Every once in a while one comes across something new and exciting on the internet.  Like discovering instant messaging (ICQ), learning about programming for the first time (Turbo Pascal, via a book of examples), discovering visual programming for the first time (Visual Basic 1.0), making your first database-driven website, etc.

Although not as revolutionary as some of the above examples, I came across something nice yesterday. I read a list of ‘upcoming internet technologies’ in a net magazine, which listed among other things AJAX, Writeboard, and this funny sounding "Ruby on Rails". I had heard about AJAX before so I wasn’t that excited, but I decided to find out what Ruby on Rails was.

So after some googling I took the plunge with this tutorial: Rolling with Ruby on Rails.  In 20 minutes I had downloaded the application, installed it, set up a test site, connected it to MySQL, created a new catalog and tables and columns, configured my site to find and use the database, created pages to view, edit, delete from different related tables, all working reliably and loading quickly.  Granted, I could have done it faster using CodeCharge Studio and nicely formatted with styles but that’s not the point.

CodeCharge is an application that generates web pages based on database tables. It also provides object and event wrappers for various operations relating to loading and saving to databases, which makes it a great tool for quickly creating database driven web pages. However, it gets tedious coding more complex operations as one has to figure out where to put the code (which of it’s events to use). I’ve been using CodeCharge for the last few years and have gotten quite used to it, but I know its limitations. It generates code in PHP, ASP, some .NET and other languages.

Back to Ruby – after having done the tutorial I get how people can create complex websites quite quickly using this, sites that can support tens of thousands of users like http://www.tadalist.com/. I’ll have to keep it in mind for the next site I work on.

Nathan Torkington of the O’Reilly publishing empire said “Ruby on Rails is astounding. Using it is like watching a kung-fu movie, where a dozen bad-ass frameworks prepare to beat up the little newcomer only to be handed their asses in a variety of imaginative ways.”

But it doesn’t end there – the "Ruby" from Ruby on Rails refers to a programming language called Ruby. The official site lists some features, have a look here. It’s completely free, object-oriented, and Japanese!

Then I found this really cool book about it, Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby. From the book:

I’ll be straight with you. I want you to cry. To weep. To whimper sweetly. This book is a poignant guide to Ruby. That means code so beautiful that tears are shed. That means gallant tales and somber truths that have you waking up the next morning in the arms of this book. Hugging it tightly to you all the day long. If necessary, fashion a makeshift hip holster for Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby, so you can always have this book’s tender companionship. You really must sob once. Or at least sniffle. And if not, then the onion will make it all happen for you.