agile Web Development with Rails was one of the first books that used the story telling approach. The learn by example principle takes you through the process of building a small online store while following a small story line. It is well written and easy to follow. Certainly a good book for beginners as well as advanced programmers.

from the author:

Rails just keeps on changing. Rails 2, released in 2008, brings hundreds of improvements, including new support for RESTful applications, new generator options, and so on. And, as importantly, we’ve all learned a lot more about writing Rails applications in the last few years.

So here’s the Third Edition of the Jolt Award winning book that shows you a new approach to web development, updated for Rails 2. Sam Ruby joins the team to add his world-class knowledge of web application development, making this the most up-to-date and authoritative Rails book out there.

what others say:

“This IS the book I’d HIGHLY recommend to anyone with a programming background who has gone through intro-level RoR books and online tutorials and wants to delve deeper into understanding the framework, in terms of gotchas, tips, recommended coding practices, etc.

When I go to a book store and pick up a book, I skim through it, look at the content, and see if the author(s) covered important or complex topics with an appropriate level of detail. This book nailed that part. Even in skimming the book for 5 minutes, I found explanations for several issues I had run into while learning RoR. E.g. with a has-one / belong-to relationship between 2 models, when does the relationship get saved if you associate the parent in the child, or associate the child to the parent? Things like that, which are relevant to programmers build real applications, are invaluable to know. ”

E. Park on Amazon.com

“I don’t remember earlier versions of this book getting slammed quite like this one. Maybe it’s simply because there’s more competition around. Regardless, I still think this is “the” Rails book to get if you’re just starting out, or want a refresher on some of the main areas of Rails.”

By Larry on Amazon.com

“This easy-to-read tome is everything, and more, I expected. No technical jargon to wade through; just simple, understandable guidance for learning how to build web applications using Ruby on Rails. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in learning this fun and amazing development platform!”

By K. Truitt on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Agile Web Development with Rails today!

Developing Facebook Platform Applications with Rails provides everything needed to get started, with great examples and clear explanations. The author provides detailed instructions for building a basic Facebook application, and then adds more complex features such asnews feeds and asynchronous messaging. Tips are also provided for using Facebooker, a Ruby library that is really handy to jumpstart your facebook development and reduce time on developing.

from the author:

With more than 60 million users, Facebook provides a captive audience for developers. More than 12,000 Facebook applications have been launched so far: Is yours next? It could be, with this book. You’ll see how to develop Facebook Platform applications quickly, using the popular Ruby on Rails framework. You’ll learn to use Facebook technologies such as FBML and FQL, and you’ll see how to leverage Rails and the Facebook Platform to make your application a success.

what others say:

“This book serves up a helpful and timely tutorial for the Rails developer contemplating authorship of a first Facebook application. No prior Facebook API or development knowledge is assumed, although those with some familiarity may find the reading less tedious.”

By Dale Lampson on Amazon.com

“I used this book to write three different facebook apps using the FBML option (instead of iframe). I’ve already been programming in Rails for the past year so I was looking for the quickest way to learn about the Facebook platform and the Facebooker plugin.

A bonus feature of this book is the author. He is very active on Github (where the source code is stored) and the Facebooker mailing list. Without him I don’t think Facebooker would be where it is today.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking to develop a Rails app on Facebook. I also recommending joining the mailing list and subscribing to Mike’s RSS commit log on Github.”

By Unknown on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Developing Facebook Platform Applications today!

If you’re on a Mac and you are a developer of any sorts, you should be using Textmate. This lightweight editor puts you back in control of programming. TextMate is not an IDE but by using its powerful snippets and macros, it can often provide features that even a language specific IDE lacks.

What I love about Textmate is that it saves you a lot of time with a really low learning curve. You can open up any directory as a project and easily navigate through files and folders. Short-cuts let you clean-up code, insert snippets or duplicate lines etc.

Because Textmate is so powerful and versatile everybody uses it in their own way. You are not limited by its working methods. Use it for whatever you want: editing text, programming Ruby on Rails, building HTML etc.

Textmate has a really low learning curve. You can use it straight out of the box, but the more you learn about it, the more powerful it becomes. That is where this book comes in. It’s a great reference that lets you streamline your programming methods and saves you a lot of time on manual programming labor.

Did I mention Textmate has its own Ruby on Rails bundle? Mac + Textmate + Ruby on Rails = a lot of fun!

from the author:

TextMate is a powerful tool for programmers, web designers, and anyone else who regularly needs to work with text files on Mac OS X. TextMate focuses on pragmatic automation, which means it will save you time time that’s always in short supply. See how your lowly text editor can become a hard working member of your staff.

TextMate is a full-featured text editor available for Mac OS X that can greatly enhance your text manipulation skills. TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding. Let’s face it, who doesn’t want their very own team of robot ninjas?

With TextMate you can do your normal work, but signal the ever-watchful ninjas as you go. At your command, they will launch into action, slicing through text, building repetitive structures of data in the blink of an eye, and much more. They will even post to your blog, handle your IRC conversations, and read your email.

Inside this book you will learn how to teleport instantly to the exact line of the file you need to be on, edit the data with the briefest incantations of power, and banish the end result to the land of your choosing. It’s magic, as you can plainly see.

Leave the days of dull work behind. Learn your spells, gain access to your team of robot ninjas, and you too will be able to edit text so effortlessly that everyone watching over your shoulder will be forced to ask, “Wait, how did you do that?”

what others say:

“‘TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding.’

The funny thing is, to people who have never used TextMate for more than a few minutes the above phrase sounds like an exaggeration. It’s not. (As long as you can accept the analogy of “really awesome code running on a Mac” = “robot ninjas”…)

Anyway, this book targets a pretty specific market: 1) Humans, 2) who own Macs, 3) and use TextMate. I’m here to tell you that, if you’re human you should have a Mac; and if you have a Mac you should buy TextMate; and if you have TextMate you should buy this book. So there, now it covers everyone.”

By Decompiler on Amazon.com

“This book is the perfect primer for what I have found to be one of the most indispensible Mac OS X applications – TextMate. If you are a software developer or web designer or anyone else that edits text on a frequent basis and you have not already discovered TextMate, stop right now and visit http://www.macromates.com. ”

By Walz-Burkett on Amazon.com

“About six months ago I switched to using TextMate, a text editor with a clean and well designed interface that hides a great deal of power, replacing both BBEdit and vim. I felt like a baby duck that had been ripped away from its mother, but I was determined to switch to a single editor. I have since become familiar with the power of TextMate and it’s extensions. Getting a copy of “TextMate – Power Editing for the Mac” (TPEftM) made me feel like I’d gone from baby duck to Leo DiCaprio, dating a supermodel.”

By A. Williams on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of TextMate: Power Editing for the Mac today!

It covers search, database, design and integration topics such as: Finding stuff with Ferret or Sphinx, creating restful routes and keeping your forms dry and flexible.

This book gives you a better insight on using RoR than you will usually find on forums or walkthroughs.

tt

from the author:

Advanced Rails Recipes is filled with pragmatic recipes you’ll use on every Rails project. And by taking the code in these recipes and slipping it into your application you’ll not only deliver your application quicker, you’ll do so with the confidence that it’s done right.

The current version includes contributions from Aaron Batalion, Adam Keys, Adam Wiggins, Andre Lewis, Andrew Kappen, Benjamin Curtis, Ben Smith, Chris Bernard, Chris Haupt, Chris Wanstrath, Cody Fauser, Dan Benjamin, Dan Manges, Daniel Fischer, David Bock, David Chelimsky, David Heinemeier Hansson, Erik Hatcher, Ezra Zygmuntowicz, Geoffrey Grosenbach, Giles Bowkett, Greg Hansen, Gregg Pollack, Hemant Kumar, Hugh Bien, Jamie Orchard-Hays, Jamis Buck, Jared Haworth, Jarkko Laine, Jason LaPier, Jay Fields, John Dewey, Jonathan Dahl, Josep Blanquer, Josh Stephenson, Josh Susser, Kevin Clark, Luke Francl, Mark Bates, Marty Haught, Matthew Bass, Michael Slater, Mike Clark, Mike Hagedorn, Mike Mangino, Mike Naberezny, Mike Subelsky, Nathaniel Talbott, PJ Hyett, Patrick Reagan, Peter Marklund, Pierre-Alexandre Meyer, Rick Olson, Ryan Bates, Scott Barron, Tony Primerano, Val Aleksenko, and Warren Konkel.

what others say:

“It’s simple, really: If you’re programming with Rails you should buy this book. Let’s face it, one recipe that shows you how to do something is all that it takes for this book to pay for itself.”

By Larry on Amazon.com

“This book is a must have resource for anyone developing Rails applications. Mike Clark, the Ruby community and the Pragmatic Programmers have once again delivered a set of recipies you’ll find immediately usable. I’m already using four in an application I’m working on, all of which have helped me reduce code, increase readability and reduce maintenance.”

By G.Stark on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Advanced Rails Recipes today!

A great fun part of programming in Ruby on Rails is the usage of Ajax and javascript effects. Most books and tutorials just scrape the surface on these parts though. I never really realized just how much functionality is built into Prototype and Script.aculo.us. One of the good things about this book is that it explains why some things are done the way they are.

After stepping through the Prototype library, Andrew dives into script.aculo.us and explains many of the features of the library. This part shows you some great recipies you can use right out of the box.

from the author:

Practical Prototype and script.aculo.us will help you leverage the Prototype and script.aculo.us libraries to enhance your day–to–day work, speeding up mundane tasks and providing advanced UI effects in a way that is cross–browser compliant—taking many worries off your shoulders. Take a whirlwind tour of the different time–saving functions and features Prototype provides and how it extends the basic JavaScript objects, including events, Ajax techniques, DOM elements, enumerables, and advanced OOP.

what others say:

“Andrew does an excellent job introducing developers at all levels to the power of these great frameworks, providing an easy way for those new to JavaScript to get started as well as the important information required by the experienced. Add in a dash of Andrew’s dry humor and direct experience building Prototype as a part of the core team and you’ve got a hell of a great resource for Web developers.”

By A. Jones on Amazon.com

“Prototype and script.aculo.us are influential and widely adopted. It’s not surprising that book publishers are rushing to cover them. What is surprising is that most of the titles currently available are of such poor quality. This is the good one.

Practical Prototype and script.aculous is well-organized, easy-to-read, covers the feature set well and includes a wealth of non-fluffy background material that beginners and journeymen alike will appreciate. The book easily paid for itself in time savings. Use it with the API reference at prototypejs.org/api and you’ll be all set.”

By M. McAulay on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Practical Prototype and script.aculo.us today!