What You Should Know Now — and What's Next

What You Should Know Now

• Core syntax: variables, strings, numbers, symbols, nil, conditionals, loops, and ranges
• Arrays, hashes, and the Enumerable methods (map, select, reduce, group_by, tally) that make Ruby code concise
• Methods, keyword arguments, blocks, procs, and lambdas
• Classes, inheritance, modules and mixins, Struct, and Data
• Exceptions: rescuing, raising, custom error classes, and ensure
• Files, JSON, HTTP requests, environment variables, and logging
• Gems and Bundler, and testing with Minitest and RSpec
• Metaprogramming, threads, Ractors and fibers, and how the GVL affects concurrency
• Performance and profiling, databases, security fundamentals, Rack, and shipping a Ruby app to production

What Should You Learn Next?

• Ruby on Rails — the framework most Ruby jobs use. Everything in this course (classes, modules, blocks, metaprogramming, Rack) shows up directly in how Rails works.
• SQL and databases — Rails' Active Record sits on top of SQL, and understanding the queries it generates makes you far more effective.
• Front-end basics — JavaScript plus HTML and CSS, for building the pages your Ruby back end serves.
• A related language — Python shares Ruby's readability and dominates data work; Go is a common choice for services where raw speed matters more.
• Background jobs and deployment — tools such as Sidekiq (job queues), Docker, and a cloud platform, to run Ruby apps reliably.

Build Something

Pick a problem you actually have — a script that renames your photos, a small web app for tracking a hobby, a CLI that talks to an API you use — and build it in Ruby with tests from day one. Then read the source of a gem you depend on; Ruby's readability makes that an unusually good way to learn.