New to Ruby on Rails ~ Observations & minor Tribulations

[dbr]

I probably should have chosen my handle to be the eccentric coder instead of dbr.

I'm working on getting started w/ Ruby on Rails. It looks like I have a succussful installation inspite of my eccentricities.

Eccentricities? Say what?

Well I like for my development machine to be totally disconnected from the internet. My reasoning? The best firewall is no connection.

So, I downloaded the necessary install files on my internet computer; copied said files to my jump drive; moved them to my development machine. Install of Ruby went smooth. Install of Rails crashed since I didn't have any internet connection. And, I incountered another problem when I went to look at the documentation under the brand new Ruby Program Menu: what do you know, it is simply a link to an internet webpage.

Well, I went back to my internet machine logged off of my normal user limited account and logged into administrator for program installation. Install went okay once again. Logged off of the admin account and logged onto my limited account. Couldn't find Ruby on the start menu... Changed my limited account to an admin account. Went to reinstall Ruby. The machine recognized it as already being installed, so I uninstalled it then reinstalled it and Rails smoothly. Then changed my normal account back to a limited account... Pretty convoluted! Isn't it! I guess that is what I get for being an eccentric coder...

So, the Big Question! Do any of you do Ruby on Rails development on a machine with no internet connection?

Regards,
Dave

[Luke Redpath]

I couldn't imagine developing with ANYTHING without having a net connection available to me so I can look up anything I need at the drop of a hat.

You're pretty paranoid it has to be said. Just stay on the net!

[Fenrir2]

You're way more productive without an internet connection. You can't read sitepoint if you aren't able to fix a bug: you're "forced" to fix it now.

But yes, it's hard to install Rails without an internet connection. Have you tried OpenBSD? Most people find it really secure, even with an internet connection.

"A close look at OpenBSD, the operating system so secure that it was once banned for use in a DEF CON competition, where crackers go after each other's systems.":http://reddit.com/info/d9vq/comments

[dbr]

I couldn't imagine developing with ANYTHING without having a net connection available to me so I can look up anything I need at the drop of a hat.

You're pretty paranoid it has to be said. Just stay on the net!

You may be right My preferred setup is an internet able machine beside my development machine. It is amazing how easy it is to find things on the net.

Best Regards,
Dave

[dbr]

I've not tried OpenBSD, but I'll take a look at it.

Thanks,
Dave

[paulgb]

I do most of my Rails learning offline. I would rather be connected to the internet, but I don't have a connection at my cottage and being offline forces me to learn Rails instead of working on my other projects. I use instantrails and have not had any problems being offline.

[sweatje]

When I bought Agile Web Development with Rails I got a pdf which I keep handy for when I am not connected to the internet.

[dbr]

Info like what you provided makes this site well worth it.

Most appreciated!

Thanks again,

Dave

[Salient]

Our team are diving into RoR starting Saturday with no doubt a few choice words spoken while installing.

railsforums.com look pretty cool and handy for those of us just embarking.

[unclekyky]

I use gentoo, so a net connection is essential to stay up-to-date. But anyway, if you work offline a lot you should grab the ruby on rails API docs (and possibly the ruby API docs).

'wget -r api.rubyonrails.org' and then transfer it over to your networkless machine. This will work because all links are relative.

[vgarcia]

I use gentoo, so a net connection is essential to stay up-to-date. But anyway, if you work offline a lot you should grab the ruby on rails API docs (and possibly the ruby API docs).

'wget -r api.rubyonrails.org' and then transfer it over to your networkless machine. This will work because all links are relative.

Or the gem_server command, which will create a site for documentation on all installed gems at http://localhost:8808/. Of course, this is for all installed gems so it could get messy.