practical ruby for system administration
Though it seems the majority of Ruby programmers are web developers utilizing Rails, Ruby's architecture also makes it perfect for System Administration -- more than Python, in my opinion. Practical Ruby for System Administration is a new book from Apress that gives the reader a great tour of just how much easier Ruby can make a SysAdmin's life.
Most of the time, I enjoy technical books that are brief and to the point. But in this case, I wouldn't have been disappointed if it was twice or three times the length. André Ben Hamou is an amazing technical author and I hope his writing career doesn't stop with this book. He has a witty, easy-going, Adams-esque writing style that makes reading this book painless and inspiring.
The actual contents of the book are just as great. Safely writing files, storing and parsing data, creating reporting graphs, and network management are some of the topics covered. These common scripting scenarios and their solutions are taught in a very practical manner. The topics are also taught in such a way that seasoned System Administrators will know how to apply these solutions to any other scenario as well.
Even if you write scripts in another language, this book can still teach you a lot. The examples and scenarios described are the same for any type of System Administrator. Not only is this book practical and easy to read, but it's modern and inspiring. It's obvious the author enjoys his job and by reading his tips and solutions, you can't help but walk away with several of your own ideas for your systems. Definitely a 10/10.
