This book is a good introduction to Ruby for an absolute beginner who hasn't programmed at all (or very little). It covers enough of the basics to get you going without overwhelming you.

As the title indicates, this book is for beginners who want to learn to program, and it it might be the most basic introduction to programming that you will find. There is nothing fancy, nothing complicated, and you won't learn to write a useful program - but you do work through numerous simple examples, and you will be given a decent introduction to most of the basics of programming - Ruby style. After working through this book you will have gathered enough information and experience to get a feel for what it means to write a software program, and you will hopefully realize that you do have what it takes to be a programmer.

This book is written in a humorous style with about as much useful information as can be fit into (without crowding) its nearly 150 pages. At about 1/2 inch thick, this book is very short compared to the typical "How to Program for Slobbering Baboons" (1 inch thick), and really short compared to the average "Bible" style books (2.5-3 inches thick). It is an accessible and gentle introduction to programming. You won't learn anything powerful or complex - it just covers the basics. Also, this isn't a textbook style book - everything is presented in a manner suitable for a person who is trying to find a starting point but has no other knowledge or experience with programming. Once you get Ruby installed and running on your computer (which can be Windows, Linux, or Mac), you should be able to work through the simple examples in as little as ten 10 hours.

You'll get up and running by following the instructions for installing Ruby and using a text editor to write your code. Once you have your environment ready to go you get right into writing simple programs that step you through working with numbers and text. You move from these simple things and along into how your program can make decisions, take repetitive actions, follow different paths through your logic, work with lists and groups of things, and so on. You'll also learn about specific programming constructs such as methods, classes, variables, and etc. Not a lot of etc., but enough to make it interesing.

Even though much of what you will learn is specific to Ruby, most of these things are broad enough to be useful if (or really, when) you learn to work with another language. If you start with this book, it won't be a waste if you decide to switch off to some other language - the basics you learn here will more or less convert to many other modern languages.

There is one thing I am a bit puzzled by: Chapter 15 - Block and Procs is way out of place in this book. It covers stuff that a beginner won't find of much use. This chapter is definitely too advanced for this book, and it might have been better to provide a few examples of practical little utilities that a beginner would find useful but just a little challenging. Otherwise - not a bad book.

[Note: As I am sure you understand, experienced programmers looking to learn Ruby will be better off with one of the other more complete Ruby guides, such as the Programming Ruby book by Dave Thomas.]

This is a good beginners book for someone who has never programmed before. You will learn some general things about programming while getting started with Ruby.