Q & A with Clay Allsopp, author of RubyMotion

Q. Why did you write RubyMotion?

A. There are so many developers who want to write iOS apps but are stymied at the idea of learning Objective-C, a very different language from Ruby. With RubyMotion, learning the nuances of Objective-C is no longer a requirement for developing for the iOS platform! I wanted to write a guide to help these developers become familiar with the iOS SDK and quickly get started on the right foot.

Q. How much Ruby knowledge do I need for the book?

A. You need some Ruby experience, as the book jumps right into the iOS SDK without delay. But don’t worry! Only familiarity with how standard object-oriented development (classes, inheritance, etc) works in Ruby is necessary. We do use some Ruby tricks here and there, like ‘instance_variable_get’, but they are explained and easy to pick up.

Q. What is your favorite RubyMotion feature?

A. The workflow is much more lightweight than the usual Xcode-centric development process. All of the tools are command-line based, from building your apps, to sending it over TestFlight, to running automated tests. I can work with the tools familiar to me (Rake, RubyGems, continuous integration) and end up with exactly the same result without compromising app quality.

Q. Would RubyMotion be helpful if I already know Objective-C?

A. Yes, because the RubyMotion community is working to push the core ideas of iOS and mobile development in new directions. The Ruby community has always had a propensity for crafting DSLs and new abstractions, and those efforts have carried over to RubyMotion. Projects like ProMotion and Formotion have no parallels in Objective-C iOS development, and they could be a real boon to your next project.

Q. Do you discuss third-party RubyMotion libraries in the book?

A. Yes, we use the popular BubbleWrap library several times and show how a few others (like TeaCup and Formotion) could speed up development.

Q. Will I be able to build a working iOS app of my own after reading this book?

A. Yes! The last chapter builds a complete API-based app from scratch, which is an incredibly common task for many developers. But even before the end, you’ll be familiar with the most typical interface components and patterns and should be comfortable jumping into any new projects.