Rails training for Microsoft developers 16
Brian and I have been using Ruby and Rails for a little over a year now. I think it’s been harder for many of those who have worn the Microsoft hat for so long to get a real Rails application under their belt. There’s a lot of technical stuff to learn (I didn’t know that Ruby existed before I started learning Rails) as well as a general mindset about web development that was different from what we were used to.
When we started, we also didn’t really have many resources to help us make the switch. Our learning curve seemed to be much higher than most other Rails developers, who were already comfortable with the LAMP stack, had more experience with scripting languages, were familiar with the open source community at large, had experience with tweaking those strange Apache config files, and so on.
So I think many Rails developers today who come from a .NET (or VB) background are excited about Ruby and/or Rails, and they’ve been able to get something started on their own – thanks to the Rails wiki or some books – but find out that it’s tough to take it very far without more help.
As for us, we wish that back when we started, there was a class called “Rails for Microsoft Developers†or something like that. Someone who could explain Ruby to us in a way that C#/VB.NET developers could understand. Someone who would take the fear out developing Rails applications and deploying it on Linux, for example. Someone who could show us how you do something in Rails that you used to do in ASP.NET. That class would have made life a lot easier for us.
Well, we would like to extend an invitation to anyone who reads this blog to attend a class that Brian and I are developing that is specifically geared for Microsoft developers learning Rails.
We’re in Chicago, so we’d probably hold the class at nice location in the Chicago area. The training would be in an all-Microsoft environment. You’d learn to develop Ruby scripts and Rails apps on Windows XP, just like we did.
Would you be interested in attending? Would you want a 1-day whirlwind tour covering the basics of Ruby and Rails? Or would you want a week-long, intensive course a la DevelopMentor’s “guerrilla†style? Or somewhere in between? Would you want to bring a laptop or should we provide PCs for everyone?
Please comment to this post and let us know.
Sounds really cool, guys. I think that idea has a lot of potential. I'd love to attend, but I don't think my boss is up for another trip to Chicago so soon ;) Oh, and I'd definately bring my own laptop so I'd have everything configurated and ready to go after the class.
You should probably spend a good bit of time on the whole deployment issue, people will probably be interested in deploying to IIS virtual directories and MS SQL, don't you think?
I haven't left any comments previously, but this is something I would be very interested in. What about a two day all weekend event? I could bring a laptop, but what if you provided blank PC's that we install everything from scratch... and go through entire lifecycle of a typical application... above and beyond the store you see in Agile?
Just some thoughts.
I forgot to mention... I never comment but read all the time. I'm always scouring the web for advice from Softies who can relieve my fears. I am actually familar with PHP, Perl, etc. on Linux and reasonably sufficient with the command line... but getting used to no IDE, awesome components like Telerik, etc. seems daunting. I ponder the comparison between good free tools and similar costly tools such as LLBLGen. Both are affordable... is the convenience of Rails and the extra convenient price worth the downsides of a *nix environment? Is that even a downside at all? It has yet to be seen for me.
I'm totally there. Very cool idea...when I started with RoR, I was mere seconds away from buying a PowerBook to do Rails development, figuring that was the setup everyone was using. I'd have to make the trip around the world to get there, but name the time, place and price.
It'd be great if the class were structured for (1) those just not down with the LAMP stack at all...mainly Windows devs, and (2) experienced ASP.NET devs, who could get a literal translation of the RoR concepts and analogize it to their .NET counterparts (i.e., layouts to master pages, MVC to n-tier architecture, etc.). This would be sweet.
One other thing I'd like to see is likening Apache administration to those only having used IIS, or showing WEBrick migration strategies.
As far as format, I think in-depth would be better...veteran coders can pick up a book or read a wiki and suss out the same info a 1-day overview class would provide. I'd be more interested in getting a primer, and then getting REALLY in-depth.
Would love to come, but hold it in Vancouver, BC!
I've given one or two brief training sessions at work to our asp.net and php developers with good success.
I'm sure you will have great luck with your course!
I'd love to come. I work in a Microsoft shop in the Loop. Weekends are better, but I think I could get a training day scheduled.
Jeff Ward - get some Canucks tix and we're there! :-)
You name the time and place, and I'll most definitely be there!
Thanks for the idea...I'm doing this locally on Guam: http://www.jasonsalas.com/2006/08/ill-be-giving-ruby-on-rails-training.html
I'd be there also. I'm just starting this RoR stuff after doing ASP.Net development since 2001. From what I've seen so far I'm quite impressed and want to learn more.
Plus, I've never been to Chicago.
Jeff/Brian...
I'm definately down for a more intesive training... I might be able to bring a few people along, too...
I think it's a great idea, and I'm sure that plenty of people will be interested.
-d.
I first learned .NET in March 2001, courtesy of the Guerilla.NET class offered by Developmentor in Torrance, CA. It's still the best week of training I've ever had. So I would be completely on board with the week-long "guerilla" style training course. There wouldn't be as much time to go into depth with a 1, 2, or 3 day class, but I still think it would be worth it.
Chicago happens to be one of my favorite cities in all the U.S., so a class there is all the excuse I need, regardless of the class length.
I would certainly be up for a class like this, since I am pretty much in the same boat as you guys (doing .NET by day, ruby during my free time).
Plus Chicago is a great city.
I live in Madison, but would be up for a Chicago based class. Like ChrisJ said, a weekend class would be best, but if it was a 3 day weekend, I could swing it. Unfortunately I'd have to take vacation in order to attend, since I doubt my employer would be very interested in paying me to not be in the office (we're a .NET shop and althought RoR has come up w/ a potential client, the reaction wasn't very encouraging).
Did you push through with this idea?