The Workshop

I’ve just noticed Ruby on Rails in a couple of months ago and I got so exited about it. It is a web application framework which is optimized for programming pleasures, fast and easy to use features.

Rails is based on a new programming language, called Ruby, which is a dynamic, open source (!!) programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity. It has an elegant syntax that is natural to read and easy to write.

Rails (the framework) is a full-stack framework for developing database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Control pattern. The bulk of developers taking to Ruby quickly start to evangelize the language. Rails optimizes development of web applications with back-end databases through this crystal-clear code structure pattern. From the Ajax in the view, to the request and response in the controller, to the domain model wrapping the database, Rails gives you a pure-Ruby development environment. To go live, all you need to add is a database and a web server.

Note: Model-view-controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern used in software engineering. In complex computer applications that present a large amount of data to the user, a developer often wishes to separate data (model) and user interface (view) concerns, so that changes to the user interface will not affect data handling, and that the data can be reorganized without changing the user interface. The model-view-controller solves this problem by decoupling data access and business logic from data presentation and user interaction, by introducing an intermediate component: the controller.

Everyone from startups to non-profits to enterprise organizations are using Rails. Rails is all about infrastructure so it’s a great fit for practically any type of web application Be it software for collaboration, community, e-commerce, content management, statistics, management, you name it.

Rails works with a wealth of web servers and databases. For web server, it supports the followings:

• Apache (recommended),
• lighttpd, running either FastCGI or SCGI,
• Mongrel.

For database, you can use:

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• SQLite
• Oracle
• SQL Server
• DB2
• Firebird.

Just about any operating system will do, but we recommend a FreeBSD (on any Unix-based one) for deployment.If you have been using PHP before, you are gonna love Ruby and Ruby on Rails. OK, it is not too correct to compare a programming language to a framework, but I think this is the new way of web development. Keep your eyes on Rails.

In my next post, I’m going to share my first experiences about Rails. Until that, you can prepare yourself by reading the followings, and setting this awesome wallpaper on your desktop:

• Ruby On Rails official home page (with awesome screencasts)
• Ruby Programming Language
• Ruby on Rails Forum (huge community with kind people who help you out if you have some questions)

Update: This is the official Ruby On Rails “famous blog demo” screencast: