book

Ruby on Rails For Dummies®

Name: Ruby on Rails For Dummies®
Author: Barry Burd
ISBN: 9780470081204

by Barry Burd

January 2007

Beginner

330 pages

6h 52m

English

Wiley

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Copyright
About the Author
Dedication
Author's Acknowledgments
I. Nuts and Bolts
In this part . . .
Introduction
How to Use This BookConventions Used in This BookWhat You Don't Have to ReadFoolish AssumptionsHow This Book Is OrganizedPart I: Nuts and BoltsPart II: Creating CodePart III: Real RailsPart IV: The Part of TensIcons Used in This BookWhere to Go from Here
1. Welcome to the World of Ruby on Rails
The Software Development ProcessAgilityDatabases and the World Wide WebThrowing frameworks at the problemAlong Comes Ruby on RailsWhy Ruby?Ruby is dynamically typedRuby is interpretedRuby is reflectiveRuby is object‐orientedWhy Rails?Convention over configurationDon't Repeat Yourself (DRY)Let's Get Going
2. Installing the Software
Six Pieces of SoftwareInstalling the Ruby InterpreterTesting the Ruby installationTroubleshooting the Ruby installationInstalling RailsInstalling JavaInstalling RadRailsCreating a RadRails shortcut on your desktopTesting RadRailsTroubleshooting the RadRails installationConfiguring RadRailsInstalling MySQLInstalling MySQL AdministratorTesting your MySQL installationTroubleshooting your database connectionIs the database server running?Are the server and the administrator programs using the same settings?
3. Details on Rails
Creating a DatabaseCreating a New Ruby on Rails ProjectRunning Your New Rails Project (Already!)Creating a ModelCreating a Database TableCreating a ScaffoldUsing the New Web Interface
4. Using RadRails
Words, Words, WordsWhat's inside a view or an editor?Understanding the big pictureSome Common RadRails TasksChanging the perspectiveShowing a viewUsing a wizard to create somethingUsing the Generators view to create somethingEditing an existing fileRunning a Ruby programVisiting a URLCustomizing RadRailsTroubleshooting the Run of a Ruby ProgramDoes your Ruby code have a syntax error?Does your Ruby code have a semantic error?Did you tell RadRails where to find a Ruby interpreter?Did you point RadRails to the correct location of the Ruby interpreter?

II. Creating Code
In this part . . .
5. Ruby One's Day
Hello, AgainA glimpse of a Ruby methodVariables and valuesRuby stringsWorking with ValuesDisplaying valuesAssigning valuesGoing with the FlowGetting input from the keyboardUsing keywordsFlowing the other wayGoing with the glow (or glowing with the flow)Bunches of ThingsArraysHashesHashes and loopsWriting the fine printUsing MethodsMethods, methods everywhereA method with no parametersA method that displays a valueA method that returns a valueA method call with a blockA block with three parametersA method with a variable number of parametersPlease pass the hashWhat's the symbolism?Comparing and displaying symbolsUsing symbols as hash keys
6. Ruby Two's Day
Objects and ClassesCreating objectsAdding another file's code to your own file's codeClasses, objects, and database tablesObjects Have MethodsRuby's handy iteratorsFinding iterators where you least expect themEnhancing ClassesOpen classesBeing selfishDefining subclassesCreating an instance of a subclassUsing a subclass's methodCreating a Module
7. Weaving the Web
The Working of the WebThe Web developer's point of viewThe Hypertext Transfer ProtocolWeb pagesYour HTML Starter KitStart tagsEnd tags, empty tags, and paired tagsIf it feels good, do itEntitiesComments and declarationsHTML ElementsDisplaying imagesUsing tables to align thingsCreating an HTML formUsing form elementsCreating a text areaUsing an option selectorCreating check boxesMining for hidden fields
III. Real Rails
In this part . . .
8. Action‐Packed Adventures
Model/View/ControllerCreating a controller and a viewWhy you shouldn't rename filesThe Rails Way of LifeConvention over configurationDon't Repeat Yourself (DRY)Writing What You Want Where You Want ItSending text to the consoleThe art of Web server redirectionMaking the controller do the workThe Controller Shakes Hands with the ViewUsing parametersGetting parameters from a formDividing the Work of the ViewCreating and using a partial (a partial what?)A view's little helper
9. Some Things You Can Do with Models
A Web Site for PhotosProgramming with a Rails ModelUsing Active RecordRequiring a gemConnecting to the databaseDisplaying dataModifying a DatabaseMore Rails Programming TricksDeleting rowsAdding rowsFinding rowsUsing SQLUsing id numbers
10. I've Been Working on the Rails Code
Displaying an ImageCreating codeUnderstanding the codeThe shallow versionDiving into the depthsPassing photos from place to placeA link_to method creates an anchor elementRails finds a particular photoUsing JavaScriptImporting FilesImporting files the easy wayImporting files the geeky way
11. Image Is Everything
Enhancing Your Project's CodeFollow the book's longest step listKnow the flowUnderstanding the Enhanced CodeCreating a database tableMoving on to more code . . .Creating a file input fieldCreating a Photo instanceReading the image bitsComposing an image tagSending image bits to the visitor's browserWhew!
12. More Model Magic
Blogging Your DreamsValidating the Visitor's InputAdding CommentsAdding KeywordsConnecting dreams with keywordsHow the Rails code does what it doesRemoving a keywordUsing a drop‐down list to add a keywordUsing check boxes to add keywords
13. Cool Things on Rails
Using AjaxRefresh part of a page, not the entire pageIncorporating Ajax into a Rails pageSending E‐MailDon't blame me if it doesn't workRails mailCreating and Consuming Web ServicesHow to avoid screen scrapingBuilding a Web service using Ruby on Rails
IV. The Part of Tens
In this part . . .
14. Ten (Times Two) Great Web Sites
Ten Ruby SitesDocumentationOpen source Ruby projectsStarting points for Ruby resourcesDiscussing RubyA weekly challengeAdd‐ons for RubyMeet peopleWrite Ruby code on a desert islandHow to be multilingualAgile developmentTen Rails SitesStraight from the source's mouthFind a Web hostGet hooked on RadRailsDocumentationDiscuss Ruby on RailsA Rails‐friendly operating systemRead the latest newsSteal some codeBrush up on SQLThe seminal Ajax document
15. Ten Features That Set Ruby Apart
HashesOpen ClassesDuck TypingModifiersBlocksEverything Is an ObjectObjects Might Have Their Own MethodsMixinsBuilt‐In Unit TestingBuilt‐In Reflection
16. Ten Pivotal Ruby on Rails Concepts
Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY)Convention over ConfigurationModel/View/Controller (MVC)Agile DevelopmentDynamic Discovery of a Database's CharacteristicsObject‐Relational Mapping (ORM)Using GeneratorsCreate, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD)Using MigrationsUsing Partials
17. Ten Ways to Override Rails Defaults
Overriding the Database NameOverriding a Database Table NameOverriding a Controller NameOverriding the Name of a Table's Primary KeyUsing Singular NounsCreating Irregular PluralsOverriding a Default LayoutCreating Additional Web PagesModifying the Meanings of URLsChanging the Server Environment

Content preview from Ruby on Rails For Dummies®

Chapter 10. I've Been Working on the Rails Code

In This Chapter
Displaying images
Adding new images to your Rails project
Using the RadRails Import Wizard

Chapter 9 demonstrates the creation of a photo album Web site. The site's managers (the folks at Chapter9Photos.com, Inc.) have hired a marketing team to promote the Web site. Here's an excerpt from the team's proposed marketing blurb:

  Visit Chapter 9 Photos online! See the filename and description of your favorite photo! 
Enter any filename you want — correct or incorrect. It doesn't matter, because the Web site
 doesn't even display your photo!

How appealing! I can't wait to visit the site!

Displaying an Image

When I was a child, my family was so poor that we couldn't afford photos. All we could afford were the filenames of photos. That's why we created Chapter9Photos.com.

But these days, kids are spoiled. When they visit a photo album Web site, they expect to see photos, not just filenames! So this chapter adds visible photos to the site in Chapter 9.

Creating code

You can add images to a Web site with only a few lines of code. Here's how:

If you haven't already done so, create a simple photo album Web site.
Follow Steps 1 through 5 in the first section of Chapter 9.
In the Rails Navigator view, find the project's public\images branch.
The ...

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Ruby on Rails For Dummies®

by Barry Burd

Chapter 10. I've Been Working on the Rails Code