IronRuby Unleashed (Unleashed Series)

IronRuby combines the elegance and flexibility of Ruby with the power of the .NET development platform. As it moves rapidly towards its official release, this new open source language is exciting more and more developers from both the Ruby and .NET camps. This is the first comprehensive, authoritative reference for every developer who wants to make the most of IronRuby. This wide-ranging, task-based guide brings together solutions that are currently scattered across the Web - if they are available at all. This book targets Release 1.0 - the stable release that is expected to trigger extensive development of production applications. Shay Friedman covers everything from IronRuby's basic syntax and features through the most advanced techniques. Friedman thoroughly explains how IronRuby leverages the new Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) to access .NET's extensive capabilities and powerful innovations. You will learn how to provide data access; build WinForms and advanced WPF applications; leverage ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC; and create rich applications with Silverlight. There's also a full chapter on writing Ruby on Rails applications with IronRuby. Friedman's coverage ranges from a full chapter on unit testing to leading-edge techniques for extending IronRuby with C# or VB.NET.

Ruby has built an enormous following of developers attracted by its intuitiveness, flexibility, and simplicity. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s .NET has grown and matured into a platform of unparalleled power. IronRuby brings them together, enabling developers to write elegant, efficient Ruby code that seamlessly integrates with .NET objects and leverages .NET’s full capabilities. Now, in IronRuby Unleashed, one of IronRuby’s most respected early adopters demonstrates how to write outstanding production software with the brand new IronRuby 1.0.

Writing for both Ruby and .NET developers, Shay Friedman covers every facet of IronRuby programming. Friedman begins by explaining how IronRuby leverages the new Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) libraries to run atop the .NET Framework and access its resources. Next, he presents an in-depth IronRuby tutorial that ranges from basic syntax and object-oriented programming techniques through advanced concepts. Building on this foundation, you’ll learn how to make the most of a broad spectrum of .NET platform features.

IronRuby Unleashed thoroughly illuminates the use of IronRuby and .NET with today’s most powerful frameworks and technologies, including WPF, ASP.NET MVC, Ruby on Rails, and Silverlight. You’ll also find detailed coverage of unit testing, as well as cutting-edge techniques for extending IronRuby with C# or VB.NET.

Detailed information on how to...

• Install IronRuby and choose the right development environment for your needs
• Master IronRuby syntax, methods, blocks, classes, modules, libraries, and more
• Write code that takes advantage of IronRuby’s dynamic and metaprogramming features
• Utilize .NET services and frameworks to write more powerful Ruby code than ever before
• Incorporate efficient data access into your IronRuby applications
• Use IronRuby to build Windows software with both WinForms and WPF
• Rapidly build high-quality Web applications with IronRuby and Ruby on Rails
• Create rich Web 2.0 applications with IronRuby and Microsoft Silverlight
• Test .NET code with Ruby’s leading unit testing frameworks
• Run IronRuby code from other .NET code, and create .NET code libraries that fit well with IronRuby code

Shay Friedman works extensively with IronRuby and other dynamic languages, but got his start writing DOS scripts at age 8. He has been working professionally since age 16–first as a freelance Web developer, coding mainly in ColdFusion and ASP, and later as part of an information security team in an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit, where he developed in C#, C++, and Perl. Friedman moved on to join Advantech Technologies as a C# developer, and later as the leader of a Web development team at ActionBase. He currently works as a consultant and teacher of dynamic languages and ASP.NET at The Sela Group, conducting training courses around the world.

Feel free to contact the author through his website at http://www.IronShay.com.