Rails Overview: Intro and Getting Started

May 24th, 2007

So, here goes… there’s plenty to say so my overview of Ruby on Rails is going to be a multi-parter. Note, this isn’t going to be a tutorial – there are plenty of those about. This is my view on what makes Rails hot and where it’s not based on my experiences as a Rails newbie. My background, for reference, is with J2EE professionally, and PHP on the side.
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Hosting by the slice

May 23rd, 2007

A couple of months back I was looking for somewhere to host a Ruby on Rails app (of which more in another post shortly). In the end I settled for a Virtual Private Server from US firm Slicehost (who are themselves Rails developers). For just over £10 a month I get 10GB of storage, 100GB of bandwidth and 256MB. Bargain! I’d love to use a host in the UK but I’d easily be paying twice that and getting half the spec (unless someone out there can point me at a good deal I’ve missed).
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Pitter patter of tiny feet

May 22nd, 2007

351No – no baby yet. These tiny feet are entirely unwelcome and were heard scampering around the loft last night. I poked my head up there and shone a torch around and could only make out what appears to be a wasp nest. Fortunately that looks to be unused. No sign of any rodent activity. Now the moral dilemma – should I get an old fashioned spring-loaded mouse trap or something to keep the wee beasty alive? To be honest, I’m not worried about killing the mouse, it’s clearing up afterwards that bothers me! Browsing around, it’s interesting to read that house mice are unlikely to survive when released in to the wild anyway. I was amused by this article on an award by PETA to the inventor of a “humane mouse trap” (where “humane” means they get gassed rather than having their necks broken.)

Process Server and ESB exception handling

May 21st, 2007

Another useful fact I picked up at WSTC was around retry behaviour for JMS exports. Pamela Fong and Jeff Brent have put together a very detailed developerWorks article covering all aspects of exception handling in WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere ESB. Definitely worth trying to get your head round this stuff.

Virtualized WebSphere Application Server

May 21st, 2007

I mentioned that Ruth Willenborg gave a presentation at WSTC on virtualization and WebSphere Application Server. She now has an article on developerWorks that covers one technique she was talking about: creating and then deploying customized WebSphere Application Server images. Now where this gets really interesting is when you apply it to something like WebSphere Process Server…

WordPress 2.2

May 20th, 2007

Having missed the previous security update I decided to upgrade to WordPress 2.2. I’m glad to say everything seems to have gone smoothly (although PlusNet managed to take the site down again at one point which had me a little worried). Nothing really different for you, the reader, to see. Widget support is now there out of the box but then I had the plugin installed previously anyway.

Hillier Sculptures

May 19th, 2007

345We were back at Hillier Gardens today and, although the rhodies are on their way out, there is a new diversion. The sculptures for the annual Art in the Garden exhibition, which begins next weekend, are starting to appear throughout the grounds. As far as I remember, there are lots more small sculptures than last year (although also fewer large ones, at least so far) and some great photo opportunities. Also nice to see the new shelter by the pond finished.

Chilworth Chow

May 19th, 2007

By way of diversion from the lack of baby, we went out to the nearby Chilworth Arms for dinner last night. It’s the first time we’ve been there since it changed hands and ceased to be The Clump. Although Christine is unsure about the new external colour scheme (as the locals are uncertain about the provenance of the new name and insignia) the extensive refit has made the dining area a much lighter an airier place.
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