book

Ruby on Rails® Bible

Name: Ruby on Rails® Bible
Author: Timothy Fisher
ISBN: 9780470258224

by Timothy Fisher

October 2008

Intermediate to advanced

624 pages

14h 34m

English

For Dummies

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Copyright
About the Author
Credits
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Quick Start: Ruby on Rails Quick Start
Installing Instant Rails on WindowsInstalling Ruby and Rails on Mac OS X and LinuxInstalling on LinuxInstalling on Mac OS XSetting up a Development EnvironmentSource code version controlIDE or Editor?TextMateEIntelliJ IDEANetBeansEclipseHerokuAptana StudioSummary
I. First Steps with Rails
1. Learning Ruby
1.1. The Nature of Ruby1.1.1. Dynamic or static typing1.1.2. Duck typing1.1.3. Compiled or scripting language1.1.3.1. Compiled languages1.1.3.2. Scripted languages1.2. Object Oriented Programming1.3. The Basics of Ruby1.3.1. Ruby's interactive shell1.3.2. Ruby syntax basics1.3.2.1. Adding comments1.3.2.2. Using parentheses1.3.2.3. Using white space1.3.2.4. Using semicolons1.3.3. Running Ruby programs1.4. Classes, Objects, and Variables1.4.1. Using objects in Ruby1.4.1.1. Defining objects1.4.1.2. Writing methods1.4.1.3. Methods with parameters1.4.1.4. Creating instances of a class1.4.1.5. Instance and class methods1.4.1.6. Instance and class variables1.4.1.7. Getters and setters in Ruby objects1.4.2. Inheritance1.5. Built-in Classes and Modules1.5.1. Scalar objects1.5.1.1. Strings1.5.1.2. Numerics1.5.1.3. Symbols1.5.1.4. Times and dates1.5.2. Collections1.5.2.1. Arrays1.5.2.2. Hashes1.5.2.3. Ranges1.6. Control Flow1.6.1. Conditionals1.6.1.1. The if statement1.6.1.2. The unless statement1.6.1.3. The case statement1.6.2. Loops, blocks, and iterators1.6.2.1. for loops1.6.2.2. while and until loops1.6.2.3. Blocks1.6.2.4. Iterators1.6.3. Exception handling1.6.3.1. Exceptions in Ruby1.6.3.2. Using begin, raise, and rescue1.6.3.3. More exception handling using ensure, retry, and else1.7. Organizing Code with Modules1.8. Advanced Ruby Techniques1.8.1. Variable length argument lists1.8.2. Dynamic programming with method_missing1.8.3. Reopening classes1.9. Summary
2. Getting Started with Rails
2.1. What is Ruby on Rails?2.1.1. DRY2.1.2. Convention over configuration2.1.3. Opinionated software2.2. Rails Architecture2.2.1. MVC2.2.2. Rails and MVC2.3. Rails Scripts2.3.1. Rails Console2.3.2. WEBrick2.3.3. Generators2.3.4. Migrations2.4. Your First Rails Application2.4.1. Create the project2.4.2. Set up the database2.4.3. Create the model2.4.4. Create the controller and views2.4.4.1. Implementing the index action2.4.4.2. Implementing the new action2.4.4.3. Implementing the Create action2.4.4.4. Implementing the show action2.4.4.5. Implementing the update action2.4.4.6. What you have accomplished2.4.5. Style the application2.4.6. WebScaffolding2.4.7. More to Get You Started2.5. Summary
II. Rails In Depth

3. Using Active Record
3.1. What is Active Record?3.2. Active Record Basics3.2.1. Active Record Classes and Objects3.2.2. Active Record naming conventions3.2.2.1. Class and table names3.2.2.2. Table keys3.3. Setting up a Model3.3.1. Generate a Rails project and model3.3.2. Configure Active Record3.3.3. Rails Development Environments3.4. Using Migrations3.4.1. Schema versions3.4.2. Migration methods3.4.2.1. Tables3.4.2.2. Columns3.4.2.3. Indexes3.4.3. Inserting data with migrations3.5. Create, Read, Update, and Delete3.5.1. Creating records3.5.2. Reading data3.5.2.1. Column metadata3.5.2.2. Accessing attributes3.5.2.3. Using the find method3.5.2.4. Dynamic finders3.5.2.5. Find using SQL3.5.3. Creating and finding data with the Rails Console3.5.4. Updating records3.5.5. Deleting records3.5.6. Using development log files3.6. Defining Relationships3.6.1. One-to-one relationships3.6.1.1. Methods added by has_one3.6.1.2. Methods added by belongs_to3.6.2. Many-to-one relationships3.6.2.1. Methods added by has_many3.6.2.2. Methods added by belongs_to3.6.3. Many-to-many relationships3.6.3.1. Methods added by has_and_belongs_to_many3.7. Implementing Validations3.8. Custom Validations3.9. Advanced Active Record3.9.1. Single table inheritance3.9.2. Composition3.9.3. Transactions3.10. Summary
4. Controller: In Depth
4.1. What is ActionController?4.2. All About Routing4.2.1. Defining custom routes4.2.2. Defining a custom default route4.2.3. Using named routes4.2.4. Constructing URLs with url_for4.3. Creating and Using Controllers4.3.1. Generating controllers4.3.2. Action methods4.3.2.1. Using request parameters4.3.2.2. Rendering templates4.3.2.3. Redirects4.3.2.4. Sending feedback with flash4.3.2.5. Sending other types of data to the browser4.4. Using Filters4.4.1. Before filters4.4.2. After filters4.4.3. Around filters4.4.4. Protecting filter methods4.5. Working with Sessions4.5.1. Using the ActiveRecord session storage4.5.2. Using MemCached session storage4.6. Caching4.6.1. Page caching4.6.2. Action caching4.6.3. Fragment caching4.7. Summary
5. View: In Depth
5.1. ActionView5.1.1. Getting to the view5.1.2. Rendering options5.1.3. Responding to different formats5.2. Embedded Ruby5.2.1. Using the <%- and -%> delimiters5.2.2. Commenting out embedded Ruby5.3. Layouts5.4. Partials5.5. Helpers5.5.1. Predefined Rails Helpers5.5.1.1. HTML Creation Helpers5.5.1.2. Form Creation Helpers5.5.1.3. JavaScript Creation Helpers5.5.1.4. Data Processing Helpers5.5.1.5. Debugging Helpers5.5.2. Creating Your Own Block Helpers5.6. JavaScript, Ajax, and RJS5.6.1. Prototype Helpers5.6.2. RJS helpers5.7. Summary
III. Developing a Complete Rails Application
6. Developing Book Shelf: The Basic Framework
6.1. Application Overview6.2. Creating a Skeleton for the Application6.2.1. Begin the Book Shelf project6.2.2. Setting up the databases6.2.2.1. Create the databases6.3. Create a Home Page6.3.1. Create the Home controller6.3.2. Create a layout and view6.3.2.1. The HTML head6.3.2.2. The body header section6.3.2.3. The body sidebar section6.3.2.4. The body content section6.3.2.5. Creating the index view template6.3.2.6. Testing the home page6.3.2.7. Add some style6.3.3. Set up a default route6.4. Implementing Users6.4.1. Create the user model6.4.1.1. Securing user passwords6.4.1.2. Generate the user model6.4.1.3. Create the user migration6.4.1.4. Add user model validations6.4.2. Implement user registration6.4.2.1. Create a user controller6.4.2.2. Handle the user password6.4.2.3. Create a registration view6.4.2.4. Create user home view6.4.3. Implement login and logout6.4.3.1. Create login action method6.4.3.2. Create the logout action method6.4.3.3. Create an application login partial6.4.3.4. Test the login and logout functionality6.4.4. Using a before filter to protect pages6.4.4.1. Modify the application controller6.4.4.2. Add login form to the signup page6.5. Summary
7. Developing Book Shelf: Adding the Core Functionality
7.1. Adding Support for Books7.2. Refactor the sidebar code7.3. Integrating with Amazon7.3.1. Install Ruby/Amazon7.3.2. Implement the Book Shelf-Amazon interface7.3.2.1. The initialize method7.3.2.2. The find_by_keyword method7.4. Implementing a Search7.4.1. Create the book search form7.4.2. Generate the book controller and search action7.4.3. Create the book model7.4.3.1. Generate the book model class7.4.3.2. Create the book migration7.4.3.3. Run the migration7.4.3.4. Associate the book model and the user model7.4.4. Implement search logic in the book model7.4.5. Create the search results page7.4.6. Implement search results paging7.5. Implementing the Addition and Deletion of Books7.5.1. Adding a book7.5.2. Deleting a book7.5.2.1. Add the delete action7.5.2.2. Update the page with RJS7.6. Displaying a User's Books7.7. Implementing the Book Detail Page7.8. Summary
8. Developing Book Shelf: Social Support
8.1. Adding Social Support8.2. Implementing Tagging8.2.1. Installing a tagging plugin8.2.1.1. Install the acts_as_taggable_redux plugin8.2.2. Setting up the database for tagging support8.2.3. Adding tagging support to the models8.2.4. Adding tagging support to the controllers8.2.5. Creating the view layer for tagging8.2.5.1. Implementing the sidebar tag cloud view8.2.5.2. Implement tag_cloud_revised helper method8.2.5.3. Generate the tagging style sheet8.2.5.4. Implement the static tag view8.2.5.5. Make the tags editable8.2.5.6. Implement the show_for_tag view8.2.6. Using tags8.3. Implementing Book Reviews8.3.1. Implementing the review model8.3.2. Adding associations to the book and user models8.3.3. Implementing the review view8.3.3.1. Displaying reviews for a book8.3.3.2. Implementing the review entry form8.3.4. Implementing the review controller8.3.5. Adding some style8.3.6. Adding a book review8.4. Implementing Book Ratings8.5. Extending the Application8.5.1. Improving the user interface8.5.2. Implementing an administrator interface8.5.3. Adding RSS feeds to the application8.5.4. Adding support for other book information sources8.5.5. Implementing recommendations and suggestions8.5.6. Expanding user profiles and adding avatars8.6. Summary
9. Testing the Book Shelf Application
9.1. Why Test?9.2. Using Test::Unit9.2.1. Test assertions9.2.2. Test fixtures9.2.3. Test methods9.2.4. Test runners9.2.5. Test suites9.3. Testing in Rails9.3.1. Rails test directory9.3.2. Rails test lifecycle9.4. Setting Up a Test Database9.5. Functional Tests9.5.1. Running a test9.5.2. Creating a test9.5.2.1. Setting up fixtures9.5.2.2. Writing a test method9.5.2.3. More assertion methods9.5.2.4. Verifying your test9.5.3. Adding more tests9.5.3.1. Add some reviews9.5.3.2. Verify the tests again9.6. Unit Tests9.6.1. Setting up user fixtures9.6.2. Test authentication9.6.3. Test validations9.6.3.1. Test valid password9.6.3.2. Test valid login9.6.3.3. Test valid e-mail9.7. Integration Tests9.8. Running All Tests9.9. Test Coverage9.10. Debugging Techniques9.10.1. The Rails log files9.10.2. Console-based9.10.3. Using the debugger9.11. Summary
IV. Advanced Rails
10. Using Prototype and script.aculo.us
10.1. Prototype, script.aculo.us, and Rails10.1.1. Using Prototype and script.aculo.us from Rails10.1.2. Create a Rails project10.1.2.1. Include the Prototype and script.aculo.us files10.2. Prototype Overview10.2.1. Ruby's influence on Prototype10.2.2. What is Prototype?10.3. Extensions to JavaScript10.3.1. Simplifying JavaScript with the dollar sign10.3.1.1. Selecting elements with $10.3.1.2. Selecting elements with $$10.3.1.3. Creating arrays with $A10.3.1.4. Splitting strings with $w10.3.1.5. Getting form field values with $F10.3.1.6. Creating hashes with $H10.3.1.7. Creating ranges with $R10.3.2. More powerful arrays10.3.2.1. Enumerating an array10.3.3. JSON support10.4. OOP with Prototype10.4.1. Defining classes and inheritance10.4.2. Implementing class inheritance with Prototype10.5. Event Handling10.6. Ajax10.6.1. Ajax links10.6.2. Ajax link options10.7. script.aculo.us Overview10.8. Visual Effects10.8.1. script.aculo.us effects10.8.2. Effect options10.8.3. Using combination effects10.9. Controls10.9.1. Sliders10.9.2. Auto-completion10.9.3. In-place editing10.9.3.1. Implementing a single value in-place editor10.10. Drag and Drop10.10.1. Creating draggable elements10.10.1.1. Draggable options10.10.2. Creating droppable elements10.10.2.1. Droppable options10.10.3. Sortable lists10.11. JavaScript Testing10.11.1. Creating JavaScript unit tests10.11.2. Running JavaScript unit tests10.12. Summary
11. Extending Rails
11.1. Beyond the Core11.2. Generators11.2.1. The generator directory structure11.2.2. Writing generator code11.2.3. Creating the templates11.2.4. Running the new authentication generator11.2.5. Extending Rails::Generator::NamedBase11.3. Plugins11.3.1. Using the Plugin script11.3.1.1. List available plugins11.3.1.2. List plugin sources11.3.1.3. Adding and removing plugin sources11.3.1.4. Discover new plugin sources11.3.1.5. Installing, removing, and updating plugins11.3.2. Writing a plugin11.3.2.1. Write a new plugin11.3.2.2. Try out the new plugin11.3.3. Common techniques used to develop plugins11.3.3.1. Extending classes with mixins11.3.3.2. Opening a class11.3.3.3. Dynamic extension with callbacks and hooks11.3.3.4. Using code generation11.3.4. Managing plugins with Piston11.4. Summary of Useful Plugins11.4.1. acts_as_rateable11.4.2. Pagination11.4.2.1. Installing will_paginate11.4.2.2. Adding pagination to your application11.4.3. acts_as_state_machine11.4.3.1. Installing acts_as_state_machine11.4.3.2. Using acts_as_state_machine11.4.4. annotate_models11.4.4.1. Installing annotate_models11.4.4.2. Using annotate_models11.4.5. exception_notifier11.4.5.1. Installing exception_notifier11.4.5.2. Using exception_notifier11.4.6. resource_controller11.4.6.1. Installing resource_controller11.4.6.2. Using resource_controller11.4.7. Adding user authentication11.4.7.1. Installing restful_authentication11.4.7.2. Using restful_authentication11.4.8. Enhanced scaffolding11.4.8.1. Streamlined11.4.8.2. ActiveScaffold11.4.9. Implementing content tagging11.4.10. Handling file uploads11.4.10.1. attachment_fu11.5. Engines11.5.1. Install the Engines plugin11.5.2. Generate the engine skeleton11.5.3. Move your application files into the engine11.5.4. Modify your environment11.5.5. Include your engine in your application11.6. Summary
12. Advanced Topics
12.1. Beyond the Basics12.2. RESTful Rails12.2.1. Some advantages of RESTful architecture12.2.2. REST as a Web service architecture12.2.3. REST and representations12.2.4. Writing a RESTful application with Rails12.2.4.1. Rails routing and REST12.2.4.2. PUT and DELETE full disclosure12.2.4.3. Generate a RESTful resource12.3. Working with Legacy Databases12.3.1. Override database table and field names12.3.2. Side by side with the legacy database12.4. Using ActionMailer12.4.1. Configuring a Rails application for e-mail support12.4.2. Generating a mailer model12.4.3. Writing code to send e-mail12.4.4. Writing code to receive e-mail12.5. ActiveResource and XML12.6. Deploying with Capistrano12.6.1. Installing and setting up Capistrano12.6.2. Running basic Capistrano tasks12.6.3. Customizing Capistrano12.7. Summary
V. Appendixes
A. Ruby Quick Reference
A.1. Basic Ruby SyntaxA.1.1. Literal expressionsA.1.1.1. ArraysA.1.1.2. Boolean literalsA.1.1.3. HashesA.1.1.4. NumbersA.1.1.5. RangesA.1.1.6. Regular expressionsA.1.1.7. StringsA.1.1.8. SymbolsA.1.2. Variable and method namesA.1.3. OperatorsA.1.4. Method callsA.1.5. Special keyword expressionsA.1.5.1. The if expressionA.1.5.2. The unless expressionA.1.5.3. The case expressionA.1.5.4. The for expressionA.1.5.5. The while expressionA.1.5.6. The until expressionA.1.5.7. Loop control keywordsA.1.6. AssignmentA.1.7. File input and outputA.1.8. ExceptionsA.2. Objects and ClassesA.2.1. Defining methodsA.2.2. BlocksA.2.3. Defining classes and modulesA.2.3.1. Defining modulesA.2.3.2. Defining classesA.2.3.3. Superclasses and selfA.2.3.4. Including and extending with modulesA.2.3.5. AttributesA.2.3.6. Access controlA.2.4. Method lookup
B. Ruby on Rails Guide
B.1. Getting StartedB.1.1. Standard Rails applicationB.1.2. GeneratorsB.2. Controllers and HelpersB.2.1. Traditional routingB.2.2. RESTful routingB.2.3. Controller variablesB.2.4. FiltersB.2.5. Rendering and redirectingB.2.6. Respond toB.2.7. HelpersB.3. ViewsB.3.1. ERbB.3.2. RJSB.4. ModelsB.4.1. CreatingB.4.2. ReadingB.4.3. UpdatingB.4.4. DeletingB.4.5. RelationshipsB.4.5.1. belongs_toB.4.5.2. has_oneB.4.5.3. has_manyB.4.5.4. has_and_belongs_to_manyB.5. Database MigrationsB.6. Plugins

Content preview from Ruby on Rails® Bible

Chapter 4. Controller: In Depth

In this chapter, you will learn about the controller layer of the MVC framework implemented in Rails applications. The controller layer of an MVC application is responsible for figuring out what to do with external input. The controller layer interprets user input and responds to user requests by communicating with the model layer, and rendering views using the view layer. You can think of the controller as the conductor of the application; it determines which views to show based on the input received.

The controller layer should be the only layer of your application that knows the client is actually a Web browser. All interaction with the Web server and knowledge of such interaction should be confined to methods in your controller classes. This layer should not contain a great deal of your business logic; the business logic should be contained within your model layer. Theoretically, you could rewrite the controller layer to adapt the application to a different platform, such as a non-browser environment.

Rails implements the controller layer primarily using a component called ActionController. ActionController is joined with ActionView to make up the Action Pack component of Rails. Action Pack provides the functionality for processing incoming requests from the browser and for generating responses to the browser.

What is ActionController?

In Rails, your application's controller and view layers use the Action Pack components of Rails. Controllers are ...

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Ruby on Rails® Bible

by Timothy Fisher

Chapter 4. Controller: In Depth

What is ActionController?

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