Nola On Rails - #1 The Class && The Web

A light covering of the undercover actions of the browser, servers, and the communication between

Transcript

1. Nola On Rails Session 1 The Class && The Web
2. Welcome to NOR • This class will teach you how the internet works, kinda • This class will teach you how to program, kinda • This class will teach you how Rails works, kinda • This class will show you the tools of the trade • This class will show you how to build a prototype web application
3. Who am I? • Hacker (3y), author (10y), and educator (5y) • Started programming with toy languages • Ruby was my first real language • Sinatra my first web framework • Rails is where the real money comes from • Since then, many other languages, Ruby still primary
4. What you will learn • How to build a Rails application • Some programming concepts • The tools that are easiest to use • Some behavior driven development
5. What this class doesn't cover • 90% of programming • The darker and deeper parts of the web • HTML, CSS, or JavaScript • Other languages, frameworks, or similar • Profiling, testing, or coverage • The really hard stuff
6. What you need • A computer* • A text editor (Sublime Text 2, Gedit) • A web browser (Chrome, Firefox) • A terminal *A Mac is better, but realistically you can use a Windows or Linux computer.
7. What the class provides • Each session will have a presentation • Each session is video recorded • Each session is audio recorded • Any code, materials, or links will be on the website: http://nolaonrails.com/courses
8. Class time framework • Every class is 1 hour and 15 minutes long • 5 minute discussion on what we did last class • 45 minutes on part of building a rails application • 15 minutes reviewing what we learned • 10 minutes with cleanup, problem areas, and resources
9. What is Programming? • Making a computer do what you want • Usually requires writing in a programming language • Making a program read your code • The process of providing input, resolving logic, pushing output
10. What is Ruby? • A programming language • Good for web development, among other things • Huge and vibrant community • Very human readable
11. What is Rails? • A web application framework written in Ruby • Started in 2001 as a web app building script • The latest version is 3.2 and is widely used • Removes a lot of the boilerplate from building web applications
12. Web Development • Building applications or services for the web • The client is a browser ◦ Renders HTML ◦ Styles with CSS ◦ Runs JavaScript • The server is a stack including: ◦ A HTTP Server (Apache, Nginx, Lighttpd) ◦ A daemon listening on a port (80) • The protocol is called HTTP
13. The Browser • The browser makes requests to the server • Gets a response from the server • Attempts to render the response (HTML) • Styles the DOM (CSS) • Manipulates the DOM (JS) • Can (optionally) send other types of requests
14. HTTP: GET && POST • The protocol of the internet • GET is for asking the server for content: "Server, can you GET me the /home resource?" • POST is for sending the server content: "Server, please take this data to /accounts/new" There are others, but are unimportant
15. Stacks && Servers • Take requests from clients (which can be other servers) • Processes the request path (looks like '/xxx/vyyy/qqq` • Passes along the parameters (looks like '? key=value&key2=value2`) • Runs logic (Like a framework, Rails) • Responds with a header and body of info (usually HTML)
16. Rails Resources • Rails Tutorial • Rails Guide • The Rails Forum • Railscasts • #rails
17. Ruby Resources • Learn Ruby The Hard Way • Programming Ruby • The Poignant Ruby Book • Ruby Rogues Podcast • Ruby5 • The Ruby Forum • TryRuby • #ruby-lang