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The Ruby on Rails Tutorial for Rails 4.0 (beta)

195 points by mhartl 14y ago

aerlinger 14y ago
Great stuff. The Rails Tutorial was my top resource when learning Rails and I still use it as a reference (along with RailsSpace and Railscasts). I'm using Rails 4 on a few projects, so if I can lend any feedback on the future release let me know.
- mhartl 14y ago
  Please do send feedback! Any significant structural changes will have to wait until the next full edition (slated for production later this year), but bug and typo reports are hugely appreciated. I typically process such reports as an email queue, so send them to admin@railstutorial.org.
richardjordan 14y ago
I hadn't don't any programming since some BASIC and Fortran during my physics degree in the mid 90s until 2010 when the loss of a technical co-founder in back to back startups made me recognize I needed to make myself my own technical cofounder - at least to get through the MVP phase. I'm writing a blog post about this at the moment including links to the key resources that helped me go from a sales, marketing, biz dev guy to competent developer able to produce my own MVPs. Railstutorial was a key part in that, a brilliantly written resource which helps explain lots of complex concepts in simple ways. Very excited to see the new Rails 4 version come out. I cannot recommend this highly enough to people who are starting from scratch with Rails.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- triplesec 14y ago
  Looking forward to your post! Add a link when you do, please!
pitzips 14y ago
Just started learning rails last week, and I have say Michael, you have been a huge key part of that. My boss thanks you for speeding up my learning process. Your book actually just arrived today. Anyone trying to learn RoR, use this guy's tutorial - promise you won't regret it!
- rrrhys 14y ago
  I'm working through it now - have left the tutorial for a while (finished chapter 8, sign in) to do a few demo projects and make sure all the concepts are sticking. I'm also finding that reading open source code is giving me some much needed 'real-world' exposure - currently studying Lobsters (https://github.com/jcs/lobsters https://github.com/jcs/lobsters)
sync 14y ago
Finally, as far as I can tell Rails 4 doesn’t yet work on Heroku, so all the deployment examples currently fail. Rails 4 definitely works on heroku, what problems are you seeing? Edit: You may be missing "ruby '2.0.0'" or "ruby '1.9.3'" in your Gemfile, as seen in: https://gist.github.com/speedmanly/d15a3a5f8d0971bc0c92 https://gist.github.com/speedmanly/d15a3a5f8d0971bc0c92
- mhartl 14y ago
  Even with an explicit Ruby line in the Gemfile, I get this error: $ heroku logs . . . heroku[slugc]: Slug compilation failed: unrecognized error Here's the Gemfile: source 'https://rubygems.org' ruby '2.0.0' gem 'rails', '4.0.0.beta1' group :development do gem 'sqlite3', '1.3.7' end group :assets do gem 'sass-rails', '4.0.0.beta1' gem 'coffee-rails', '4.0.0.beta1' gem 'uglifier', '1.0.3' end gem 'jquery-rails', '2.2.1' gem 'turbolinks', '1.0.0' gem 'jbuilder', '1.0.1' group :production do gem 'pg', '0.14.1' end The app is the "first_app" from the book, which is basically the result of running "rails new first_app" plus a slightly modified Gemfile. The full repo is here: https://github.com/mhartl/first_app https://github.com/mhartl/first_app. Any help in getting it to work on Heroku would be much appreciated.
  - siong1987 14y ago
    That's weird. http://www.cupidwithfriends.com http://www.cupidwithfriends.com is running rails 4 and been on heroku for the past week. Our Gemfile: source 'https://rubygems.org' ruby '1.9.3' # Bundle edge Rails instead: gem 'rails', github: 'rails/rails' gem 'rails', '4.0.0.beta1'
    - mhartl 14y ago
      Thanks. I think I know what the problem is. Tracking it down now... Edit: Yes, I figured it out. In Rails 4.0, the default page for a new app is no longer served as a static file from the public/ directory. Instead, something magical happens, and the magic doesn't work on Heroku. That's no worry, though, as it only means the first app doesn't work. The other apps, which set root routes, should work fine. They don't, though. I can't get the main sample app's CSS or images to load properly. Hmm... Bleeding edge indeed. Update: You need to edit the default production.rb file to configure Rails to serve static assets: config.serve_static_assets = true Thanks to ninthfrank07 for his link at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5411964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5411964 that included the solution.
suyash 14y ago
Link to the book itself: http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book?version=4.0#top http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book?ve...
TommyDANGerous 14y ago
I LOVE this tutorial. Read it twice, definitely going to read this one.
michaelrkn 14y ago
Congrats, Michael!
jeffpersonified 14y ago
I don't think there has been a single more valuable resource in my learning to build web applications. Thanks for your work, Michael.
ryderm 14y ago
I did the rails 3.0 version of this tutorial about 2 years ago. Highly highly recommended. It almost single-handedly got me into web development and I certainly wouldn't be where I am today without it. Many thanks mhartl.
bdcravens 14y ago
As I read the post (haven't dug into the v4 book itself yet), this covers only revisions, not new features (such as TurboLinks)? As others have said, thank you so much for this resource. Everyone who can afford it who finds it useful should purchase it (I bought v3.0 on Kindle, and v3.2 in hard copy)
- mhartl 14y ago
  Completely new features like TurboLinks aren't covered yet (they will probably be in the full third edition later this year), but additions like strong parameters and the new Active Record finders are covered. Glad you like the book!
habosa 14y ago
Hartl's Rails Tutorial is by far the best and most pragmatic programming tutorial I have ever read. I used it to get me started with Rails 3 (bought the hard copy) and I still consult it all the time when working in Rails. I have never felt so empowered as a programmer the first time I build that twitter clone from the tutorial. It didn't teach me anything about algorithms, databases, or any of the core things I learn in school. Instead it taught me serious practical things like deployment, rapid prototyping, version control, and so much more. Michael, if you're still reading this thread: Thank You. You made programming exciting for me.
- mhartl 14y ago
  Thanks for sharing your story. Glad to hear it! :-)
- train_robber 14y ago
  I agree. Having been suddenly thrusted into the world of Ruby, Rails (and web development in general) from Java and C, Micheal's tutorial was a real life saver. I would have been lost in the crowd had it not been for this. Excellent!
- joonix 14y ago
  I was just about to start the tutorial for this reason. I don't have any Rails experience but I've been learning basic Ruby. Should I start with this (4.0) tutorial?
  - rooshdi 14y ago
    Yes, the Rails Tutorial and RailsCasts episodes should get you up to speed and keep you up to date. IMHO, they're the best learning resources for RoR out there.
    - joonix 14y ago
      Yeah, sorry, what I meant was that I'm definitely set on doing the tutorial. I'm just not sure if I should go through the 4.0 draft or the older version that's been up there. Would it be more practical to learn on 4.0?
jemaddux 14y ago
My version of rails 4.0 won't work without ruby 2.0 but I'm not complaining. Works like a charm as far as I have tested it.
- steveklabnik 14y ago
  Can you expand on 'won't work?' Did you / can you file a ticket? Rails 4.0 should work on Ruby 1.9.3, though we do recommend 2.0.
nachteilig 14y ago
I basically learned rails from the first tutorial. Thanks for these!
phrasemix 14y ago
I started learning to code last year using Hartl's Rails Tutorial. It was actually a big part of me deciding to go with Ruby and Rails over any other language and framework. I have spoken with many dozens of other beginners at local Ruby meetups. Basically EVERYONE learning Rails and Ruby (at least in NYC) uses this thing. It might not be a bad idea to read through the Rails Tutorial, even if you're an experienced Rails developer, just to see what the baseline is for people starting out these days. Very much appreciated, Michael!
throw_away_acc 14y ago
Who is nowadays starting Ruby on Rails?
BvS 14y ago
Since there are by now probably a lot of readers who go back to the book and user it as a reference, is there any chance that you include new topics / extra chapters with more advanced topics? Would be great (+ you could charge me again... ;-).
ksec 14y ago
What about Pjax, Russian Doll Caching, Ruby 2.0 etc?
gench 14y ago
I think a mobile web application example would be great to include in this awesome tutorial.
nicholassmith 14y ago
I've done two versions of the Hartl Rails tutorials now, looks like I'll be doing a third. They really are truly excellent resources, and if anyone is considering doing an in-depth tutorial for any technology there's plenty of lessons to be had there. I recommend it constantly to people who're looking to get a start with Rails.
dasil003 14y ago
@mhartl I noticed you recently got a Chinese translation for the tut. Are there any other language translations available or in the works? (I'm looking Portuguese or even Spanish secondarily)

195 points by mhartl 14y ago

Great stuff. The Rails Tutorial was my top resource when learning Rails and I still use it as a reference (along with RailsSpace and Railscasts). I'm using Rails 4 on a few projects, so if I can lend any feedback on the future release let me know.

mhartl 14y ago
Please do send feedback! Any significant structural changes will have to wait until the next full edition (slated for production later this year), but bug and typo reports are hugely appreciated. I typically process such reports as an email queue, so send them to admin@railstutorial.org.

richardjordan 14y ago

I hadn't don't any programming since some BASIC and Fortran during my physics degree in the mid 90s until 2010 when the loss of a technical co-founder in back to back startups made me recognize I needed to make myself my own technical cofounder - at least to get through the MVP phase. I'm writing a blog post about this at the moment including links to the key resources that helped me go from a sales, marketing, biz dev guy to competent developer able to produce my own MVPs. Railstutorial was a key part in that, a brilliantly written resource which helps explain lots of complex concepts in simple ways. Very excited to see the new Rails 4 version come out. I cannot recommend this highly enough to people who are starting from scratch with Rails.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
triplesec 14y ago
Looking forward to your post! Add a link when you do, please!

pitzips 14y ago

Just started learning rails last week, and I have say Michael, you have been a huge key part of that. My boss thanks you for speeding up my learning process. Your book actually just arrived today. Anyone trying to learn RoR, use this guy's tutorial - promise you won't regret it!

rrrhys 14y ago
I'm working through it now - have left the tutorial for a while (finished chapter 8, sign in) to do a few demo projects and make sure all the concepts are sticking. I'm also finding that reading open source code is giving me some much needed 'real-world' exposure - currently studying Lobsters (https://github.com/jcs/lobsters https://github.com/jcs/lobsters)

sync 14y ago

Finally, as far as I can tell Rails 4 doesn’t yet work on Heroku, so all the deployment examples currently fail. Rails 4 definitely works on heroku, what problems are you seeing? Edit: You may be missing "ruby '2.0.0'" or "ruby '1.9.3'" in your Gemfile, as seen in: https://gist.github.com/speedmanly/d15a3a5f8d0971bc0c92 https://gist.github.com/speedmanly/d15a3a5f8d0971bc0c92

mhartl 14y ago
Even with an explicit Ruby line in the Gemfile, I get this error: $ heroku logs . . . heroku[slugc]: Slug compilation failed: unrecognized error Here's the Gemfile: source 'https://rubygems.org' ruby '2.0.0' gem 'rails', '4.0.0.beta1' group :development do gem 'sqlite3', '1.3.7' end group :assets do gem 'sass-rails', '4.0.0.beta1' gem 'coffee-rails', '4.0.0.beta1' gem 'uglifier', '1.0.3' end gem 'jquery-rails', '2.2.1' gem 'turbolinks', '1.0.0' gem 'jbuilder', '1.0.1' group :production do gem 'pg', '0.14.1' end The app is the "first_app" from the book, which is basically the result of running "rails new first_app" plus a slightly modified Gemfile. The full repo is here: https://github.com/mhartl/first_app https://github.com/mhartl/first_app. Any help in getting it to work on Heroku would be much appreciated.
- siong1987 14y ago
  That's weird. http://www.cupidwithfriends.com http://www.cupidwithfriends.com is running rails 4 and been on heroku for the past week. Our Gemfile: source 'https://rubygems.org' ruby '1.9.3' # Bundle edge Rails instead: gem 'rails', github: 'rails/rails' gem 'rails', '4.0.0.beta1'
  - mhartl 14y ago
    Thanks. I think I know what the problem is. Tracking it down now... Edit: Yes, I figured it out. In Rails 4.0, the default page for a new app is no longer served as a static file from the public/ directory. Instead, something magical happens, and the magic doesn't work on Heroku. That's no worry, though, as it only means the first app doesn't work. The other apps, which set root routes, should work fine. They don't, though. I can't get the main sample app's CSS or images to load properly. Hmm... Bleeding edge indeed. Update: You need to edit the default production.rb file to configure Rails to serve static assets: config.serve_static_assets = true Thanks to ninthfrank07 for his link at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5411964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5411964 that included the solution.

suyash 14y ago

Link to the book itself: http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book?version=4.0#top http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book?ve...

TommyDANGerous 14y ago

I LOVE this tutorial. Read it twice, definitely going to read this one.

michaelrkn 14y ago

Congrats, Michael!

jeffpersonified 14y ago

I don't think there has been a single more valuable resource in my learning to build web applications. Thanks for your work, Michael.

ryderm 14y ago

I did the rails 3.0 version of this tutorial about 2 years ago. Highly highly recommended. It almost single-handedly got me into web development and I certainly wouldn't be where I am today without it. Many thanks mhartl.

bdcravens 14y ago

As I read the post (haven't dug into the v4 book itself yet), this covers only revisions, not new features (such as TurboLinks)? As others have said, thank you so much for this resource. Everyone who can afford it who finds it useful should purchase it (I bought v3.0 on Kindle, and v3.2 in hard copy)

mhartl 14y ago
Completely new features like TurboLinks aren't covered yet (they will probably be in the full third edition later this year), but additions like strong parameters and the new Active Record finders are covered. Glad you like the book!

habosa 14y ago

Hartl's Rails Tutorial is by far the best and most pragmatic programming tutorial I have ever read. I used it to get me started with Rails 3 (bought the hard copy) and I still consult it all the time when working in Rails. I have never felt so empowered as a programmer the first time I build that twitter clone from the tutorial. It didn't teach me anything about algorithms, databases, or any of the core things I learn in school. Instead it taught me serious practical things like deployment, rapid prototyping, version control, and so much more. Michael, if you're still reading this thread: Thank You. You made programming exciting for me.

mhartl 14y ago
Thanks for sharing your story. Glad to hear it! :-)
train_robber 14y ago
I agree. Having been suddenly thrusted into the world of Ruby, Rails (and web development in general) from Java and C, Micheal's tutorial was a real life saver. I would have been lost in the crowd had it not been for this. Excellent!
joonix 14y ago
I was just about to start the tutorial for this reason. I don't have any Rails experience but I've been learning basic Ruby. Should I start with this (4.0) tutorial?
- rooshdi 14y ago
  Yes, the Rails Tutorial and RailsCasts episodes should get you up to speed and keep you up to date. IMHO, they're the best learning resources for RoR out there.
  - joonix 14y ago
    Yeah, sorry, what I meant was that I'm definitely set on doing the tutorial. I'm just not sure if I should go through the 4.0 draft or the older version that's been up there. Would it be more practical to learn on 4.0?

jemaddux 14y ago

My version of rails 4.0 won't work without ruby 2.0 but I'm not complaining. Works like a charm as far as I have tested it.

steveklabnik 14y ago
Can you expand on 'won't work?' Did you / can you file a ticket? Rails 4.0 should work on Ruby 1.9.3, though we do recommend 2.0.

nachteilig 14y ago

I basically learned rails from the first tutorial. Thanks for these!

phrasemix 14y ago

I started learning to code last year using Hartl's Rails Tutorial. It was actually a big part of me deciding to go with Ruby and Rails over any other language and framework. I have spoken with many dozens of other beginners at local Ruby meetups. Basically EVERYONE learning Rails and Ruby (at least in NYC) uses this thing. It might not be a bad idea to read through the Rails Tutorial, even if you're an experienced Rails developer, just to see what the baseline is for people starting out these days. Very much appreciated, Michael!

throw_away_acc 14y ago

Who is nowadays starting Ruby on Rails?

BvS 14y ago

Since there are by now probably a lot of readers who go back to the book and user it as a reference, is there any chance that you include new topics / extra chapters with more advanced topics? Would be great (+ you could charge me again... ;-).

ksec 14y ago

What about Pjax, Russian Doll Caching, Ruby 2.0 etc?

gench 14y ago

I think a mobile web application example would be great to include in this awesome tutorial.

nicholassmith 14y ago

I've done two versions of the Hartl Rails tutorials now, looks like I'll be doing a third. They really are truly excellent resources, and if anyone is considering doing an in-depth tutorial for any technology there's plenty of lessons to be had there. I recommend it constantly to people who're looking to get a start with Rails.

dasil003 14y ago

@mhartl I noticed you recently got a Chinese translation for the tut. Are there any other language translations available or in the works? (I'm looking Portuguese or even Spanish secondarily)