Ruby Programming & Ruby on Rails

Overview Learning objectives What you’ll learn Key facts Module listing FAQs What our customers say Get in touch

Course overview

Build practical Ruby and Rails capability by progressing from core language constructs into the components of a working Rails application. The course covers Ruby syntax, object orientation, files, exceptions and regular expressions before applying Rails routing, models, controllers, views and scaffolding. By the end of the course, you’ll be better prepared to contribute to Ruby-based development work, maintain application code and understand how Rails projects are organised in real delivery environments.

Build web applications with Ruby Programming & Ruby on Rails

Over five days, this live virtual classroom course helps developers with prior programming experience move from Ruby fundamentals into Rails application development. You will learn how Ruby code is structured, how Rails separates application logic, data and user-facing components, and how database-backed features are built. The course is suited to developers who need to understand existing Rails projects, contribute to application development or add Ruby and Rails to their technical skill set.

Learning objectives

Write clear Ruby scripts
Use objects, classes and methods
Manage files, errors and exceptions
Apply REST conventions in Rails
Configure routes for application flow
Create models with ActiveRecord
Build views and controller actions
Connect Rails applications to SQLite3

What you’ll learn

During this course, you’ll learn how Ruby code works in practice, then apply that knowledge inside Rails projects that use routes, controllers, views, models and database connections. The course also helps you understand how Rails applications are put together, enabling you to read existing code more confidently, make controlled changes and build features that fit the structure of a live application.

Ruby setup and syntax

Learn how to get started in a Ruby development environment and understand what clear Ruby code looks like in practice. Over five days, you’ll practice writing scripts that take input, make decisions and return useful output, building the control needed to work safely with existing code and understand how changes affect application behaviour.

Writing structured Ruby code

Understand how Ruby uses classes, objects, methods and inheritance to organise code. You will see how object-oriented techniques help separate responsibilities, reduce duplication and make programmes easier to follow. For developers joining Ruby-based projects, this gives you a clearer way to understand existing code and make changes without disrupting related functionality.

Rails application structure

Explore how Rails organises an application through routes, controllers, views and models. You will learn how a browser request moves through a Rails project, how different components handle their part of the process, and where changes should be made. This gives you a practical foundation for working safely inside Rails codebases rather than treating the framework as a black box.

Data-driven Rails features

Learn how Rails uses ActiveRecord and SQLite3 to connect application behaviour to stored data. You will work with models, database-backed functionality and scaffolding, building a clearer understanding of how data moves through a Rails application. These skills are useful when creating new features, checking existing behaviour or diagnosing issues linked to records, forms and application flow.

What’s included

Instructor-led training over five-days
Live virtual classroom environment
Hands-on exercises and live labs
All relevant course materials

Key facts

Certification

This is a skills and knowledge-based course without formal accreditation.

Who it's for

Suitable for developers already working with Ruby or Rails, as well as those looking to expand into full-stack development using Ruby-based technologies.

Prerequisites

Learners should have prior programming experience and be comfortable with core concepts such as variables, arrays, loops, functions, objects and classes. You should also be able to navigate the file system, preferably using the command line, edit text files and use web-based resources effectively.

Exam information

No exam is included.

Optional extras

There are no optional extras with this course.

Pre-course

No formal pre-course work is required.

Full module listing

Click on each day below to see the breakdown of the modules that you'll cover on the course

Day one

Day two

Day three

Day four

Day five

Day one

Session 1: INTRODUCTION TO RUBY

What is Ruby
What is it used for
Installing Ruby?
Ruby Basics - objects, regular expressions, arrays, hashes, Object Orientation

Session 2: RUBY LANGUAGE ELEMENTS

Variables and constants
Operators
Assignments
Integer, float and string formats
Single and double quotes
Here documents
Labs

Session 3: CONTROL STRUCTURES

Blocks and if statement
Boolean and range operators
Conditionals - if, unless, case
Loops - while, for in, until
break, next, retry and redo
Labs

Session 4: CLASSES AND OBJECTS

Objects, classes and methods
Constructors and attributes
Instance and class variables
Local and global variables
Class and object methods
Including external files - load and require
Labs

Day two

Session 5: INPUT AND OUTPUT IN RUBY

Opening and closing files
Reading from and writing to files
Labs

Session 6: ARRAYS AND HASHES IN RUBY

Arrays and hashes
Building an array
The %w shortcut
Nesting arrays
Hash keys
Iterators
Labs

Session 7: OBJECT ORIENTATION

Inheritance
Base classes and subclasses
What's inherited
Overriding
Abstract classes
Polymorphism
Multiple Inheritances
Class structure
Visibility
Labs

Session 8: CLASSES AND OBJECT SCOPING

Public, private and protected visibility
Singletons and defs
Inheritance mixins
Destructors and garbage collection
Namespaces and modules
Hooks
Freezing objects
Labs

Day three

Session 9: OBJECT ORIENTATION TECHNIQUES

Clusters of classes
Programming and method standards
Formal Methods
Unified Modelling Language (UML)
Views

Session 10: STRINGS AND REGULAR EXPRESSIONS

Meta Characters
Anchors, literals, character groups and counts
Matching in Ruby
Modifiers i, o, x and m
Pattern matching variables
Labs

Session 11: SPECIAL VARIABLES AND PSEUDO-VARIABLES

ARGV and $0
Special variables
Environment variables
Pseudo-variables
Reserved words in Ruby
Labs

Session 12: EXCEPTIONS

Begin and end
Raise and rescue
Throw and catch

Day four

Session 13: REST

What is REST
RESTful architecture
A simple REST client

Session 14: INTRODUCTION TO RUBY ON RAILS

Install Ruby on Rails on an operating system
The Model-View-Controller approach
Rails Conventions
Rails project structure
Using RubyGems with Rails

Session 15: ROUTING

What is a Route
Define routes that recognize incoming URLs
Use named route methods to generate URLs based on the routing scheme
Apply and understand the RESTful routing conventions
Design apps to take advantage of the REST conventions in Rails

Session 16: MODELS

What is a Model
Using ActiveRecord
Validations
Associations
Migrations

Day five

Session 17: CONTROLLERS

What is a Controller
Creating controllers
Using ActionController
Writing Actions
Filters

Session 18: VIEWS

What is a View
Exploring ActionView
Writing Views for actions
Partials
Forms

Session 19: CREATING A RAILS PROJECT

Creating the project
Project Directory structure
Using the Rails web server
Creating the initial controller
Modify the initial index.html file
Setting the Route
Creating a resource
Viewing routes with rake

Session 20: RAILS SCAFFOLDING

What is Scaffolding
Creating a new project
Generating the Rail Scaffold
Customising the application

FAQs

This five day live virtual classroom course takes developers from Ruby language essentials into Rails application structure. You will learn how Ruby code is written, how Rails organises requests, data and user-facing elements, and how these skills support safer work on Rails-based projects.

What jobs use Ruby and Ruby on Rails skills?

Ruby and Ruby on Rails skills are commonly used in roles such as Ruby developer, Ruby on Rails developer, Software developer, full-stack developer, web application developer and software engineer.

Is Ruby difficult to learn?

Ruby is often considered an accessible programming language due to its readable syntax and focus on developer productivity. Learners with previous programming experience may find it easier to understand core concepts and begin developing applications.

Will I learn object-oriented programming on this course?

Yes. The course covers key object-oriented programming concepts, including classes, objects, inheritance and encapsulation. These principles form an important part of both Ruby programming and Ruby on Rails development.

What development tools will I use during the course?

The course introduces commonly used Ruby development tools, including IRB, RubyGems and Bundler. You will learn how these tools support application development, package management and workflow efficiency.

Is this course focused on theory or practice?

The course includes practical labs and development exercises across Ruby and Rails topics. You will work through coding tasks as the course moves from language fundamentals into Rails project structure, routing, models, controllers, views and scaffolding.

What database skills are covered?

The course covers models, ActiveRecord, validations, associations, migrations and SQLite3. You will learn how Rails applications connect to stored data and how database-backed functionality is structured within a Rails project.

What our customers say

“Tarn is an excellent instructor. Everything was clearly communicated. One of the best courses I have attended in recent years.”

Stuart, Senior SBA - Government

“Tarn's presentation was a good mixture of practical examples and whiteboards, very well explained and he is obviously a subject matter expert. The exercises were really effective in consolidating the learning material.”

Diane, Infrastructure Engineer - Government

Why study with TSG?

25+ years' experience

Trusted by individuals, businesses and public sector organisations for over 25 years.

20,000+ learners trained

Join a network of learners focused on developing their software testing skills

98% customer satisfaction

TSG trainers are frequently rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by our learners

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