Introduction to Ruby on Rails

Introduction to Ruby on Rails

Bascom Bridge’s Ruby on Rails training: Introduction to Ruby on Rails training course teaches attendees how to build web applications using the powerful Rails framework (see http://www.rubyonrails.com) and the highly dynamic, object-oriented Ruby language. Rails uses the principles of DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) and “convention over configuration” to help build robust, scalable applications quickly.

RUBY ON RAILS TRAINING OBJECTIVES

• Know how to install and configure Ruby, Rails, and any associated packages
• Understand the Rails request cycle
• Explore the Model-View-Controller architecture for server-side applications
• Learn to program the major components of Rails, including Active Record, Action Controller, and Action View
• Learn Ruby fundamentals
• Build data-driven applications with Rails
• Perform test-driven development of Rails applications

RUBY ON RAILS TRAINING PREREQUISITES

All Ruby on Rails training attendees should have some experience with server-side web development. Programming experience in an object-oriented language would also be helpful.

RUBY ON RAILS TRAINING MATERIALS

All students receive copies of Pragmatic Bookshelf’s Rails Recipes, as well as related courseware.

SOFTWARE NEEDED FOR EACH PC:

• The Ruby interpreter version 1.9.0 or later
• The Rails framework 3.0.0 or later
• SQLite3 and MySQL databases work immediately with Rails, but many others have supported adapters (DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL among them).
• A plain text editor or IDE, preferably one that understands the syntax of Ruby and Rails
• For classes delivered online, all participants need either dual monitors or a separate device logged into the online session so that they can do their work on one screen and watch the instructor on the other. A separate computer connected to a projector or large screen TV would be another way for students to see the instructor’s screen simultaneously with working on their own.

RUBY ON RAILS TRAINING OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Operating System and Work Environment
  • The Command Line
  • Disk Space and Organization
  • Software Requirements
• Rails, Breadth First
  • Welcome to Ruby on Rails
  • What Rails Does (and Does for You)
  • Inside MVC in Rails
  • How Separate are the MVC Layers?
  • A Guided Tour of a Small (But Working!) Rails App
  • The Rails Application Directory Structure
  • Connecting to a Rails Application
  • The Rails Request/Response Cycle
  • Some Pre-Auction Housekeeping
• Ruby Skills and Tools
  • Running Ruby Programs
  • IRB (Interactive Ruby)
  • Objects and Methods
  • Classes
  • Strings and Numbers
  • Symbols
  • Arrays
  • Hashes
  • Modules
  • Control Flow and Conditionals
  • Instance Variables and Attributes
  • Iterators
  • Sorting Collections
  • Filtering Collections
• Domain Modeling and ActiveRecord
  • ActiveRecord Overview
  • Domain Modeling, Ruby, and Rails
  • Programming the Domain
  • Creating the Database Tables
  • The Rails Application Console
• Routing and Responses
  • The Rails Request/Response Cycle
  • URL Recognition and Routing
  • Named Routes and URL Generation
  • Resource Routing
  • Creating Controllers and Views
  • Understanding ERB Templates
• Forms
  • Displaying and Processing Forms in Rails
• Exploring ActiveRecord Techniques
  • Getting into ActiveRecord
  • Refining AR Associations
  • Many-to-Many Associations with “Through”
  • Miscellaneous Custom Methods in the Models
  • ActiveRelation Basics
• Testing
  • Ruby’s Test Framework
  • From Minitest to Rails Testing
  • Functional Tests
• Data Validation with ActiveRecord
  • Validating ActiveRecord Objects
  • The Role of the Controller in Validating Data
  • Examples of Selected Validation Methods
• Exploring ActionPack
  • ActionPack, the Composite Library
  • Custom Helper Methods
  • Partial Templates
  • The Session Hash
  • Controller Filters
  • Differential Responses
  • XML with Builder
• Users and Bids
  • Consolidating Your Gains
  • The Results
• Using CSS and JavaScript
  • The Basic Asset Pipeline Architecture
  • AJAX
• Ruby and Rails Resources
• Conclusion