With the fast paced changes that Ruby on Rails is going through it is often handy to have some notes aside. These remind you of the Ajax, activerecord and REST principles.

Rails 2.1 brings a new level of stability and power to this acclaimed web development framework, but keeping track of its numerous moving parts is still a chore. Rails Pocket Reference offers you a painless alternative to hunting for resources online, with brief yet thorough explanations of the most frequently used methods and structures supported by Rails 2.1, along with key concepts you need to work through the framework’s most tangled corners.

from the author:

Save yourself hours of frustration: If you use Rails daily and just want the facts — fast — this is your book.

what others say:

“Just got this book the other day I think its a must have for if you are a rails developer.”

G. Garrod on Amazon.com

“I have been searching high and low for a text that actually explains something, not just offers massive tutorials. This book fits the bill perfectly. The writing is precise and succinct. Both the author and the O’Reilly editors deserve kudos for writing this.”

By M Rogers on Amazon.com

“Like many who dabble with Rails, I own many books on the subject. I like this format in general, and this book does not disappoint. Rails is a loose set of tools/scripts, and this brings together the “how”, with just the right amount of “why”.”

By M. Blankenship on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Rails Pocket Reference today!

Every Ruby on Rails programmer probably owns one of the three editions of this book. Since it’s first edition this book has been updated to use Rails 2 and the RESTful approuch. As with the previous editions of the book, it start’s with an extended tutorial that builds parts of an online store.

Agile Web Development with Rails was one of the first books that used the story telling approach. The learn by example principle takes you through the process of building a small online store while following a small story line. It is well written and easy to follow. Certainly a good book for beginners as well as advanced programmers.

from the author:

Rails just keeps on changing. Rails 2, released in 2008, brings hundreds of improvements, including new support for RESTful applications, new generator options, and so on. And, as importantly, we’ve all learned a lot more about writing Rails applications in the last few years.

So here’s the Third Edition of the Jolt Award winning book that shows you a new approach to web development, updated for Rails 2. Sam Ruby joins the team to add his world-class knowledge of web application development, making this the most up-to-date and authoritative Rails book out there.

what others say:

“This IS the book I’d HIGHLY recommend to anyone with a programming background who has gone through intro-level RoR books and online tutorials and wants to delve deeper into understanding the framework, in terms of gotchas, tips, recommended coding practices, etc.

When I go to a book store and pick up a book, I skim through it, look at the content, and see if the author(s) covered important or complex topics with an appropriate level of detail. This book nailed that part. Even in skimming the book for 5 minutes, I found explanations for several issues I had run into while learning RoR. E.g. with a has-one / belong-to relationship between 2 models, when does the relationship get saved if you associate the parent in the child, or associate the child to the parent? Things like that, which are relevant to programmers build real applications, are invaluable to know. ”

E. Park on Amazon.com

“I don’t remember earlier versions of this book getting slammed quite like this one. Maybe it’s simply because there’s more competition around. Regardless, I still think this is “the” Rails book to get if you’re just starting out, or want a refresher on some of the main areas of Rails.”

By Larry on Amazon.com

“This easy-to-read tome is everything, and more, I expected. No technical jargon to wade through; just simple, understandable guidance for learning how to build web applications using Ruby on Rails. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in learning this fun and amazing development platform!”

By K. Truitt on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Agile Web Development with Rails today!

Developing Facebook Platform Applications with Rails provides everything needed to get started, with great examples and clear explanations. The author provides detailed instructions for building a basic Facebook application, and then adds more complex features such asnews feeds and asynchronous messaging. Tips are also provided for using Facebooker, a Ruby library that is really handy to jumpstart your facebook development and reduce time on developing.

from the author:

With more than 60 million users, Facebook provides a captive audience for developers. More than 12,000 Facebook applications have been launched so far: Is yours next? It could be, with this book. You’ll see how to develop Facebook Platform applications quickly, using the popular Ruby on Rails framework. You’ll learn to use Facebook technologies such as FBML and FQL, and you’ll see how to leverage Rails and the Facebook Platform to make your application a success.

what others say:

“This book serves up a helpful and timely tutorial for the Rails developer contemplating authorship of a first Facebook application. No prior Facebook API or development knowledge is assumed, although those with some familiarity may find the reading less tedious.”

By Dale Lampson on Amazon.com

“I used this book to write three different facebook apps using the FBML option (instead of iframe). I’ve already been programming in Rails for the past year so I was looking for the quickest way to learn about the Facebook platform and the Facebooker plugin.

A bonus feature of this book is the author. He is very active on Github (where the source code is stored) and the Facebooker mailing list. Without him I don’t think Facebooker would be where it is today.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking to develop a Rails app on Facebook. I also recommending joining the mailing list and subscribing to Mike’s RSS commit log on Github.”

By Unknown on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Developing Facebook Platform Applications today!

If you’re on a Mac and you are a developer of any sorts, you should be using Textmate. This lightweight editor puts you back in control of programming. TextMate is not an IDE but by using its powerful snippets and macros, it can often provide features that even a language specific IDE lacks.

What I love about Textmate is that it saves you a lot of time with a really low learning curve. You can open up any directory as a project and easily navigate through files and folders. Short-cuts let you clean-up code, insert snippets or duplicate lines etc.

Because Textmate is so powerful and versatile everybody uses it in their own way. You are not limited by its working methods. Use it for whatever you want: editing text, programming Ruby on Rails, building HTML etc.

Textmate has a really low learning curve. You can use it straight out of the box, but the more you learn about it, the more powerful it becomes. That is where this book comes in. It’s a great reference that lets you streamline your programming methods and saves you a lot of time on manual programming labor.

Did I mention Textmate has its own Ruby on Rails bundle? Mac + Textmate + Ruby on Rails = a lot of fun!

from the author:

TextMate is a powerful tool for programmers, web designers, and anyone else who regularly needs to work with text files on Mac OS X. TextMate focuses on pragmatic automation, which means it will save you time time that’s always in short supply. See how your lowly text editor can become a hard working member of your staff.

TextMate is a full-featured text editor available for Mac OS X that can greatly enhance your text manipulation skills. TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding. Let’s face it, who doesn’t want their very own team of robot ninjas?

With TextMate you can do your normal work, but signal the ever-watchful ninjas as you go. At your command, they will launch into action, slicing through text, building repetitive structures of data in the blink of an eye, and much more. They will even post to your blog, handle your IRC conversations, and read your email.

Inside this book you will learn how to teleport instantly to the exact line of the file you need to be on, edit the data with the briefest incantations of power, and banish the end result to the land of your choosing. It’s magic, as you can plainly see.

Leave the days of dull work behind. Learn your spells, gain access to your team of robot ninjas, and you too will be able to edit text so effortlessly that everyone watching over your shoulder will be forced to ask, “Wait, how did you do that?”

what others say:

“‘TextMate is actually a thin shell over a personalized team of robot ninjas ready to do your bidding.’

The funny thing is, to people who have never used TextMate for more than a few minutes the above phrase sounds like an exaggeration. It’s not. (As long as you can accept the analogy of “really awesome code running on a Mac” = “robot ninjas”…)

Anyway, this book targets a pretty specific market: 1) Humans, 2) who own Macs, 3) and use TextMate. I’m here to tell you that, if you’re human you should have a Mac; and if you have a Mac you should buy TextMate; and if you have TextMate you should buy this book. So there, now it covers everyone.”

By Decompiler on Amazon.com

“This book is the perfect primer for what I have found to be one of the most indispensible Mac OS X applications – TextMate. If you are a software developer or web designer or anyone else that edits text on a frequent basis and you have not already discovered TextMate, stop right now and visit http://www.macromates.com. ”

By Walz-Burkett on Amazon.com

“About six months ago I switched to using TextMate, a text editor with a clean and well designed interface that hides a great deal of power, replacing both BBEdit and vim. I felt like a baby duck that had been ripped away from its mother, but I was determined to switch to a single editor. I have since become familiar with the power of TextMate and it’s extensions. Getting a copy of “TextMate – Power Editing for the Mac” (TPEftM) made me feel like I’d gone from baby duck to Leo DiCaprio, dating a supermodel.”

By A. Williams on Amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of TextMate: Power Editing for the Mac today!

The most common way to host a RoR app is through a Mongrel and Apache setup.  This article sums up some different hosting providers that use this setup.

For the record: Hosting your RoR app in a Mongrel/ Apache setup is most effective when your website is attracting more than 1000 visitors a day or when you want faster page loads. (more than 100 visitors a day).

Mongrel is a fast server for Ruby that is intended for hosting Ruby web applications of any kind. You can run several mongrel servers next to each other. The more servers you are running, the more queues you have and the more web traffic you can handle. That makes it very easy to upgrade your system when you for instance get slash dotted. (Find out more on Mongrol at mongrel.rubyforge.org.)

A lot of people use Apache for load balancing. In a perfect setup you have Apache sending requests to several mongrel servers (2 – 3) and the Apache server serves the static files directly. (javascript/images/stylesheets)

A great introduction tutorial for this setup can be found on http://www.webmasterwords.com. or a more detailed version in Deploying Ruby on Rails applications.

What hosting provider can i use?

Virtual Private Server

Brightbox

Brightbox is one of the easiest VPS setups you will find. They automated the entire deploying process, providing you with a pre-installed rails stack, a separate MySQL cluster and easy deployment gem.

“Brightbox provides Virtual Dedicated Servers optimised for hosting Ruby on Rails applications. Each box comes with our Ruby on Rails stack pre-installed, Managed MySQL database servers and is based on the Xenvirtualisation platform.”

visit brightbox

Slicehost

Slicehost is a great host for developers. They provide several “slices” letting you choose your own OS and rails stack. Slicehost open ups the market with cheap prices but high quality hosting specs.

“Build for developers. We took matters into our own hands. We built a hosting company for people who know their stuff. Give us a box, give us bandwidth, give us performance and we get to work.”

visit slicehost

Railshosting

Railshosting has a lot of the same features as slicehost, but in addition they also provide a extra deployment service. For 79$ per application they can release you of all the hassle and setup a fully configured and tuned rails stack for you.

“VPS Hosting gives you more control over every aspect of your OS environment, enabling you to install custom software and protecting you from other users who may otherwise hog resources on a shared server. ”

visit railshosting

Railsmachine

Railsmachine is one of the big players. A lot of high profile Ruby on Rails applications are hosted with Railsmachine. They are a bit expensive, but they bring in a lot of technical knowledge and support. They also provide you with a easy deployment gem.

“Rails Machine provides software, services and support for commercial Ruby on Rails application deployments. Our primary customers are professional Ruby on Rails developers that need simple and high quality solutions for deploying their applications either in a hosted environment or internal corporate environment. ”

visit railsmachine

Managed Servers

Rails Playground

Rails Playground has been around for a long time now. They provide several packages varying from development hosting to private servers. There second level development package also provides mongrel processes.

“RailsPlayground is an advanced hosting provider geared toward developers. RailsPlayground believes in providing the absolute best service possible to its customers.”

visit Rails Playground

Hosting Cloud

Hosting Clouds allow you to rapidly expand your hosting capabilities and provide you with easy deployment methods. They usually run on Amazon’s EC2 network. It is the latest hype in Ruby on Rails hosting.

Joyent

Joyent started as one of the first RoR hosting providers. They now provide fast cloud computing and several other on-demand services.

“Joyent provides Cloud Computing infrastructure and services to Web 2.0 developers and Fortune 500 companies. We make it possible for our clients to quickly move from idea to a web application with millions of users – without the pain of large capital outlays and long-term vendor contracts, and while still getting all the stability, security, and quality of a a dedicated private data-center.”

visit Joyent

Engine Yard

Engine Yard is a here-to-stay hosting provider. With a 3.5 mil starup fund they created a solid Cloud hosting product, serving more than 100.000 users.

“On-demand deployment and management of your Ruby on Rails application on Amazon EC2. You get Engine Yard’s battle-tested Ruby on Rails stack and Rails hosting deployment expertise in an easy-to-use interface.”

visit Engine Yard

Rails Cookbook is just like Advanced Rails Recipes packed with lots of  examples and code snippets. While Advanced Rails Recipes focuses on  complete recipes, Rails Cookbook also goes into several development principles such as RESTful web services and developing on a Mac environment. This book is great for giving you a insight snoop on different development methods and RoR implementations.

tt

from the author:

Rails Cookbook is packed with the solutions you need to be a proficient developer with Rails, the leading framework for building the new generation of Web 2.0 applications. Recipes range from the basics, like installing Rails and setting up your development environment, to the latest techniques, such as developing RESTful web services.

With applications that are code light, feature-full and built to scale quickly, Rails has revolutionized web development. The Rails Cookbook addresses scores of real-world challenges; each one includes a tested solution, plus a discussion of how and why it works, so that you can adapt the techniques to similar situations. Topics include:

• Testing and debugging your Rails application
• Building responsive web applications using JavaScript and Ajax
• Ensuring that your application is security and performs well
• Deploying your application with Mongrel and Apache
• Using Capistrano to automate deployment
• Using the many Rails plugins
• Working with graphics

what others say:

I’ve read Agile Development with Rails and Rails Recipes, but this book was still helpful for me. ADWR is more of a “This is how it works” while this book, like Rails Recipes, is a “Here’s how to do the things you want to do” kind of book. I liked that the sections are presented in a problem/solution format; if you don’t want to solve that problem, keep flipping. The recipes covered a range of beginner to more advanced topics

By J Moody on amazon.com

The “Cookbook” series all seem to be books worth the price and shelf space. This one is no exception. I’d give it three out of five with an extra half for its timely information on Rails 1.2 and would recommend it for all Rails programmers from the absolute beginner through to all but the most experienced.

By A Williams on amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Rails Cookbook today!

from the author:

Unlike other Rails books, this book doesn’t assume that you are an experienced web developer, or that you’ve used Ruby before. An entire chapter is devoted to learning Ruby in a fun way, using the interactive Ruby console, so you can follow along at home. You’ll be an accomplished Ruby programmer in no time!

The example application that the book builds – a user-generated news web site – is built upon with each following chapter, and concepts such as sessions, cookies and basic AJAX usage are gradually introduced. Different aspects of Rails, such as user authentication, session cookies, and automated testing are explored with each feature that is added to the application.

The book finishes with chapters on debugging, benchmarking and deployment to a live web server.

By the end of the book, you’ll have built a fully-featured Web 2.0 application and deployed it to the Web. And all code is up-to-date for Rails 2.0, so you can begin coding immediately with the latest version of Rails.

what others say:

Amongst the plethora of Rails books, only a few cover 2.0+, and even fewer do a decent job of it. This book covers Rails 2.0.2 incrementally from the ground up, and there’s even a decent intro to Ruby for those completely new to the language.

Patrick Lenz thoroughly covers the basics, RESTful routing, plugins, testing, etc., and also teaches several tips, tricks, and shortcuts of the trade…things that you may not easily deduce by reading the API. Practically every concept covered is matched with hands-on exercises while developing the book’s application. The code is accurate and virtually errata-free.

By Scott Gardner on amazon.com

This is one of the best beginner web app books i have ever seen (I’ve read books on rails, PHP , django, Zope, but not too much on .NET, ASP or java). The author takes the approach that he will introduce one coherent topic at a time thoroughly, with as little source code as possible, without digressions, exceptions or comparisons to other languages (perl, PHP, java). This he does admirably.

By Pounding on the keyboard on amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of Rails 2 today!

more posts on Simply Rails 2:

• How to learn Ruby on Rails | Smallshock: Start small, finish big – You can see my version of the Simply Rails 2 book’s app at http://shovell.rumblestrut.com. Lenz does a great job of describing Ruby, especially the somewhat tricky fundamentals of object-oriented programming. He does the reader a great …

• Simply Rails 2 Book Review | Creativity Takes Courage – I’ve been looking at Ruby on Rails recently in order to assess it for the development of some of our internal projects and to get me started I downloaded a copy of Simply Rails 2 2nd Edition by Patrick Lenz. …

• Simply Rails 2 – Asiaing.com – Simply Rails 2 is an easy-to-follow, practical and fun guide to Ruby on Rails for beginners. It covers all you need to get up and running, from installing Ruby, Rails and SQLite to building and deploying a fully featured …

RailsSpace is a really fun book that lets you learn by example. The book covers all abc’s on developing a social network website like Facebook. While most books that let you learn by example tend to produce a not working application, RailsSpace actually has a product that works. I downloaded the example code from their website an got it working in under twenty minutes. Great Job guys!

Although the book is written for rails 1.2.3 it still has great learning value. The authors updated the code to rails 2.0 so you can easily make the jump to the latest version.

tt

from the author:

RailsSpace teaches you to build large-scale projects with Rails by developing a real-world application: a social networking website like MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster.

Inside, the authors walk you step by step from the creation of the site’s virtually static front page, through user registration and authentication, and into a highly dynamic site, complete with user profiles, image upload, email, blogs, full-text and geographical search, and a friendship request system. In the process, you learn how Rails helps you control code complexity with the model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, abstraction layers, automated testing, and code refactoring, allowing you to scale up to a large project even with a small number of developers.

The book’s companion website provides the application source code, a blog with follow-up articles, narrated screencasts, and a working version of the RailSpace social network.

what others say:

RailsSpace hits the Ruby on Rails learning sweet spot

By Sharon Machlis on computerworld.com

RailsSpace does an excellent job of teaching Ruby on Rails through a hands-on, real world application. If you are like me then you probably cringed at the thought of yet another social networking site. However, after reading through the first part to this book my apprehensions were put at ease.

By Nate Klaiber on amazon.com

Click here to get your copy of RailsSpace today!

more posts on RailsSpace:

• How to Choose the RailsSpace Building a Social Networking Website … – How to Choose the RailsSpace Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails. This is the cheapest prices on RailsSpace Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails & Similar products on Ebay.com: …

• Gift Idea: “RailsSpace: Building a Social Networking Site with … – Cover of the book “RailsSpace” Today marks the start of my fourth week at TSOT, a Toronto-based startup that develops custom social networking software in Ruby on Rails. The company’s first two products are FraternityLive and …

• How i learned Ruby on Rails – RailsSpace. RailsSpace is a really fun book that lets you learn by example. The book covers all abc’s on developing a social network website like Facebook. Click here for more information on RailsSpace. Advanced Rails Recipes …

Rails was created in 2003 by David Heinemeier Hansson and has since been extended by the Rails core team and more than 1,400 contributors.

Who is using Ruby on Rails?

Basecamp: The original Rails app.	Twitter: Stay connected.	Shopify: E-commerce made easy.
Yellow Pages: Find it locally.	Github: Git repo hosting.	Lighthouse: Simple bug tracking.

While this book might not be for beginners  it still is a great resource to learn basic skills by example. This book gives you a real world perspective on how to build a webapplication in ruby on rails and what things  complicate the development process and how to solve them.

Besides upgrading you Ruby on Rails knowledge it also covers TDD (Test Driven Development ) principles. Test driven development helps you write better code that will make you sleep better at night.Whenever updating an application, running the tests will make sure that the updates don’t break the application where you did not expect it to.

The book also covers working with the sprint method. One of the problems you might face when building a large web application is where to start and what to document. Sprints are a easy and fun way to manage software development and to quickly see results.

from the author:

The book dives right into the process of creating a production-level web application using agile methodologies and test-driven development combined with Rails best practices. Youll take advantage of the latest crop of Rails plug-ins and helpers that will radically improve your programming schedule. Youll also create a real application step-by-step, plus the book is driven by real-world cases throughout.

Click here to get your copy today!