Rails: Up and Running

In just a matter of days, you can develop powerful web applications with Rails that once took weeks or months to produce with other web frameworks. If that sounds too good to be true, it isn't. Find out for yourself with Rails: Up and Running, the concise and popular book that not only explains how Rails works, but guides you through a complete test drive.

Perfect for beginning web developers, this thoroughly revised edition teaches you the basics of installing and using Rails 2.1 and the Ruby scripting language. While Rails is praised for its simplicity, there are still a few tricky steps to master along the way. Rails: Up and Running offers lots of examples and covers just about everything you need to build functional Rails applications right away. Learn how to:

• Create simple database-backed applications, and build dynamic user-centric web pages using Ajax and REST
• Exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails and implement web services
• Map data to an imperfect table, traverse complex relationships, and build custom finders
• Use techniques to solve common database performance problems

Up-to-date for Rails 2.1, the new edition of this title introduces web developers to the Web 2.0 framework of choice.

Bruce Tate runs RapidRed, an Austin, TX-based practice that consults on lightweight development in Ruby. Previously he worked at IBM in roles ranging from a database systems programmer to Java consultant. He left IBM to work for several startups in roles ranging from Client Solutions Director to CTO. He speaks internationally and is the author of more than ten books, including From Java to Ruby, Deploying Rails Applications, the best-selling Bitter series, Beyond Java, and the Jolt-winning Better, Faster, Lighter Java.

Lance Carlson has been programming Ruby since Rails version 0.13 was released, and he has been riding on its coattails since. He currently owns Ruby Skills, a Ruby consultancy firm and is working for Engine Yard as an application support engineer. Lance has contributed to various Ruby open source projects such as Merb, Rails, DataMapper, and he is also the creator of Ruby Anvil.

Curt Hibbs has always been slightly obsessed with new technologies and tracking technology trends. But he will tell you that this is simply because he is lazy, always looking for new methods and technologies to make his work easier and more productive. This led to his discovery of Ruby in 2001 (when it was still relatively unknown outside of Japan) and to his founding several highly successful Ruby open source projects.

For most of his professional career, which started in the early 1970's, Curt has been a consultant to well-known companies like Hewlett Packard, Intuit, Corel, WordStar, Charles Schwab, Vivendi Universal, and more. He has also been a principal in several startups. Curt now works as a Senior Software Engineer for The Boeing Company in St. Louis.