Rails FAQ

Question Listing

1. What is Rails?
2. What is Ruby on Rails?
3. Does Sonic.net support Ruby on Rails?
4. How do I set up Rails in my Sonic.net-hosted webspace?
5. Where can I get more information about Ruby on Rails?

Answer Listing

1. What is Rails?

   Rails is a web-application and persistence framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web-applications according to the Model-View-Control pattern of separation.

2. What is Ruby on Rails?

   Ruby on Rails is the use of Ruby (an interpreted scripting language) in the Rails framework. The combination of the Ruby language with the Rails environment enables some very simple, straightforward database-backed web applications, though its use is not strictly limited to that context.

3. Does Sonic.net support Ruby on Rails?

   The Sonic.net shared webservers (used for Sonic.net account websites, Value Hosting, and Basic Hosting services) support Ruby on Rails. As with any other programming tools, Sonic.net cannot provide phone or email support for script development or installation.

4. How do I set up Rails in my Sonic.net-hosted webspace?

   Setting up the Rails environment requires shell access.

   1. Log into shell.sonic.net.
   2. Change directories to ~/public_html/ (your public web directory). If you would like to set up Rails in a subdirectory, navigate to that one instead.
   3. Type "rails railsapp" and hit return.
   4. A number of "create" statements should appear, as the Rails utility generates the required files and directories.
   5. Change directories to "railsapp"
   6. Change the permissions to the "tmp" directory using the command "chmod 777 tmp" (this will allow anybody at all to write content to that directory).

5. Where can I get more information about Ruby on Rails?

   • api.rubyonrails.com
   • rubyonrails.org
   • rubycentral.com