Get me going, folks!

**F4nat1c** · May 29, 2006 04:16

Ok.

I've heard a lot about Ruby, but quite honestly, I don't understand pretty much any of it? Can someone run me through the basic principle of it?

- Script/Server-side?
- Any special compilers required?

so on..

Feel free to post links to online resources too.

**vgarcia** · May 29, 2006 04:19

Ruby is a scripting language. You can use it on the web through CGI, or you can use a framework like Ruby on Rails to make things easier than just using naked Ruby, in the same way that you can use a PHP framework to take some of the tedium out of writing PHP.

To just run Ruby scripts you don't need anything special except the Ruby interpreter. To run Ruby on Rails you need to install Ruby, RubyGems, and the Rails framework, and optionally a web server like lighttpd (preferred) or Apache.

What platform are you on? Windows, OSX, Linux? Let us know and we'll give you the best setup instructions for your platform

**F4nat1c** · May 29, 2006 04:32

Originally Posted by vgarcia

Ruby is a scripting language. You can use it on the web through CGI, or you can use a framework like Ruby on Rails to make things easier than just using naked Ruby, in the same way that you can use a PHP framework to take some of the tedium out of writing PHP.

To just run Ruby scripts you don't need anything special except the Ruby interpreter. To run Ruby on Rails you need to install Ruby, RubyGems, and the Rails framework, and optionally a web server like lighttpd (preferred) or Apache.

What platform are you on? Windows, OSX, Linux? Let us know and we'll give you the best setup instructions for your platform

Thank's Vinnie. That's really good input.

I'm running Windows XP SP2. I've got Apache 2.2.2.

**vgarcia** · May 29, 2006 04:46

Originally Posted by F4nat1c

Thank's Vinnie. That's really good input.

I'm running Windows XP SP2. I've got Apache 2.2.2.

I wouldn't worry about Apache for now. Rails is enough to learn on its own

I'll walk you through a quick howto for installing Rails:

Go to RubyForge and download the latest version of the Ruby one-click Installer for Windows. Install it by running the setup program. I recommend installing it to c:\ruby
Download and install RubyGems.
When Ruby and RubyGems have both been set up, run this in a terminal/command prompt window to install Ruby on Rails and all its dependencies:
Code:
```
gem install rails --include-dependencies
```
Create a folder to hold your rails Apps. I use c:\rails.
Create a test application by issuing this command in a terminal/command prompt:
Code:
```
rails testApp
```
You should then see a folder called testApp in c:\rails. Go into the testApp folder in a terminal/command prompt and type this:
Code:
```
ruby script/server
```
Open your browser and go to http://localhost:3000/.
Congratulations, you're on Rails!

If this all seems like too much for you, you can also use InstantRails, which has Ruby, Rails, Apache, and MySQL all in one package. I prefer the above method

**F4nat1c** · May 29, 2006 04:54

I didn't understand this one bit:

Go into the testApp folder in a terminal/command prompt and type this:

Could you clarify please? Other than that, thank you so much, that's such a great help and so easy to follow.

You're a star dude!

**vgarcia** · May 29, 2006 05:06

Originally Posted by F4nat1c

I didn't understand this one bit:

Could you clarify please? Other than that, thank you so much, that's such a great help and so easy to follow.

You're a star dude!

Start => Run
Type in "cmd" and press enter
Type "cd c:\rails"
Type "rails testApp" to create a Rails application called testApp
The rails command should have created a folder called "testApp". Go into that folder by typing
Code:
```
cd testApp
```
In the command prompt.
Once you're in the testApp folder, run "ruby script/server" to start WEBrick, Rails's built-in development web server.