Greetings! I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner impressions with all of you. First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been programming professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming languages and approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been using Delphi and Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp articles, the first half of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan of Ruby for about 5 years. A fan, but not a practitioner. I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* code. Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk through the code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step through code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in even the best-written computer books. I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how peachy everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get the point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how things happen? I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals of the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything is ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it would have been nice if it could have been interleved. Thanks for letting me vent. Mike Pence
Mike Pence wrote:> Greetings!...> > I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one > fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing > about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals > of the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything > is ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it > would have been nice if it could have been interleved.The Agile etc. Rails book is not intended to teach Ruby, and I think it is fairly clear about that upfront. But maybe not. There are a number of resources at www.ruby-doc.org, in particular on this page: http://ruby-doc.org/gettingstarted/ Programming Ruby, 2nd edition, by Dave Thomas, would be a better place to start when learning Ruby itself. There is a free on-line copy of the first edition up on ruby-doc.org. Probably good enough for most purposes, though getting the more current edition is recommended.> > Thanks for letting me vent. >Sure. James Britt -- http://www.ruby-doc.org - The Ruby Documentation Site http://www.rubyxml.com - News, Articles, and Listings for Ruby & XML http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys
Mike, Like you I have many years of other experience and coming to Rails and Ruby has been a steep curve... also like you I feel comfortable with and IDE and the ability follow code and test behavior thru the IDE. As a result, I found Arachno Ruby (http://www.ruby-ide.com) and thru some work have been able to get it to work as a development/debug environment for Rails (see procedure at http://www.ruby-ide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47). Since they offer a 30 day free trial, go download it and try it out and see if it meets your needs!!! rgds, Dave Langston Mike Pence wrote:>Greetings! > >I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner >impressions with all of you. > >First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been >programming professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming >languages and approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been >using Delphi and Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp >articles, the first half of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan >of Ruby for about 5 years. A fan, but not a practitioner. > >I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I >feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you >know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* code. >Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk through >the code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step >through code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in >even the best-written computer books. > >I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how >peachy everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get >the point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how >things happen? > >I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one >fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing >about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals >of the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything >is ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it >would have been nice if it could have been interleved. > >Thanks for letting me vent. > >Mike Pence >_______________________________________________ >Rails mailing list >Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > >
There is a plug-in for Eclipse so you can get ruby / rails customization for it... http://sourceforge.net/projects/rubyeclipse And a good tutorial for setting it up... http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html And more... http://dathompson.blogspot.com/2005/07/rails-on-eclipse-31.html Hope that helps On 9/20/05, Dave Langston <lists-7sZApLJOvQqZmsdrq/TAqwC/G2K4zDHf@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > Mike, > > Like you I have many years of other experience and coming to Rails and > Ruby has been a steep curve... also like you I feel comfortable with > and IDE and the ability follow code and test behavior thru the IDE. > > As a result, I found Arachno Ruby (http://www.ruby-ide.com) and thru > some work have been able to get it to work as > a development/debug environment for Rails (see procedure at > http://www.ruby-ide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47). > > Since they offer a 30 day free trial, go download it and try it out and > see if it meets your needs!!! > rgds, > Dave Langston > > Mike Pence wrote: > > >Greetings! > > > >I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner > >impressions with all of you. > > > >First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been > >programming professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming > >languages and approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been > >using Delphi and Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp > >articles, the first half of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan > >of Ruby for about 5 years. A fan, but not a practitioner. > > > >I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I > >feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you > >know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* code. > >Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk through > >the code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step > >through code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in > >even the best-written computer books. > > > >I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how > >peachy everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get > >the point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how > >things happen? > > > >I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one > >fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing > >about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals > >of the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything > >is ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it > >would have been nice if it could have been interleved. > > > >Thanks for letting me vent. > > > >Mike Pence > >_______________________________________________ > >Rails mailing list > >Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > >http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-- Brock Weaver brockweaver-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org /* you are not expected to understand this */ _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
I''ve mentioned this before, but I have an article at http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html That explains how to set up an environment using Eclipse and RDT. The only thing I have yet to figure out is how to do breakpoints. I''m still exploring that. If anyone has ideas, I''d love to hear them. This tutorial shows how to 1. install rails 2. install eclipse 3. set up the various rails scripts using externals 4. set up a database plugin (to view and modify your database from the IDE) 5. set up a very nice CSS / XHTML editor I''m doing my best to keep it easy to follow but I always appreciate constructive feedback. Just thought I''d post again because it seems relevant. -----Original Message----- From: rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org [mailto:rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Dave Langston Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 12:23 PM To: mike.pence-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org; rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org Subject: Re: [Rails] Some initial impressions Mike, Like you I have many years of other experience and coming to Rails and Ruby has been a steep curve... also like you I feel comfortable with and IDE and the ability follow code and test behavior thru the IDE. As a result, I found Arachno Ruby (http://www.ruby-ide.com) and thru some work have been able to get it to work as a development/debug environment for Rails (see procedure at http://www.ruby-ide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47). Since they offer a 30 day free trial, go download it and try it out and see if it meets your needs!!! rgds, Dave Langston Mike Pence wrote:>Greetings! > >I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner >impressions with all of you. > >First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been programming>professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming languages and>approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been using Delphi and >Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp articles, the first half >of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan of Ruby for about 5 years. >A fan, but not a practitioner. > >I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I >feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you >know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* code. >Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk through the>code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step through>code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in even the >best-written computer books. > >I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how peachy>everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get the >point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how things >happen? > >I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one >fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing >about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals of>the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything is >ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it would >have been nice if it could have been interleved. > >Thanks for letting me vent. > >Mike Pence >_______________________________________________ >Rails mailing list >Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > >_______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
Thanks for all the great feedback. There should be a Rails/Ruby wiki with all of this great information... Best, Mike Pence On 9/20/05, Hogan, Brian P. <HOGANBP-VnAisaAFmHY@public.gmane.org> wrote:> I''ve mentioned this before, but I have an article at > http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html > That explains how to set up an environment using Eclipse and RDT. The > only thing I have yet to figure out is how to do breakpoints. I''m still > exploring that. If anyone has ideas, I''d love to hear them. > > This tutorial shows how to > 1. install rails > 2. install eclipse > 3. set up the various rails scripts using externals > 4. set up a database plugin (to view and modify your database > from the IDE) > 5. set up a very nice CSS / XHTML editor > > I''m doing my best to keep it easy to follow but I always appreciate > constructive feedback. > > Just thought I''d post again because it seems relevant. > > -----Original Message----- > From: rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > [mailto:rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Dave Langston > Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 12:23 PM > To: mike.pence-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org; rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > Subject: Re: [Rails] Some initial impressions > > > Mike, > > Like you I have many years of other experience and coming to Rails and > Ruby has been a steep curve... also like you I feel comfortable with > and IDE and the ability follow code and test behavior thru the IDE. > > As a result, I found Arachno Ruby (http://www.ruby-ide.com) and thru > some work have been able to get it to work as > a development/debug environment for Rails (see procedure at > http://www.ruby-ide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47). > > Since they offer a 30 day free trial, go download it and try it out and > see if it meets your needs!!! > rgds, > Dave Langston > > Mike Pence wrote: > > >Greetings! > > > >I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner > >impressions with all of you. > > > >First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been programming > > >professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming languages and > > >approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been using Delphi and > >Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp articles, the first half > >of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan of Ruby for about 5 years. > >A fan, but not a practitioner. > > > >I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I > >feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you > >know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* code. > >Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk through the > > >code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step through > > >code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in even the > >best-written computer books. > > > >I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how peachy > > >everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get the > >point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how things > >happen? > > > >I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in one > >fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually nothing > >about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the fundamentals of > > >the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything is > >ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it would > >have been nice if it could have been interleved. > > > >Thanks for letting me vent. > > > >Mike Pence > >_______________________________________________ > >Rails mailing list > >Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > >http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
On 20.9.2005, at 21.31, Mike Pence wrote:> Thanks for all the great feedback. There should be a Rails/Ruby wiki > with all of this great information...There should and fortunately there is :-) http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/HomePage //jarkko> > Best, > Mike Pence > > > On 9/20/05, Hogan, Brian P. <HOGANBP-VnAisaAFmHY@public.gmane.org> wrote: > >> I''ve mentioned this before, but I have an article at >> http://www.napcs.com/howto/railsonwindows.html >> That explains how to set up an environment using Eclipse and RDT. >> The >> only thing I have yet to figure out is how to do breakpoints. I''m >> still >> exploring that. If anyone has ideas, I''d love to hear them. >> >> This tutorial shows how to >> 1. install rails >> 2. install eclipse >> 3. set up the various rails scripts using externals >> 4. set up a database plugin (to view and modify your database >> from the IDE) >> 5. set up a very nice CSS / XHTML editor >> >> I''m doing my best to keep it easy to follow but I always appreciate >> constructive feedback. >> >> Just thought I''d post again because it seems relevant. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >> [mailto:rails-bounces-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Dave >> Langston >> Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 12:23 PM >> To: mike.pence-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org; rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >> Subject: Re: [Rails] Some initial impressions >> >> >> Mike, >> >> Like you I have many years of other experience and coming to Rails >> and >> Ruby has been a steep curve... also like you I feel comfortable with >> and IDE and the ability follow code and test behavior thru the IDE. >> >> As a result, I found Arachno Ruby (http://www.ruby-ide.com) and thru >> some work have been able to get it to work as >> a development/debug environment for Rails (see procedure at >> http://www.ruby-ide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47). >> >> Since they offer a 30 day free trial, go download it and try it >> out and >> see if it meets your needs!!! >> rgds, >> Dave Langston >> >> Mike Pence wrote: >> >> >>> Greetings! >>> >>> I am diving into RoR and I thought I would share some beginner >>> impressions with all of you. >>> >>> First, for a frame of reference, my background: I have been >>> programming >>> >> >> >>> professionally for 15 years with a variety of programming >>> languages and >>> >> >> >>> approaches. I started out with FoxPro and have been using Delphi and >>> Java in recent years. I''ve read on the ONLamp articles, the first >>> half >>> of the Agile Rails book and have been a fan of Ruby for about 5 >>> years. >>> A fan, but not a practitioner. >>> >>> I''ve generated my initial scaffoldings from a couple of tables but I >>> feel utterly lost. I''m used to IDE''s like Delphi or Eclipse -- you >>> know, where you can set breakpoints and actually *step through* >>> code. >>> Not having a consolidated workbench and the ability to walk >>> through the >>> >> >> >>> code is very disconcerting. That ability -- the ability to step >>> through >>> >> >> >>> code -- is worth thousands of pages of blah, blah, blah in even the >>> best-written computer books. >>> >>> I''m feeling ill-served by the book and articles'' examples of how >>> peachy >>> >> >> >>> everything is when you name things just right. Spare me, I get the >>> point -- convention over configuration. When is that really how >>> things >>> happen? >>> >>> I realize that introducing a new language and an app framework in >>> one >>> fell swoop is no small task, but I feel like I know virtually >>> nothing >>> about *Ruby* at this point, and isn''t understanding the >>> fundamentals of >>> >> >> >>> the language a good touchstone to remind yourself that everything is >>> ok? I know, it is in the second half of the Agile book, but it would >>> have been nice if it could have been interleved. >>> >>> Thanks for letting me vent. >>> >>> Mike Pence >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Rails mailing list >>> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >>> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Rails mailing list >> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >> _______________________________________________ >> Rails mailing list >> Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >> http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > >_______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
On Tuesday 20 Sep 2005 19:31, Mike Pence wrote:> Thanks for all the great feedback. There should be a Rails/Ruby wiki > with all of this great information...Why but there is already such a wiki! http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/ Cue several metric email-bombloads of people pointing you there. ;-) ~Dave -- Dave Silvester Rent-A-Monkey Website Development Web: http://www.rentamonkey.com/
Ok, I have captured the information from this thread on this wiki page: http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/Other It is, admittedly, not my finest writing, so feel free to improve on it.
I followed the steps Dave provided for Arachno Ruby and was up and running with a Rails app, stepping through code with the ability to interactively examine variables, etc., within 5 minutes. Thanks Dave! Thanks to everyone else, too. Having RDT with Eclipse is a nice productivity boost, but I need those breakpoints to step through stuff! Best, Mike Pence
I followed the steps Dave provided for Arachno Ruby and was up and running with a Rails app, stepping through code with the ability to interactively examine variables, etc., within 5 minutes. Thanks Dave! Thanks to everyone else, too. Having RDT with Eclipse is a nice productivity boost, but I need those breakpoints to step through stuff! Best, Mike Pence