Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Save more on your purchases now! discount-offer-chevron-icon
Savings automatically calculated. No voucher code required.
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Polished Ruby Programming
Polished Ruby Programming

Polished Ruby Programming: Build better software with more intuitive, maintainable, scalable, and high-performance Ruby code

eBook
Mex$631.99 Mex$902.99
Paperback
Mex$1128.99
Subscription
Free Trial

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
Product feature icon AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Polished Ruby Programming

Chapter 1: Getting the Most out of Core Classes

Ruby is shipped with a rich library of core classes. Almost all Ruby programmers are familiar with the most common core classes, and one of the easiest ways to make your code intuitive to most Ruby programmers is to use these classes.

In the rest of this chapter, you'll learn more about commonly encountered core classes, as well as principles for how to best use each class. We will cover the following topics:

  • Learning when to use core classes
  • Best uses for true, false, and nil objects
  • Different numeric types for different needs
  • Understanding how symbols differ from strings
  • Learning how best to use arrays, hashes, and sets
  • Working with Struct – one of the underappreciated core classes

By the end of this chapter, you'll have a better understanding of many of Ruby's core classes, and how best to use each of them.

Technical requirements

In this chapter and all chapters of this book, code given in code blocks is designed to execute on Ruby 3.0. Many of the code examples will work on earlier versions of Ruby, but not all. You will find the code files on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Polished-Ruby-Programming/tree/main/Chapter01.

Learning when to use core classes

Let's consider the following Ruby code:

things = ["foo", "bar", "baz"]
things.each do |thing|
  puts thing
end

If you have come across this code, then you probably have an immediate understanding of what the code does. However, let's say you come across the following Ruby code:

things = ThingList.new("foo", "bar", " baz")
things.each do |thing|
  puts thing
end

You can probably guess what it does, but to be sure, you need to know about the ThingList class and how it is implemented. What does ThingList.new do? Does it use its arguments directly or does it wrap them in other objects? What does the ThingList#each method yield? Does it yield the same objects passed into the constructor, or other objects? When you come across code like this, your initial assumption may be that it would yield other objects and not the objects passed into the constructor, because why else would you have a class that duplicates the core Array class?

A good general principle is to only create custom classes when the benefits outweigh the costs. When deciding whether to use a core class or a custom class, you should understand the trade-off you are making. With core classes, your code is often more intuitive, and in general will perform better, since using core classes directly results in less indirection. With custom classes, you are able to encapsulate your logic, which can lead to more maintainable code in the long term, if you have to make changes. In many cases, you won't have to make changes in the future, and the benefits of encapsulation are not greater than the loss of intuition and performance. If you aren't sure whether to use a custom class or a core class, a good general principle is to start with the use of core classes, and only add a custom class when you see a clear advantage in doing so.

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon
Download code icon Download Code

Key benefits

  • Learn Ruby web application design principles and strategies for databases, security, and testing from a Ruby committer
  • Understand the design principles behind polished Ruby code and trade-offs between implementation approaches
  • Use metaprogramming and DSLs to reduce the amount of code needed without decreasing maintainability

Description

Anyone striving to become an expert Ruby programmer needs to be able to write maintainable applications. Polished Ruby Programming will help you get better at designing scalable and robust Ruby programs, so that no matter how big the codebase grows, maintaining it will be a breeze. This book takes you on a journey through implementation approaches for many common programming situations, the trade-offs inherent in each approach, and why you may choose to use different approaches in different situations. You'll start by refreshing Ruby fundamentals, such as correctly using core classes, class and method design, variable usage, error handling, and code formatting. Then you'll move on to higher-level programming principles, such as library design, use of metaprogramming and domain-specific languages, and refactoring. Finally, you'll learn principles specific to web application development, such as how to choose a database and web framework, and how to use advanced security features. By the end of this Ruby programming book, you’ll be a well rounded web developer with a deep understanding of Ruby. While most code examples and principles discussed in the book apply to all Ruby versions, some examples and principles are specific to Ruby 3.0, the latest release at the time of publication.

Who is this book for?

This book is for Ruby programmers who are comfortable in coding with Ruby but want to advance their skills by mastering the deeper principles and best practices behind writing maintainable, scalable, optimized, and well-structured Ruby code. This book won’t teach you the basics of Ruby – you’ll need intermediate knowledge and practical experience before you can dive in.

What you will learn

  • Use Ruby s core classes and design custom classes effectively
  • Explore the principles behind variable usage and method argument choice
  • Implement advanced error handling approaches such as exponential backoff
  • Design extensible libraries and plugin systems in Ruby
  • Use metaprogramming and DSLs to avoid code redundancy
  • Implement different approaches to testing and understand their trade-offs
  • Discover design patterns, refactoring, and optimization with Ruby
  • Explore database design principles and advanced web app security
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Mexico

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

Mex$149.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

Mex$299.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Jul 16, 2021
Length: 434 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781801072724
Category :
Languages :

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
Product feature icon AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Mexico

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

Mex$149.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

Mex$299.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Publication date : Jul 16, 2021
Length: 434 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781801072724
Category :
Languages :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just Mex$85 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just Mex$85 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total Mex$ 3,057.97
Layered Design for Ruby on Rails Applications
Mex$1025.99
The Ruby Workshop
Mex$902.99
Polished Ruby Programming
Mex$1128.99
Total Mex$ 3,057.97 Stars icon

Table of Contents

22 Chapters
Section 1: Fundamental Ruby Programming Principles Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: Getting the Most out of Core Classes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: Designing Useful Custom Classes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Proper Variable Usage Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Methods and Their Arguments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Handling Errors Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Formatting Code for Easy Reading Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 2: Ruby Library Programming Principles Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Designing Your Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Designing for Extensibility Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Metaprogramming and When to Use It Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Designing Useful Domain-Specific Languages Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Testing to Ensure Your Code Works Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 12: Handling Change Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 13: Using Common Design Patterns Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 14: Optimizing Your Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 3: Ruby Web Programming Principles Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 15: The Database Is Key Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 16: Web Application Design Principles Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 17: Robust Web Application Security Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Assessments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Most Recent
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.6
(14 Ratings)
5 star 78.6%
4 star 14.3%
3 star 0%
2 star 7.1%
1 star 0%
Filter icon Filter
Most Recent

Filter reviews by




John Jun 22, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Clear and well-written! An excellent book!
Subscriber review Packt
Joe Peric Dec 22, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
The author does a great job and I'm happy with the publishing.My only complaint is that it's great for a beginner, mostly useless for an experienced ruby programmer.*Fanboy alert*Kudos to the author for trying to write a book on making ruby programs nice and polished but any decent practice in ruby results in that anyways. Some other languages would have made for easier target practice. ;)
Amazon Verified review Amazon
A. J. Firmin Aug 23, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
We use Chef at work so learning Ruby was going to be a necessity.It looks to be an excellent book but my boss told me to learn Python so had to return this after one day.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Prince Bansal Apr 21, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
1. Chapter 1 -> Awesome, have good stuff, well explained.2. Chapter 2 -> Requires more explanation and little bit confusing.3. Chapter 3 -> Awesome, have good stuff, well explained.Will update review again after full reading.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Enrico Oct 24, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A very good book which covers some Ruby internals so the developer is getting a deep insight how easy it is to avoid some typical lazy/bad programming styles and to what costs this comes.That Book covers mostly Ruby 3.0 and sometimes the Author makes a swing to some earlier version to explain why the Ruby devs decided to change some details of this new version, why is in my opinion necessary and surprised me often.It`s all in one a good book and should be read by a Ruby dev, because the informations are valuable.Ty "Jeremy Evans"
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is the delivery time and cost of print book? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela
What is custom duty/charge? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

  • If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
  • Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.
How can I cancel my order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

  1. If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
  2. Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
  3. You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
  4. Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
  5. If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
  6. Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

You can pay with the following card types:

  1. Visa Debit
  2. Visa Credit
  3. MasterCard
  4. PayPal
What is the delivery time and cost of print books? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela