Introduction to Ruby Workshop

In conjunction with the Burlington Ruby Conference (http://burlingtonruby.com/), we are excited to announce an Introduction to Ruby workshop taught by Alex Chaffee utilizing his own curriculum. Ruby is a programming language from Japan, and in Alex’s own words, Ruby is like poetry. We will use this dynamic language to demystify the basic process of programming and build a simple application utilizing the framework Sinatra. Ruby was used to build such sites as Twitter.com (in the early days), Hulu.com, FunnyorDie.com, and Jobster.com. To learn Ruby you will learn the basic building blocks used in the Ruby language and then reinforce your learning.

In this class, you will use Ruby to learn about:

The command line and why we use it Strings, Arrays, Variables, Objects, Loops, Files Object concepts like Messages, Methods, and Classes How to run your Ruby code interactively (irb) or from a file Make a very simple web application run on your own computer You will be required to have Ruby downloaded before the start of class and so we’ll be throwing a Download Party the night before the course. Open house style, students will be required to stop by to get Ruby downloaded on their laptops. There will be good tunes and refreshments. Please ensure you have everything working before you show up for the workshop proper.

Download Party: Friday, July 26th, 2013 – 6:00pm-9:00pm (Food and drink provided)

Ruby Workshop: Saturday, July 27th, 2013 – 9:00am-5:00pm (With a 1-hour lunch)

Food and "Scoobie snax" will be provided for both events, sponsored by Reading Plus (http://www.readingplus.com/).

Required:

Your laptop. You need to have a working Wi-Fi connection and a modern browser. If you have a choice between a Mac and a Windows laptop, please bring the Mac. Linux is an acceptable alternative, but the Installfest is only tested on Ubuntu. Power cord for your laptop. If you already have accounts on Heroku or GitHub, make sure you know your username and password. Prior Knowledge Needed: Some prior web development experience would be helpful, but is not required!

Meet your teacher:
http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/6/c/8/event_239165832.jpegAlex Chaffee is a software developer, author and coach who has worked with many startups in both New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. He has volunteered with RailsBridge.org (http://railsbridge.org) since 2009 as a teacher and curriculum author, and created TestFirst.org (http://testfirst.org/) and CodeLikeThis.com (http://codelikethis.com/), both open source repositories for programming instruction. For more info, visit http://alexchaffee.com (http://alexchaffee.com/)

NOTE SPECIAL PARKING ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE
Free parking is available on the lower level of the garage located at 20 Cascade Way, Winooski, VT (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=20+cascade+way,+winooski,+vt&hl=en&ll=44.49075,-73.18418&spn=0.008802,0.013797&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.576045,77.958984&hnear=Cascade+Way,+Winooski,+Chittenden,+Vermont+05404&t=m&z=16)(across from the Winooski Mill). Enter via the lower public garage entrance, closest to the Winooski Falls market. Pass the metered parking spots and park anywhere in the permit parking section on that level. Do not park in the metered spots to avoid a ticket! Exit the garage via that same level, as gates will prevent egress from the other levels.

To get to CCV, you’ll be walking northeast about a city block to the CCV building. Use East Allen Street or Winooski Falls Way.

Special thanks to:

Reading Plus (http://www.readingplus.com/) has signed on as a food sponsor for our Download Party and lunch for the Workshop!

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/7/5/a/event_263161882.jpeg

Community College of Vermont (http://www.ccv.edu/) for graciously offering us their space for both our workshop and download party!

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/3/6/6/event_249609062.jpeg