I'm just about to start the rails tutorial by Hartl. I've been trying to get up and running but have been running into a lot of problems I'm not sure how to fix. I think part of it has to do with having a new macbook pro with Mavericks, as I've read mixed reviews about how RoR runs on Mavericks, and a lack of tutorials Mavericks specific. Also, some of the more basic things are left out of the Hartl vid, such as how to set up the generic command to launch your text editor.
Would someone want to do the tutorial together, so we can bounce ideas off each other if we get stuck? Learn simultaneously with another Mavericks user?
There’s instructions in the tutorial on how to launch a text editor. I think he focuses on vim and Sublime though.
I didn’t use a mac, but I highly recommend setting up a VM (with virtualbox) and running Ubuntu on it. Doing rails on linux was much easier for me than trying to figure out how to do it with windows.
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/07/how-to-set-up-ubuntu-linux-on-a-mac-its-easy-and-free/
>Also, some of the more basic things are left out of the Hartl vid, such as how to set up the generic command to launch your text editor.
It sounds like you are new to the programming realm in general.
If that’s the case: Ruby on Rails is not where you should be starting. (Not to discourage, but this is a path you take further down the road.)
Ruby on Rails is a framework; meaning it expands on an existing programming language. As such, it requires you to be familiar with the actual language first (Ruby) before really understanding what all is going on.
I would recommend you start by going through some lessons in [Ruby Monk](http://rubymonk.com/) to begin to understand Ruby (though, this should be accompanied by [many other resources](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6806/what-is-the-best-way-to-learn-ruby), of course). You should also know at _least_ the basics of HTML/CSS/Javascript, as Rails is *essentially* “HTML with Ruby injected into it”.
Once you are comfortable with Ruby, then it will be time to learn RoR.
If you’re looking for some companionship, join us in the Freenode IRC channels: #ruby, #rubyonrails, we don’t bite!
Overall, Ruby is a JOY to learn and play with. I highly encourage you to dive right into it 🙂
What is your programming background?