Matthew Lang

When Ruby on Rails first appeared on the scene, it attracted interest from all types of developers who were looking for something different to work with.  Over the last few months the uptake of developers using Rails has been colossal.  However along side this popular framework comes a down side.

Too many developers are using frameworks without understanding the underlying language.

While most seasoned developers of Rails have an in depth understanding of the framework, they also understand how the language works.  This allows developers to make these frameworks work for them in ways that new comers to the framework and language, find difficult to understand.

All too often new comers to the framework want to dive right in and build the next big thing.  That’s fine if you wish to do that, but the real power comes from knowing all about the underlying language and how it drives the framework.

So, if your a new comer to a framework such as Rails, Merb or Django, then take the time to learn the language underneath.  It doesn’t take long either.  If your learning a new language, then it should only take you a few months to know your way about.

When your learning your new language you don’t need to write the next big thing either, just write something to solve a particular problem.

Doing this will help you springboard into your preferred framework and help you wield it in ways you didn’t think were possible.

Learn the language, then the framework.