An Introduction

The Problem

Rails does a lot for us for our convenience. For example it abstracts out a lot of the HTTP spec so that we don't have to worry about things like properly formatted headers, state management, etc. The problem? Many web developers never learn how these abstractions really work. Without that knowledge it's hard to find problems when there are bugs in the framework, or we aren't passing a value according to some specification that's defined outside of Rails.

The Solution

Web katas solve this problem by helping you learn how these abstractions work under the hood, without the assistance of a framework. Each web kata is presented as a feature for you to build for a proverbial client. They range in difficulty, but remain isolated tests to solve a specific problem. When you finish a kata, delete the attempt and try again. Repeat until you know the solution inside and out. You'll be surprised how much better you will be once you start understanding the basics.