Introduction presentation to Ruby RoR MVC

Intro Session on Ruby MVC RoR

Recruitment Pains -1

Note: Expressed here are my personal views and experience.

All these five years I never felt that recruitment was such a pain. I am not referring to freshers but to the so called experience guys 2+. Was trying to help my friend in getting a good Ruby on Rails resource. Though this was not the first time, and I have done even at all my previous companies but I should say it's a totally, shockingly new experience.

• I heard that in telephonic interviews people try to fool the interviewers under the wrong names or even speaking on behalf of someone else. Observed the same with one of the candidates from Karnataka, India.

• Another great gem who claims to be working for a budding company from past 2.5 years, but the truth is he started working only couple of months back and he was trying to fool us.

• Another beautiful one I can't even think of something like this. A guy claimed to be 1.9 yrs experience in Ruby on Rails went through the couple of rounds of interview and was not bad. So we offered him the position so irresponsible was he, didn't even respond back. So withdrew the offer.

• One of the coolest one, which you got to hear... Another aspirant(friend of above mentioned guy) sent us the same application and claimed it to be done by him entirely.
  

In the whole process what I failed to understand was, why can't people be genuine to themselves. What were such candidates trying to prove?
Can they perform same way, even they were offered the job?
Why do they create wrong impressions and ultimately they will be in trouble by not performing?
...
...
...
I can list many more... but what's the use.

But I would like to stretch out and help other Ruby on Rails recruiters by sharing away their names. Hoping to save others time and money.

Twitter based Applications

It's been quite a while I wrote about Twitter, in the context of micro-blogging and Ruby on Rails applications.

http://sumanthtechsavvy.blogspot.com/2008/07/websites-weblogs-micro-blogging-what.html

http://sumanthtechsavvy.blogspot.com/2008/07/twitter-whats-truth.html

I thought it's worth to maintain a separate blogs, to collect the fast releasing applications based on "Twitter".

I welcome your suggestions to list the applications.  Mail across the twitter app that you are using/noticed.

http://appsontwitter.blogspot.com/

Ajax even @ home - I am serious

It's been over two years I heard about this buzz word "AJAX". In fact I came to know about this through one of resumes that I interviewed for php programmers. And once I picked up Ruby on Rails framework, it became pretty common in daily work. Well to cut short and justify title of this post "Ajax even @ home - I am serious". Can't believe? See down ...



Have a nice weekend :)

ActiveRecord - CRUD operations - 2

We learn t how to create rows in the database. Moving next in CRUD, it is Reading data from db tables. Reading data involves/requires set of constraints/conditions. Something like, details of specific user, product pricing range, sorting order, matching criteria... and the list goes on. To go ahead with these operations ActiveRecord provides the following handy methods, parameter symbols to you:

find
find_by_xyz
find_by_sql

:first :all :conditions :include :order :limit :select :joins :offset :readonly :lock
etc...

Getting into details, previously we created few rows about user into users table. Now we use this find to read/retrieve the data. Little about "find", it is counterpart for "select * from users" in SQL. The syntax is very plain and simple to pick up.
Say, now I want to read/retrieve the data of all users.

User.find(:all)

so the find method connects to users table (through User class of model) and through parameter "all" it fetches info of all the users a simple array. If we use parameter :first, then only first record would be fetched.

User.find(:first)

say now I want to introduce some constraints. :conditions is the parameter to be used.
Like, I want user with a specific name
User.find(:first,
:conditions => "name='sumanth'" )
but in case the name to be matched comes dynamically through params, then there would be slight change in the above syntax. Like this,

User.find(:first,
:conditions => "name=?,params[:name] ")

or

User.find(:first,
:conditions => "name= '#{params[:name] }'")

if you want more than one parameter to be checked/matched in the conditions then we can separate each with 'and'.

User.find(:first,
:conditions => ["name=? and email=?",params[:name] ,params[:email]])

thus we can play around with more options/parameter that "find" accommodates. Don't forget to separate each options with "," as I had used it after :first and before :conditions options.

RoR Workshop @ Hyderabad - Twincling

I am planning for a workshop on Ruby on Rails introductory level. The agenda of the workshop is

• to introduce the Ruby on Rails
• MVC Architecture
• ActiveRecord
• ActionController
• ActionView
• ActionMailer
• Pagination
• Ajax
  
• Rails demo with project

For more details about the venue and organisation details, visit Twincling.
More about the workshop will be updated through the posts, keep watching :-)

Ruby on Rails relevance to Startups - @ BarCamp

The barcamp5 hosted by Google Engineering Hyderabad :)
Many bloggers had already spoken their part about the proceedings through live blogging.
In brief, there was bit chaos on arranging things, running the talks/session parallely, and finally it was more like session with less user participation (devitation from what usual BarCamp famous for!!!)

Sumanth Krishna @ Ruby on Rails Conferences/Communities

I wanted to present on my favorite Ruby on Rails and since BarCamp is the place where lot of young minds, entrepreneurs... assemble. So I related it (RoR) to Startups and on "Ruby on Rails relevance to Startup's". I started the session post lunch around 3PM. I did present my views on very well about the startups and when the slides related to Ruby on Rails started, I just carried away more in explaining the details of RoR.


Slides: "RoR relevance to Startups" @ Google sponsored BarCamp5 :)
Scribd
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Please feel free to enhance/comment on the presentation.
I am planning for a Workshop on Ruby on Rails with support of Twincling society :-)

@ Ruby on Rails conferences

I have been into Open Source technologies from starting of my career and I always take pride to speak about the technologies, I had been into. Be it:
Browser - Firefox, Mozilla...
Testing tools - Selenium...
Programming Languages - PHP, Ruby, Python...

and the list goes on and on.

Recently I had been associated with open source community, where I had chance to speak about the open source technologies I work on: Ruby, Rails, Aptana...
You can find more about community here and the following links shows my participation:

• TSM Ruby on Rails
  
• Discussions @ Open Source Round up - 2007
• Discussions @ Open Source Round up - 2007

Ruby on Rails Learning through examples

What ruby is used for?
Let us recollect the statement:
Ruby is "an interpreted scripting language for quick and easy object-oriented programming".
Ruby is used for many kind of applications be it writing automation scripts and run on your local pc's, or developing automation tools, or Website, or Blogs, Web Application or web based products and the list goes on...

We here pick up basics of Ruby just enough to get going with Rails and start developing simple websites and web applications.
All the things that we had said about ruby in earlier post What is Ruby? will be discussed in coming posts.
Learning through Examples:

Before even going for installing the ruby in your desktop, let us experiment on ruby with small examples and work/execute them here online.

This is our play ground:
This is called interactive ruby shell and we find ">>" similar to command/shell prompt. Now let's start with famous example of printing out "Hello World!" statement.

1. type puts "Hello World!" >> puts "Hello World!"
   
2. then click "Enter" button
3. Now you would find the expected returned
   

• >> puts "Hello World!"
  
• Hello World!
  => nil
  

So puts is the ruby way of printing the things to console/prompt. The first line means to print the string within the quotes(i.e. Hello World!). Your would also find "=> nil" displayed in the next line of the Hello World! statement, puts always returns nil, which is Ruby’s absolutely-positively-nothing value.

Going on to the next example:

• Ruby has simple syntax.
• Ruby is dynamically typed.
  
• Ruby needs no variable declarations.
• Ruby operators are also methods.
  

Now I want to do simple math. Based on the above points,
to add two integers just type : 4+2
to subtract two integers just type : 4-2
to multiply two integers just type : 4*2
to divide two integers just type : 4/2
You can check out with other types also. Need not be of same type, since ruby is dynamic language at the run time they would be evaluated.
for example you type 2.0+3 and see for yourself.

Coming on to the variable declaration, ruby does not require the variable declarations. Let us the see this point also:
you type
>> a=5
=>5
>>b=2.0
=>2.0
>>c=a+b
=>7.0
As you see we have not declared the variables a,b,c and what type they hold. All these variables are evaluated at the run time and treated accordingly.
Ruby treat the operators(+,-,*,/,%...) as just like methods, which is conceptually derived from Smalltalk.

Download the pdf version of Learning Through Examples.
The pdf includes:

• Useful links
• Duck typing explained with example.
• Examples with appropriate comments and explanation.
• Ruby resources links.
  

Ruby on Rails - What is Ruby?

So, I am not just going to stop by providing the Ruby on Rails course structure.
I am here to start sharing the concepts what I understood about Ruby on Rails.
A gentle disclaimer, Nobody is perfect and in my attempt to become close to perfection I relied on world wide web to learn better and to understand the concepts clearly.

So let's start today with Introduction topic and discuss more on What is Ruby? If you are in hurry you can download What is Ruby?

Initially Some History about Ruby:

The language was created by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, who started working on Ruby on February 24, 1993, and released it to the public in 1995. "Ruby" was named as a gemstone because of a joke within Matsumoto's circle of friends alluding to Perl's name.

Some useful links that come handy when you are going through the course material:

Scripting Language : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scripting_language

Compiled Language : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiled_language

Compilers : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiler

Interpreters : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpreter_%28computing%29

Object Oriented Programming : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented

Jargon to watch out:
Ruby, Interpreters, Compilers, Scripting Language, Compiled Language, Mixins, Operating System, Unix, Linux, Modules, Closures, Threads, Exceptions, Garbage Collectors,

Download the detailed Ruby on Rails Course contents.

Reach me @ tosumanthkrishnaATgmailDOTcom for more discussions.

Ruby is "an interpreted scripting language for quick and easy object-oriented programming".

Don’t be alarmed. We will take one by one:

Interpreted Scripting Language:

• Ability to make operating system calls directly
• Powerful string operations and regular expressions
• Immediate feedback during development
• Ruby programs can be executed from source code.(means to say need not be compiled)

Object Oriented Programming:

• Everything is an object
• Classes, inheritance, methods, etc.
• Singleton methods
• Mixin by module
• Iterators and closures

Portable:

• Runs on many different operating systems.
• Windows 95 through XP, Linux, UNIX...

Simple and Fast:

• Variable declarations are unnecessary (remember: everything is an object... including primitives)
• Variables are not typed
• Syntax is simple and consistent (like you are expressing something)
• Automatic memory allocation and garbage collection

More...

• Exception processing model
• Dynamic loading
• Threads

Download the detailed Ruby on Rails Course contents.

Download What is Ruby?

Reach me @ tosumanthkrishnaATgmailDOTcom for more discussions/tips/suggestions.

Ruby on Rails - Course structure

You find lot of materials, websites and many articles where you get information about Ruby and Ruby on Rails.
Well, do not get over loaded with the information. If anybody is serious about learning and practicing Ruby on Rails, can make use of the below course structure. This course structure, I had just jotted down to train freshers and friends whoever interested to know more about RoR.
Note: This structure is framed based on

1. my experience in RoR.
2. my previous session on RoR gathering.
   

If anybody is interested can contact me for more information.

Download Ruby on Rails course structure in pdf

Prerequisites for the RoR Course:
The course is structured keeping in view of less experienced/freshers in the industry. So considereable time is given for all introductory topics.
However, having knowledge/experience is an added advantage:

1. Exposure to any of the programming languages (c,c++,c#,java...)/Scripting languages(perl, php, smalltalk...).

2. Overview on how web application works.

3. Understanding of the necessity of Data models, Configuration Management.

4. Necessary tools/IDE's (Eclipse IDE, notepad...)

5. Good Analyzing skills.

6. Web Technologies (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, XML, )

Download Ruby on Rails course structure in pdf

COURSE CONTENT

Introduction

· What is Ruby?

· What is it used for?

· Where do I get and install Ruby?

· Core facilities, built-in library and standard library.

· Basic concepts - object orientation, regular expressions, arrays, hashes, etc.

Basic Ruby Language Elements

· Structure of statements and comments.

· Variables and constants.

· Operators. Assignments, calculations, etc. Integer, float and string formats.

· Single and double quotes, here documents, general strings.

Control Structures

· Blocks and the if statement.

· Writing conditions.

· Comparative, boolean and range operators.

· Conditionals - if, unless, case, etc. Loops - while, for in, until, etc. break, next, retry and redo. defined? and ternary operators.

Object Orientation: Individual Objects

· History - unstructured and structured code. Introduction to object oriented programming.

· Classes and methods.

· Static and nonstatic.

· Instances, constructors and destructors.

· Accessing members of a class.

· Loading and using classes.

· Direct access to variables.

· Encouraging class use.

Classes and Objects

· Objects, classes and methods.

· Constructors and attributes.

· Instance and class variables.

· Local and global variables.

· Class and object methods.

· Including files - load and require.

Collections (Arrays and Hashes) in Ruby

· What is a collection?

· Arrays and hashes.

· Constructing an array.

· Nesting arrays. Hash keys, iterators, etc.

More Classes and Objects

· Public, private and protected visibility.

· Singletons and defs.

· Inheritance mixins, and super.

· Destructors and garbage collection.

· Namespaces and modules.

· Hooks.

· Calling methods with code blocks.

· Looking inside objects - reflection.

Strings and Regular Expressions

· Anchors, literals, character groups and counts.

· Matching in Ruby.

· Modifiers i, o, x and m.

· Pattern matching variables.

Special Variables and Pseudo-Variables

· ARGV, $0 and friends - the command line.

· Other special variables from $: through $ to Other special variables from $: through $ to Other special variables from $: through $ to Other special variables from $: through $ to $<. lt;. lt;.

· Environment variables.

· Pseudo-variables.

· Reserved words in Ruby.

Exceptions.

· begin and end (and a mention of BEGIN and END).

· Raise and rescue.

· Throw and catch.

Download Ruby on Rails course structure in pdf

Ruby on the Web

· CGI and the Ruby Apache Module.

· Using cgi.rb; URL decoding, forms, sessions, cookies, etc.

· Embedding Ruby in HTML - the <% <%= and <%# tags.

Ruby GUIs, XML, MySQL Database Connectivity

· Using Ruby/DBI to connect to MySQL, Oracle, etc.

MVC ARCHITECTURE

· What is MVC Architecture?

· Importance of it?

· How it helps?

WebApplications

· What are WebApplications?

· Essentials of WebApplications?

· SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)

· Database Architecture

· Configuration Management (concept & tools)

· Application/Web Servers

Rails Framework

· What is Ruby on Rails?

· MVC (Model, view, controller) design principles.

· Rails structures -

o WEBrick servers,

o URLs and embedded code.

o Directory structure.

o Database connections.

· Creating the application

o the database and tables.

· First application through Scaffolds.

· Validation and customising the display.

· Adding a new controller.

· Adding viewers and layouts.

· Active Records.

· Emailing and logging from within Rails.

Ajax

· What is AJAX?

Ajax on Rails

· How to implement AJAX on Rails framework?

· What is Protoype?

· What is Scriptaculous?

· Ajax Effects.

· Rich UI experience.

· Visual Effects.

HOW TO PUT ABOVE LEARN T CONCEPTS IN TO REAL TIME PROJECTS?

Download Ruby on Rails course structure in pdf
I am open to receive any enhancement tips and open for discussion on the course structure.(tosumanthkrishna AT gmail DOT com)

Ruby on Rails - The 10 Most Marketable Web Development Skills

After the brief talk on Ruby on Rails at Twincling society which was successful and satisfactory, I am keen on writing and talking more on Ruby on Rails development.
So one of the FAQ's I face most is
What is Ruby on Rails and what is the market for it?
I stumbled across one such article "The 10 Most Marketable Web Development Skills", where the list of web development skills provided.

Note:

• This is not any comparison but just listing out current web developement skills that have market.

• The order of the list is not based on any popularity.

Ruby on Rails - RoR

It's been quite appreciable amount of time that I spent on Web Technologies and been involved with many web based products. I was working on RoR. Yes it's the same thing much talked topic among developers and many web gurus.
Ruby on Rails :

Why to re-invent the wheel?
I am not going to talk on
What is ruby?
What is Rails?
Because many had already done enough work on that.

Then Why this post?
Recently I had been to a talk on Ruby on Rails, attended by many people belonging to different groups like from developers to mangers. I was very much inspired by the speaker. Mr. Rajasekhar an eminent speaker, I would say he did really good job by framing up all necessary details for any fresher to start experiments on Ruby on Rails in just 3 - 4 hours of session.
I got an oppurtunity to explain and elaborate the concepts with working examples and live projects here and there between Rajashekar's session.



The session went on so well and also it was a gentle reminder for me to start sharing on RoR.

Geeks watch out this space... more to come!
More about the Session
More about the OpenSource Community