I'm a RoR noob (and pretty much a progrmming noob) who has been
working since 7am to get a development platform set up on win 7 so
that I can follow the lynda.com "ruby on rails essential training"
tutorials. It has been a pretty cruel process, and still incomplete.
I wish to pick your collective brains about a decent development
environment. I have a linux box that I can hook up, plus one extra
monitor I'm not using.
Would I be wise to set up the linux box for RoR education, and somehow
figure out how to get that second monitor working to enhance my
learning environment?
Many thanks for your advice. I'm flat-out beat (and I suspect you've
all been there...)!
I'm a RoR noob (and pretty much a progrmming noob) who has been
working since 7am to get a development platform set up on win 7 so
that I can follow the lynda.com "ruby on rails essential training"
tutorials. It has been a pretty cruel process, and still incomplete.
As far as I know, the lynda.com tutorials are out of date. What version
of Rails do they use? 2.3.5 is current.
I dislike Windows extremely, but I'm told that InstantRails is decent.
I wish to pick your collective brains about a decent development
environment. I have a linux box that I can hook up, plus one extra
monitor I'm not using.
Use the Linux box. The less you use Windows, the happier you will be.
Would I be wise to set up the linux box for RoR education,
Yes.
and somehow
figure out how to get that second monitor working to enhance my
learning environment?
What was your idea for the second monitor?
Many thanks for your advice. I'm flat-out beat (and I suspect you've
all been there...)!
I have RoR on win7, and I cant remember any issues installing it.
Download and install Ruby, download and install RubyGems, run "gem
install rails" from the command line, and its done. You'll probably want
a database too, like mysql.
Download and install mysql. Im still on version 5.0, last I checked, 3
months ago, there was an issue with mysql 5.1, win7 x64 and the latest
version of the rails adapter.
Then run "gem install mysql" from the command line to get the adapter.
I just looked at the lynda.com site, and the Ruby on Rails tutorials
all seem to have been released in 2007, with the one in question
having been released in January of that year.
So that means it HAS to be using Rails 1.x
A lot of water has flowed under the Rails "Bridge" since then, it's
probably a wise course to look for more up-to-date tutorials, one good
place to start would be
But make sure you are following the "current release version" and not
the "edge version".
Hi Marnen. Thank you for your response. The idea for the second
monitor was to maybe have a separate full-size window open, like one
for the tutorial, and one with the command line, editor, browser.
Dunno, just a thought.
Hi Marnen. Thank you for your response. The idea for the second
monitor was to maybe have a separate full-size window open, like one
for the tutorial, and one with the command line, editor, browser.
Dunno, just a thought.
That may be quite useful. Connecting multiple monitors shouldn't be
hard.
My first project is to use RoR to build a Google maps application
initially. I have a book on using RoR/Ajax with the google maps api,
and i have built a basic php/mysql website. Rather than going down
the route of studying RoR exclusively, since i've been exposed to the
basics of the RoR framework, would you say its ok for me to just dive
right in and start with the RoR/Gmaps book and just tinker/learn as i
go? It seems to me that possibly the best way to learn RoR is to just
simply jump in, based on what i've read this morning. Thanks!!
My first project is to use RoR to build a Google maps application
initially. I have a book on using RoR/Ajax with the google maps api,
and i have built a basic php/mysql website. Rather than going down
the route of studying RoR exclusively, since i've been exposed to the
basics of the RoR framework, would you say its ok for me to just dive
right in and start with the RoR/Gmaps book and just tinker/learn as i
go? It seems to me that possibly the best way to learn RoR is to just
simply jump in, based on what i've read this morning.
You're mostly right, but I'd advise doing conventional Web development
with Rails before you try Ajax. Also, make sure you understand the Ruby
language on at least a basic level.
Make sure you have version control in place, and do all development
test-first (RSpec and Cucumber are highly recommended). Avoid Rails'
fixtures entirely; use Machinist or similar instead.
I hate to say it, but don't use Rails' helpers for Ajax. They mix JS
into your HTML, which is bad practice (Rails 3's helpers will apparently
fix this problem). Put all JS in separate files from HTML.