Ruby

To develop web applications, you need to know a programming language. This allows you to translate your ideas into code that does what you want it to do.

The choice of programming language doesn't matter. A programming language is just a tool for a job. However, some tools are better than others for a particular task. Since we are learning web development here, we are going to learn Ruby. It is an easy-to-learn but very flexible language. And it is great for making web stuff. Cool. Dig in.

First Steps

 * Try ruby - Very basic introduction to Ruby. Works in the browser, no setup, no hassle. Start here, it takes 15 minutes.
 * The Poignant Guide to Ruby - Cartoons == happiness!
 * Learn Ruby The Hard Way - This is one of the books used by Boots to get up to speed pre-DBC. This is a book that takes you from knowing nothing about programming to a place where you have a somewhat decent understanding of fundamental programming concepts, plus some more. You can buy it in .pdf and .epub to support the author or read it for free online.
 * Ruby Track on CodeAcademy - Free, basic, hands-on, browser-based course. This is nice.

Practicing your Ruby-Fu
Once you've gone through some of the first steps and you feel like you know what you are doing there, you can proceed. Knock youself out:
 * Ruby Koans - Intermediate ruby practice. You can do them in your browser or download them and run them in a terminal. These are really good, so make sure you check them out. Koans are a Zen thing, they usually small stories, questions or dialogues that are used to make a student progress in his Zen path. Awesome.
 * Ruby Monk - Again, some Zen themed intermediate practice.

Becoming Neo

 * Eloquent Ruby - Best programming book I've ever read.

Continued Reference
Books and resources that you could read back to back, but are definitely worth mentioning if you want to dig deeper in a particular topic:
 * The Bastards Book on Ruby
 * The Pickaxe Book
 * The Well-Grounded Rubyist
 * Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby: An Agile Primer
 * Ruby Best Practices (Intermediate-Level)
 * Rails Antipatterns: Best Practice Refactoring
 * Tutorialspoint.com - Useful website to learn and reference Ruby concepts