This page is dedicated to the best ruby on rails books for the reader who wants to learn how to program in ruby on rails (the framework). You can also check out my page on the best ruby books for information on resources for ruby (the language) on its own.
If you don’t have a ruby base, you might want to grab a book from the ruby page, as approaching the rails without ruby skills isn’t a good idea. rails is a web framework written in ruby for writing web applications in ruby. Without knowing the language, it’s hard to get the most out of the framework. if you can, at least consider reading a ruby and rails book at the same time (if you’re in a hurry to learn rails).
You are reading: Books on ruby on rails
Over the past decade, rails have garnered a great deal of attention among developers, bringing many new titles to Amazon’s virtual bookshelf. having programmed with ruby on rails since December 2004, I’ve read quite a few books on rails over the years (and even wrote one of my own at some point). Here I recommend what I consider to be the best books on rails out there today.
a word about rail versions
ruby on rails 6 was recently released. While many great ruby on rails books target rails 2, 3, 4, and 5, don’t make the mistake of buying an outdated rails book if you intend to develop with version 6.x of the framework.
Substantial changes were introduced in every major version of the framework, starting with a serious rewrite in rails 3, so learning with outdated stuff will be an exercise in frustration. Trust me on this.
rails 5 books may still be worth your time, so on this page, I’ve included a couple of them. of course, when possible, favor rails 6 books so you can learn rails through up-to-date books.
if you’re looking for a ruby on rails video course, rather than a book, scroll down to the bottom of the page where I’ve included what I consider to be the best ruby on rails course of all time created.
recommended ruby on rails books sorted by difficulty level
title: ruby on rails tutorial (rails 6) level: beginner programmer | no experience with rails type: tutorial
The Ruby on Rails Tutorial is one of the clearest, nicest introduction to Rails ever written. It assumes that you have zero knowledge of Rails, however, it is still a great read for those who have some experience under their belt.
Proceeding step by step, the rails tutorial will give you progressively more confidence as it teaches you best practices in the process of creating a fairly complex rails application.
What I like about the rails tutorial is that it doesn’t just teach you rails 6, but it goes deeper into the tools that are typical of the rails ecosystem (like git or deployment on heroku). I’ve read a lot of rails books and trust me when I say you want this one to help you go from zero rails knowledge to building your rails apps in a month.
technically, this is a self-published rail book, but addison-wesley publishes a print edition. the book is also available online for free (legally), but that’s just the html version. for electronic books (in pdf, epub and mobi formats) you will need to purchase a copy. The book also comes with a number of optional screenshots, which aren’t cheap but are worth it as they give you the feeling of seeing a rails pro in action.
See Also: The Five Books to Read for your Medical School Interview | ProspectiveDoctor
It’s worth noting that the author, Michael Hartl, has launched a subscription service called Sufficient Learning Society, which includes this book on rails, as well as other programming resources. a good option for a beginning programmer.
free html version | electronic book + videos | printed version (order in advance)
title: agile web development with rails 6 level: intermediate programmer | some experience with rails type: tutorial
This is the latest edition of the classic Agile Web Development with Rails book. The first Rails book to appear on the scene. It’s an excellent tutorial for intermediate and experienced developers, particularly if you like Agile methodologies and would like to gain a deeper understanding of the framework.
Most rails programmers have taken advantage of this award-winning book to learn the framework at a time when, unlike today, rails documentation was hard to come by. is a wide-ranging and far-reaching tutorial that has evolved over the years to reflect changes in the framework and the industry, always promoting best practices in the process.
title: the rails 5 way (4th edition) level: intermediate programmer | some experience with rails type: reference
Those of you who already have a basic understanding of how Rails works – which you may have acquired by reading tutorials, writing some sample apps, or studying one of the books listed above – might want to bring their knowledge of the subject up to a pro level by reading Obie Fernandez’s “The Rails 5 Way”.
obie is one of the best rails programmers in the world, as well as an excellent teacher who put a lot of information into this great rails book (now in its 4th edition) so that advanced programmers could get the most out of it. rail frame.
is an excellent and extensive reference that will be particularly useful for developers who are already confident in their rail skills. A must have for any serious rails developer. yes, it’s rails 5, not 6, but still a good resource until a fifth edition comes out.
title: rails 5 test prescriptions: build a healthy code base level: intermediate programmer | some experience with rails type: tutorial
As you become more experienced as a rails developer, you will begin to realize the importance of testing your code base, so that you can change and improve it over time with some degree of confidence.
See Also: Carol Goodman – Book Series In Order
spend enough time in the community and you’ll hear all sorts of random terms like rspec, cucumber, capybara, and even factory_girl. These are all great tools to help you test your code base, but navigating these waters can be tricky if you’re new to test-driven development (tdd).
noel rappin wrote the definitive guide on how to test rails code and build much more robust projects as a result. I cannot recommend this book on rails highly enough for those who are already at least somewhat familiar with rails. rails 5 again, but the testing approach hasn’t really changed with the latest version, so most of the information is still very relevant.
Regardless of how many rails books you’ve read or your current skill level, every rails developer should read the official documentation at some point.
the rails api documentation when you face a specific problem (for example, a helper arguments) and the rails guides to understand much better the various components that make up the framework.
what book on rails should i buy?
Unless you are already an experienced programmer, start with the rails tutorial. Once you’ve completed the tutorial, you may want to further refine your style and learn best practices with rails 5 way (4th edition) and rails 5 test prescriptions: create a healthy code base.
Alternatively, if you’re already a programmer, you may find agile web development with rails 6 a more suitable starting point to get up to speed with the framework. then get the other two books.
This combination of three rails books would already put your theoretical knowledge of rails ahead of that of many rails programmers.
practice-wise, it all boils down to spending time writing code and doing it in your own projects (but reading other people’s code is also important to grow as a programmer). this way you can gain practical experience with rails backed by a solid theoretical foundation.
recommended ruby on rails course
I love taking online courses and over the years have taken most of the recommended ruby on rails courses on a regular basis. Which is the best? It’s all subjective, of course, but I and many other developers in the community have come to the conclusion that ruby on rails 6 from duo mike and nicole clark at pragmatic studio is very hard to beat.
In this recently updated Rails course, you’ll learn everything you really need to know to start building web applications with Ruby on Rails. the authors build a complete web application in video and then walk you through building a similar but separate application in the exercise sections.
so you end up with two web apps, and in the process you’ll learn a lot about rails and current best practices, including testing and deployment.
It’s not cheap, but it’s worth the price of admission.
See Also: 25 Best Christmas Chapter Books for Tweens (Ages 9 to 12 Years)