Programming, Ruby, Rails and more

Callum Jones

Programming

The ability to instruct the computer what to do

Instruct the computer how to behave when certain events arise

Why program?• Solve a problem

• Solve other people’s problems

• Get a computer slave away on a laborious task, while you focus on the more important things

• Historically machines have replaced labour intensive jobs

• Perth’s next economy

A programmer

• Isn’t just focused on one skill.

• Employers want to hire programmers, not Rails programmers

• Should understand the depth of the tools they are working with

• Can extend and grow the tools they are working with

A programmer• Works with logic/decisions

• IF is_night_time? DO lights_on ELSE lights_off

• Works with repetition/iteration

• WHILE is_really_dark? DO lights_on ELSE lights_off

• Can talk to other computers and services

• IF bom_perth_sunset? DO lights_on ELSE lights_off

Tools

• Develop code in an editor

• Lightweight: Sublime Text, Notepad++

• Heavy/extensive: RubyMine, Aptana RadRails

• A computer. Any will do

• Cloud9 allows for programming in a browser

Ruby• Ruby is the language powering Rails, we need

appreciate what’s happening underneath and go beyond Rails.

• Developed in the mid 90s by Yukihiro Matsumoto (Matz)

• Built for productivity and for fun

• Reads as it is written (story like)

• Tryruby!

tryruby.org

Rails• Rails bring Ruby to the web.

• Developed by David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) for 37signals. Now 13 core team members.

• We write programs that output stuff that is sent to a web browser

• Our browsers can send stuff back to Rails and we can react

• Rails marries Ruby as a language with good web principles

Websites

• Can’t react to change without a human rewriting it

• Simple

• A restaurant site with with no booking, just a fixed menu.

• Always changing

• Computer programs can react to events and update the website.

• Human input

• Time of day

• The website can be personalised for each user

• facebook.com, News sites, Blogs

Static Dynamic