If you want to learn rails, don’t get the latest pragmatic programmers book. Go and get the 1st or 2nd edition. Get an old copy of rails and ignore all this.
Worst. Advice. Ever.
Once you’ve figured that all out then upgrade and expect to spend the same amount of time learning all the new stuff. You don’t save any time jumping to Rails 3+.
I strongly urge the author to change this suggestions because it's a dangerous one. You don't want newcomers learning an older version of Rails and then struggling to upgrade.
There are a lot of resources to help you out. The API Docs[1], Official Rails Guides[2] are excellent and Railscasts[3] are also awesome.
Agreed. Rails has significantly changed since 2.3.x, and is extremely different to 1.2.x. These changes aren't just for the sake of it - Rails keeps on improving! Start at 3.1 and you won't be sorry.
I started with rails 3 and I haven't had any major hurdles to overcome. I've been very impressed with Rails. I'm coming from a Python/PHP framework background, and so far rails is my favorite (only done a few apps so far, mind you).
As a front-end developer with little back-end experience, I was able to get the basics of Rails with just a few hours working through Hartl's tutorial.
I just picked up rails for the first time this month. My background is primarily in the desktop environment, but using rails 3 has been nothing but a joy so far. Glad I didn't take this guy's advice.
Worst. Advice. Ever.
Once you’ve figured that all out then upgrade and expect to spend the same amount of time learning all the new stuff. You don’t save any time jumping to Rails 3+.
This just isn't true.