Ruby on Rails 2.3 Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example

The Ruby on Rails 2.3 Tutorial teaches web development with Ruby on Rails, an open-source web framework that powers many of the web's top sites, including Twitter, Hulu, and the Yellow Pages. Ruby on Rails 2.3 Tutorial helps you learn Rails by example through the development of a substantial sample application, including a site layout, a user data model, a full registration and authentication system, user-status associations, social "following," and a feed of status updates. Ruby on Rails 2.3 Tutorial also teaches good software development practices, including version control with Git and GitHub, test-driven development with RSpec, and instant deployment with Heroku. Though of necessity the book focuses on a specific sample application, the emphasis throughout this book is on general principles, so you will have a solid foundation no matter what kind of web application you want to build.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xiii About this Book xv About the Author xvii Chapter 1: From Zero to Deploy 1 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Up and Running 9 1.3 Version Control with Git 23 1.4 Deploying 35 1.5 Conclusion 39 Chapter 2: A Demo App 41 2.1 Planning the Application 41 2.2 The Users Resource 44 2.3 The Microposts Resource 57 2.4 Conclusion 67 Chapter 3: Mostly Static Pages 69 3.1 Static Pages 71 3.2 Our First Tests 78 3.3 Slightly Dynamic Pages 93 3.4 Conclusion 104 3.5 Exercises 105 Chapter 4: Rails-Flavored Ruby 107 4.1 Motivation 107 4.2 Strings and Methods 112 4.3 Other Data Structures 121 4.4 Ruby Classes 132 4.5 Exercises 143 Chapter 5: Filling in the Layout 145 5.1 Adding Some Structure 145 5.2 Layout Links 163 5.3 User Signup: A First Step 171 5.4 Conclusion 177 5.5 Exercises 178 Chapter 6: Modeling and Viewing Users, Part I 181 6.1 User Model 182 6.2 User Validations 197 6.3 Viewing Users 213 6.4 Conclusion 223 6.5 Exercises 223 Chapter 7: Modeling and Viewing Users, Part II 225 7.1 Insecure Passwords 225 7.2 Secure Passwords 236 7.3 Better User Views 247 7.4 Conclusion 261 7.5 Exercises 263 Chapter 8: Sign Up 265 8.1 Signup Form 265 8.2 Signup Failure 273 8.3 Signup Success 285 8.4 RSpec Integration Tests 292 8.5 Conclusion 299 8.6 Exercises 300 Chapter 9: Sign In, Sign Out 303 9.1 Sessions 303 9.2 Signin Failure 310 9.3 Signin Success 317 9.4 Signing Out 334 9.5 Conclusion 343 9.6 Exercises 343 Chapter 10: Updating, Showing, and Deleting Users 345 10.1 Updating Users 345 10.2 Protecting Pages 355 10.3 Showing Users 364 10.4 Destroying Users 379 10.5 Conclusion 387 10.6 Exercises 388 Chapter 11: User Microposts 391 11.1 A Micropost Model 391 11.2 Showing Microposts 405 11.3 Manipulating Microposts 414 11.4 Conclusion 438 11.5 Exercises 438 Chapter 12: Following Users 441 12.1 The Relationship Model 442 12.2 A Web Interface for Following and Followers 461 12.3 The Status Feed 485 12.4 Conclusion 497 12.5 Exercises 501 Index 503