Chapter 1. Starting Up Ruby on Rails
Before you can use Rails, you have to install it. Even if it’s already installed on your computer, or you opt to use a web-based development environment, there are a few things you’ll need to do to make it actually do something visible. In this chapter, we’ll take a look at some ways of installing Ruby, Rails, and the supporting infrastructure, and get a first, rather trivial project up and running.
To get you started, we’ll set up three different environments for running Rails: Heroku (the fastest option for getting started, which lets you develop applications online), Instant Rails on Windows, and the classic command-line version. Feel very welcome to jump to whatever pieces of this section interest you and skip past those that don’t. Once the software is working, we’ll generate the basic Rails application, which will at least let you know if Rails is working.
If you want to jump into learning Rails without getting hung up on installation, Heroku is likely your easiest approach, with Instant Rails a close second for Windows users. They both create an insulated environment separate from the rest of what your computer might have, and they require minimal configuration. If the classic command-line approach doesn’t appeal to you, or causes you problems, definitely give Heroku or Instant Rails a try. However you decide to set up Rails, in the end you’re going to need to install a structure like that shown in Figure 1-1.
Note
All of these options are ...