Introduction
to Ruby on Rails
“Web development
that doesn’t hurt.”
Eric J. Gruber

About Ruby
 Released in 1995
 Open source
 Available for:
– Windows
– Mac OS X
– Linux
 Ruby home: http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/
 Try Ruby!: http://tryruby.hobix.com

About Ruby
 Dynamic language, like PHP
 Clean syntax, natural wording, easy to read
– C#: public class Hello1 { public static void
Main() { System.Console.WriteLine("Hello,
World!"); } }
– ASP.NET: <% HelloWorldLabel.Text =
“Hello, World!”; %>
– PHP: <?php print “Hello, World!”; ?>
– Ruby: puts “Hello, World!”

About Ruby
 Everything is an object in Ruby
Images from the book Simply Rails 2 by Patrick Lenz

Ruby
meet
Rails

Who uses Ruby on Rails?

Other success stories
 From ruby-lang.org:
– http://ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/success-stories
 From rubyonrails.org:
– http://rubyonrails.org/applications

What is Ruby on Rails?
 Web framework, powered by Ruby, extracted
from the highly successful project
management web application, Basecamp.
http://basecamphq.com

Framework? What’s that?
 A framework is a basic conceptual
structure used to solve or address
complex issues. This very broad definition
has allowed the term to be used as a
buzzword, especially in a software
context.
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framework

In other words …
 … it’s like magic!

Why should I care?
Do more with fewer resources
 Easy validations  Works well with Ajax
 Better separation of  Good amount of
code resources available to
– HTML, CSS (views) learn
– Database, business  Easy for designers, fun
logic (models) for programmers
– User interface,  Database agnostic
application logic
(controllers)

Everything is in its right place
 Embrace your
constraints
 Don’t Repeat Yourself
 Every Rails app has
the same file
structure
Image from the book RailsSpace by Michael Hartl and Aurelius Prochazka

Demo

How to get started
 Use the Ruby on Rails download page:
– http://rubyonrails.org/download, or …
 Windows users can download InstantRails for
the total package:
– http://instantrails.rubyforge.org/wiki/wiki.pl
 Mac users can download Locomotive for a quick
test run (might need to be updated):
– http://sourceforge.net/projects/locomotive/
 Linux users can … it depends on your distro
 Sign up free at http://herokugarden.com

Recommended Ruby reading
 Learn to Program, 2nd Edition
Great for
beginners – PragProg.com
 Programming Ruby 1.9
– PragProg.com
A lot more
advanced

Recommended Rails reading
 Simply Rails 2.0
– Sitepoint.com
Great for
beginners
 Agile Web Development with Rails
– PragProg.com
A little bit
more advanced

Resources
 Ruby on Rails: Talk (Google Group)
– http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk
 Railscasts (free Ruby on Rails screencasts)
– http://railscasts.com
 Peep Code (paid Rails-related screencasts)
– http://peepcode.com
 Phusion Passenger (easy deployment module)
– http://www.modrails.com
 Agile Web Development (plugin central)
– http://agilewebdevelopment.com/

Hosting
 http://slicehost.com
 http://railsplayground.com
 http://www.site5.com
 http://dreamhost.com
 http://hostgator.com
 Web Hosting Services Which Support Ruby on
(from Rails Wiki)

Questions?