Ruby on Rails is an open source web application framework that is defined for the Ruby programming language. Also known as RoR, it uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern to organize application programming.

Some of the advantages of the Ruby programming language include:

• It is easy to read and write
• It advocates good object-oriented programming practices without being overly constraining
• It provides options for easy extensibility and it is minimalist syntax. This provides an advantage of having the least language-specific complexity

More information about the Model-View-Controller is available at :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-View-Controller.

Through this article, I aim to walk you through the steps for RoR Installation in Windows. Ruby on Rails requires a web server to run it. I choose Mongrel. However, RoR can also work with Lighttpd or Apache (either as a module or via CGI, FastCGI or mod_ruby).

Installation of Ruby, Rails and Mongrel

1. Download the Ruby Installer from :
   http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/29263/ruby186-26.exe.
2. Install Ruby, RubyGems and its libraries using this installer.
3. Now you need to upgrade the Rubygems  using the command :
   gem update –system
4. Next, install Rails using :
   gem install rails
5. The next step is to install Mongrel. Use the command :
   gem install mongrel
6. Install the database required to run with Rails. Here, we prefer a simple file based database, SQLite3. You can also use MySQL to work with Rails.

With the advent of the Rails framework which is relatively young and rapidly evolving, the Ruby language is paving its way towards the top.

Installation of SQLite3 and SQLite3-Ruby

SQLite3 is a simple and file based database. The steps for its installation follows :

1. Download sqlite from http://www.sqlite.org/sqlitedll-3_6_1.zip and unzip its contents to a location similar to : C:rubybin
2. Install the SQLite3-Ruby via gem. Use the command :
   gem install sqlite3-ruby
3. There are chances that you could encounter failure during the installation, since gem does not support Windows in the latest version. Run the following command to install SQLite3-Ruby :
   gem install –version 1.2.3 sqlite3-ruby

You can get more information about Ruby on Rails at: http://bobcares.com/index.php/blog/?p=84.

Conclusion

It is not impossible to create MVC (Model-View-Controller) applications using other languages. However, the ease with which it can be done using Ruby makes it more acceptable.

Though Ruby is relatively slower than Java in terms of CPU cycle usage, it is much easier to develop applications using it. Even developers who are new to Rails and not very familiar with Ruby, can set up simple web applications using it. With the advent of the Rails framework which is relatively young and rapidly evolving, the Ruby language is paving its way towards the top.

About the Author :

Joseph Symon has been with Bobcares for more than two years. He has marked his presence in the company through his contributions towards enriching the knowledge level in the company. He is a Linux expert, and specializes in installing and configuring systems and customizing them for specific needs. Joseph is highly passionate about learning new technologies.