Why Ruby: What Beginners Should Learn Before 'Language'

People who are first exposed to coding

always ask similar questions.

"Why learn Ruby?

Wouldn't it be better to learn Java, JavaScript, or Python for employment?"

This question is very valid.

And half of it is correct.

The languages commonly seen in the job market

are clearly Java, JavaScript, and Python.

Many companies build systems on these languages and use them.

However,

"What should I learn now to quickly improve my future skills and thinking abilities?"

When you change your perspective with this question,

the answer changes completely.

**The Most Important Thing in Learning Programming

Is Not the 'Difficulty of the Language' But the 'Framework of Thinking'**

What people need when they first learn programming

no matter how beautifully packaged, ultimately comes down to two things.

The ability to understand what programming is
A framework of thinking that can read and write programming languages

And these two things

dramatically change

depending on the difficulty of the language.

If the language is complex,

you face obstacles before reaching the essence of thinking.

You end up memorizing syntax keywords,

memorizing mechanical rules,

and lose sight of 'why it needs to be done.'

So

what is the best introductory language?

Precisely

a language that allows you to learn to think without unnecessary burden,

in other words, a language centered on thinking abilities.

Ruby is the most extreme among such languages,

an "language tailored to human thought structures."

Just by Comparing Hello World, Ruby's Advantages Shine

Java's Hello World

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World");
    }
}

There are too many 'unknown areas' for beginners in this.

public
class
static
void
main
String
args
System.out
println

None of these are easy to explain to beginners.

And only when you understand all of this,

can you finally output "Hello World" in a line.

In other words, the language becomes a barrier

even before learning to code.

JavaScript's Hello World

console.log("Hello World");

JavaScript is much simpler,

but the complexity of learning such as web environment/runtime/asynchronous

explodes in the latter part of learning.

Python's Hello World

print("Hello World")

Python is really simple.

However, the essence of Python is "scripting language + data science purposes."

To complete the entire architecture of a web service,

additional learning is required.

Ruby's Hello World

puts "Hello World"

That's it.

There are no unnecessary keywords.

It reads like a sentence.

puts is short for "put string."

It literally means "put the string on the screen."

Ruby code closely matches human thought structures.

In other words, the beginner's brain

can focus on 'forming a thinking structure' rather than 'memorizing syntax.'

**Decisive Advantage of Ruby:

The Speed at Which Learners Reach the 'Essence' is Extremely Fast**

The goal of beginners

is not to be a person who writes 3 lines of code,

but to be a person who can design and implement functions on their own.

If the language is complex,

it takes a long time to reach this point.

Ruby drastically shortens this process.

Loop → 5.times do ... end
Condition → if ... else
Function → def greet
Class → class User
Module → module Payment

Ruby

directly projects the natural language-based thinking that people are already using onto the code.

As a result,

core concepts like methods, classes, and modules

can be understood as 'thinking structures' rather than 'syntax.'

This ability later

leads to an overwhelmingly fast learning speed

when learning Java, Python, or JavaScript.

In other words,

starting with Ruby changes the speed of learning other languages itself.

**And the Most Decisive Reason:

Ruby Quickly Teaches the 'Entire Flow of Service Development'**

Ruby is beautiful on its own,

but the real power comes from Ruby on Rails.

Rails is a framework

that drastically simplifies web service development.

URL → Controller → Model → View
Data storage → CRUD
Authentication → Middleware
Routing → Automatic mapping
Deployment → Automatic scripts

There are few tools as fast as Ruby/Rails

in understanding the entire flow of real-world services.

To learn the same concepts in Java?

Spring
JPA
Tomcat
Gradle/Maven
Dependency Injection
Bean Lifecycle

There are too many elements to learn.

It is difficult for beginners to handle.

The same goes for Python:

Django ORM
URL dispatcher
Settings structure
WSGI
Template engine

I am not criticizing these tools.

I am talking about what is optimized for beginners.

Ruby on Rails

is the world's best tool

for putting the entire structure of a web service in the hands of

"someone learning development for the first time."

Ruby Shows Beginners the 'Essence of Code'

Ruby excludes complex syntax

and leaves only the thinking structure.

Thanks to that, learners can

Understand why functions are necessary
How classes model the world
How modules separate common functions
How the flow structures the entire service

Experience and learn the essence directly.

Once you learn that essence,

you quickly become familiar with any language, be it Java, JavaScript, or Python.

Because what you learn then is "syntax," not "thinking."

Thinking is already completed with Ruby.

**Conclusion:

**Ruby is not a language for employment,

But a language that creates a second brain to understand coding."**

Employment is not determined by one language.

Rather, thinking ability, problem-solving ability, and design ability are more important.

Ruby quickly nurtures those abilities.

So learning Ruby first is

not an easy path, but a fast one.

Everything you are learning with Ruby right now

will explosively accelerate your understanding speed

no matter what language you encounter in the future.

And at some point, you will realize.

"Ah... Ruby didn't teach me coding,

it created a 'brain' that understands coding."

Why Ruby? Let's take another look starting from that question.