Hello,
I am excited to be learning Ruby on Rails!
I have no prior programming knowledge or experience, but I was able to follow the examples in a couple of books and get most of the same outcomes that were illustrated...I think the variances were due to updates of some of the components in addition to my neophyte status...
I have literally felt my brain ache as I struggle to grasp the larger concepts of Object Oriented Programming, but I am determined to take the examples from the books and transition them into a working knowledge base.
I have a project that I would like to tackle, and I look forward to anyone recommending specific concepts to review that I can use to develop my project.
I would like to create a web application that uses MySQL to store responses to two or three survey questions, and displays results graphically using AJAX (no page redraws).
I volunteer at an inner-city youth center that works with at-risk youth to help them stay away from negative influences and peer pressure. The youth center managers would like to make sure that they are meeting the needs of the members. A survey engine can be an objective (and anonymous) resource to receive candid feedback and new program ideas.
The first survey that I have in mind (working title, "GED Session") would contain the following questions:
1) Which GED Session do you attend? (Radio or check box options - Morning - Afternoon - Evening) [Survey will only be made available to students actually enrolled in the program].
2) Was this GED Session your first choice? (Radio or check box options - Yes - No). If they select the 'No' answer, some additional survey questions would appear without a page redraw.
2a) Which GED Session was your first choice? (Radio or check box options would appear for the two options THAT WERE NOT CHECKED in Question One - I presume that the application would be looking at the object 'stored' from Question One response).
2b) Why weren't you able to attend your first choice GED Session? (Radio or check box options - Session was full - Family obligation [childcare, care for disabled relative, etc.] - Employment obligation - Transportation - Other [text area box for this option which won't be displayed in the public survey results, it will only be available for survey administrator to print and share with the youth center managers - the Other choice will be indicated as selected for general survey responses reflected in the public graphic]).
3) Once you have received your GED certificate, which program will you sign up for? (Radio or check box options - Trade Apprenticeship [Carpentry, Masonry, HVAC, Plumbing, Electrician, Telecommunications] - Cisco Academy - Medical Services)
I know that there are several survey resources available online already. I want to use this project to 'stretch my brain' more with Ruby on Rails.
Here's where I need to engage my brain more effectively:
* Each question (five questions in GED Session survey) has several possible responses associated with the question, but one answer is generally saved per question. Each answer associated with a specific question appears to need to be an object that can be tabulated, so I am presuming that each possible response also needs to be an object. Am I on target with that understanding, or am I making it too complicated?
* The GED Session survey will very likely be taken by more than one individual using the same computer(s). The survey won't require more than one web page be displayed. How should I handle sessions after someone has answered the survey? Is there a way to automatically erase the session cookie from the user's computer once a survey has been successfully completed?
For example, a GED student would indicate which GED Session they are attending for Question One, whether the GED Session was their first choice for Question Two (if Yes, then answer Question Three [then clear session cookie] and show tabulated results in a graphical display (probably horizontal bar and number; if No, then answer Questions 2a, 2b, and then Question Three [then clear session cookie])
* I realize that I will need to create some administrative interface as well that allows me to create new surveys and store them in a MySQL database as well. What would be the proper way to handle future survey development and management?
I look forward to your collective guidance as I tackle my first project!
Best Regards,
John
