Books & Videos

Learning Rails 5

Rails from the Outside In

By J. Mark Locklear

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Release Date: August 2016

Pages: 452

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If you’re a web developer or designer ready to learn Ruby on Rails, this hands-on guide is the ideal way to get started. Rather than toss you into the middle of the framework’s Model-View-Controller architecture, as many books do, Learning Rails 5 begins with the foundations of the Web you already know.

You’ll learn how to create something visible with Rails’ view layer before diving into the more difficult inner layers: the database models and controller code. All you need to begin your Rails journey is HTML experience. Each chapter includes exercises and review questions to test your understanding as you go.

Present content by building an application with a basic view and a simple controller
Build forms and process their results, progressing from simple to more complex
Use Rails scaffolding and REST to build effective applications quickly
Connect forms to models and create code that maps directly to database structures
Build applications that combine data from multiple tables
Use migrations to track changes to your database over time
Add common elements such as sessions, cookies, and authentication

Chapter 1 Starting Up Ruby on Rails
1. If You Run Windows, You’re Lucky
2. Getting Started at the Command Line
3. Starting Up Rails
4. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 2 Rails on the Web
1. Creating Your Own View
2. What Are All Those Folders?
3. Adding Some Data
4. How Hello World Works
5. Adding Logic to the View
6. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 3 Adding Web Style
1. I Want My CSS!
2. Specifying Stylesheets
3. Creating a Layout for a Controller
4. Choosing a Layout from a Controller
5. Sharing Template Data with the Layout
6. Setting a Default Page
7. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 4 Managing Data Flow: Controllers and Models
1. Getting Started, Greeting Guests
2. Application Flow
3. Keeping Track: A Simple Guestbook
4. Finding Data with ActiveRecord
5. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 5 Accelerating Development with Scaffolding and REST
1. A First Look at Scaffolding
2. REST and Controller Best Practices
3. Examining a RESTful Controller
4. Escaping the REST Prison
5. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 6 Presenting Models with Forms
1. More Than a Name on a Form
2. Generating HTML Forms with Scaffolding
3. Form as a Wrapper
4. Creating Text Fields and Text Areas
5. Labels
6. Creating Checkboxes
7. Creating Radio Buttons
8. Creating Selection Lists
9. Dates and Times
10. Creating Helper Methods
11. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 7 Strengthening Models with Validation
1. Without Validation
2. The Original Model
3. The Power of Declarative Validation
4. Managing Secrets
5. A Place on the Calendar
6. Beyond Simple Declarations
7. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 8 Improving Forms
1. Adding a Picture by Uploading a File
2. Standardizing Your Look with Form Builders
3. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 9 Developing Model Relationships
1. Connecting Awards to Students
2. Connecting Students to Awards
3. Nesting Awards in Students
4. Many-to-Many: Connecting Students to Courses
5. What’s Missing?
6. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 10 Managing Databases with Migrations
1. What Migrations Offer You
2. Migration Basics
3. Inside Migrations
4. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 11 Debugging
1. Creating Your Own Debugging Messages
2. Raising Exceptions
3. Logging
4. Working with Rails from the Console
5. Debug and Debugger
6. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 12 Testing
1. Test Mode
2. Testing the Students App
3. Setting Up a Test Database with Fixtures
4. Model Testing
5. Controller Testing
6. Integration Testing
7. Beyond the Basics
8. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 13 Sessions and Cookies
1. Getting Into and Out of Cookies
2. Storing Data Between Sessions
3. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 14 Users and Authentication
1. The Sign-up Process
2. Wiring Authentication to Your Application
3. Classifying Users
4. More Options
5. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 15 Routing
1. Creating Routes to Interpret URIs
2. Generating URIs from Views and Controllers
3. Infinite Possibilities
4. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 16 From CSS to Sass
1. Getting Started
2. Sassy Style
3. Making Everything Work Together
4. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 17 Managing Assets and Bundles
1. The Junk Drawer
2. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 18 Sending Code to the Browser: JavaScript and CoffeeScript
1. Sending JavaScript to the Browser
2. Simplifying with CoffeeScript
3. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 19 Mail in Rails
1. Sending Mail Messages
2. Previewing Mail
3. Receiving Mail
4. Test Your Knowledge
Chapter 20 Pushing Further into Rails
1. Changing to Production Mode
2. Deploying Is Much More Than Programming
3. Joining the Rails Ecosystem
Appendix An Incredibly Brief Introduction to Ruby
1. How Ruby Works
2. How Rails Works
3. Getting Started with Classes and Objects
4. Comments
5. Variables, Methods, and Attributes
6. Logic and Conditionals
Appendix An Incredibly Brief Introduction to Relational Databases
1. Tables of Data
2. Databases, Tables, and Rails
Appendix An Incredibly Brief Guide to Regular Expressions
1. What Regular Expressions Do
2. Starting Small
3. The Simplest Expressions: Literal Strings
4. Character Classes
5. Escaping
6. Modifiers
7. Anchors
8. Sequences, Repetition, Groups, and Choices
9. Greed
10. More Possibilities
Appendix Glossary
1. Speaking in Rails

Books & Videos

Learning Rails 5

Rails from the Outside In

Read on O'Reilly Online Learning with a 10-day trial

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Starting Up Ruby on Rails

If You Run Windows, You’re Lucky

Getting Started at the Command Line

Starting Up Rails

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 2 Rails on the Web

Creating Your Own View

What Are All Those Folders?

Adding Some Data

How Hello World Works

Adding Logic to the View

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 3 Adding Web Style

I Want My CSS!

Specifying Stylesheets

Creating a Layout for a Controller

Choosing a Layout from a Controller

Sharing Template Data with the Layout

Setting a Default Page

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 4 Managing Data Flow: Controllers and Models

Getting Started, Greeting Guests

Application Flow

Keeping Track: A Simple Guestbook

Finding Data with ActiveRecord

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 5 Accelerating Development with Scaffolding and REST

A First Look at Scaffolding

REST and Controller Best Practices

Examining a RESTful Controller

Escaping the REST Prison

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 6 Presenting Models with Forms

More Than a Name on a Form

Generating HTML Forms with Scaffolding

Form as a Wrapper

Creating Text Fields and Text Areas

Labels

Creating Checkboxes

Creating Radio Buttons

Creating Selection Lists

Dates and Times

Creating Helper Methods

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 7 Strengthening Models with Validation

Without Validation

The Original Model

The Power of Declarative Validation

Managing Secrets

A Place on the Calendar

Beyond Simple Declarations

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 8 Improving Forms

Adding a Picture by Uploading a File

Standardizing Your Look with Form Builders

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 9 Developing Model Relationships

Connecting Awards to Students

Connecting Students to Awards

Nesting Awards in Students

Many-to-Many: Connecting Students to Courses

What’s Missing?

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 10 Managing Databases with Migrations

What Migrations Offer You

Migration Basics

Inside Migrations

Test Your Knowledge

Chapter 11 Debugging

Creating Your Own Debugging Messages

Raising Exceptions

Logging

Working with Rails from the Console

Debug and Debugger

Test Your Knowledge