No longer a wuss...

that's right - I found my rubygem problem (see "Installation Blues" below). It seems there's a problem in the Hivelogic install instructions. Well, not exactly an error, but if you follow exactly what he says under the "Rubygems" install, then immediately execute the "Ruby on Rails" section, nothing is going to happen.

Why? Well, in the "Rubygems" chapter, the final command line instruction is "cd .." This will take you out of the Rubygems directory. Therefore, if you immediately execute the very next command under "Ruby on Rails" chapter...

With RubyGems installed, Rails is a simple, one-line install:

sudo gem install rails --include-dependencies

If you JUST typed 'cd..', then you're no longer in the rubygems directory, and your command will not be found. You have to move back into the directory (or just don't type 'cd..' in the first place) and then this command will work like a charm.

I figured this out by following the instructions on the rubygems docs site - another very nice and simple site.

So, I'm no longer a wuss - but I still have no idea what to do. *Sigh*

Umm...Now what?

So, I've got RoR installed locally, how cool is that? Well, to be honest, I have no idea. This is really the part where my development as a developer has been stunted. I really have nothing to do. No problem to solve, cure, or ease. So this is it - make or break time.

I suppose I'll try to find some "cook book" type thing - I've seen discussions of tutorials which use the creation of some finance apps or the like. Nothing I need, but if it gets me going somewhere, I won't complain.

In the meantime, I've happened on an awesome Ruby/Programming instructional which I'm going to see if I can make my way through: Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby...told with CARTOON FOXES!!! You gotta check it out!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Installation Blues

So although I forked over the dough for my not-so-fancy if you're somebody fancier than me, but very fancy for me, webhost - site5 - I thought to start I should try to install RoR locally, on my OS X box.

Running the latest Tiger in my tank, it seemed it would be no problem, plus I promised to read the directions quietly to myself before jumping ahead. The man, indeed the legend, at Hivelogic has written a super-clear, easy-to-follow "Golden Path" installation, that even a new born babe could use.

Uhhh...I don't know what I did wrong. I am CERTAIN it's user error, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why I can't get Rubygems, the awesomely radical ruby package installer to run. Crumbuns. It HAS to be that I set my path wrong, but I have stared and stared and stared - back and forth, back and forth...

Never fear - Locomotive to the rescue! It's one-stop shop for getting Rails installed locally with no muss or fuss. And it works! I downloaded, installed the app, created a dummy "webapp" , and now when I go to localhost:3000, I get a page that says "Welcome aboard - You’re riding the Rails!

Still, I kind of feel like a wuss.

A little Research on Web Hosts

Okay, if you want to get lost, try to research web hosts. What you'll start to think pretty quickly, is that EVERY web host sucks...annnd is totally awesome.

The problem is context - at least that's what I think. When you're perusing a site like webhostingtalk.com, you often aren't clear what the posters are actually using their webhost for. Of course, sometimes you do - people who have been doing this for a while are very clear about it.

Anyway, I've been with 1and1.com for around three years -they're super-cheap (5.99 registrations!), you can call them on the phone (!), and they keep their php packages very up to date.

The problem comes with my obsession. 1and1 doesn't support RoR. People (from what I've read) have hosted RoR sites there, but not without a llllot of effort. So I started looking for a cheap host with RoR support right out of the box - cuz, as previously noted? Not really a developer (yet).

So, I turn up Site5.com - it's ever so slightly more expensive than 1and1 (and they don't do registrations - weird), but man alive, what a package!

It's pretty cheap, but I still hate to waste money (although I feel like I do - constantly), so I start to do some research. What I discover is it's like quantum physics - if you look for bad reviews, that's all you find, and if you look for good reviews, you'll think site5, 1and1, even dreamhost or lunarpages, are all great.

Why is this? Like I said, I think it's context - after reading a lot of negative reviews of all of the above and any of a number of other low-price, reseller-type hosts, I started to realize that if you push any 9.95/month webhost to the edge, you will quickly discover that you're paying very very little for your hosting, and for that, you are paying a price.

But - and this is hypothesis - you're like me, and host a few sites for some low bandwith folk and maybe an unknown blog here and there, well, then you'll probably be just fine.

That's the theory anyway, and I just forked the dough over to Site5.com and I'm asking them to prove me right.

Obsessed with Ruby on Rails

I'm not a real developer. I'm an HTML guy, who knows a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes, but not a whole lot. If a Python guy started arguing with a PERL guy next to me, I'd laugh a couple of times, sure, but mostly I'd be lost.

Anyway, for some reason, I've become really interested in creating a Ruby on Rails site. I'm always looking for the thing that allows me to become something more than just the HTML guy, shy of going back to school at DeVry, but more serious than adjusting Blogger templates.

So let's see what happens - if it works, this blog may disappear and reappear somewhere else.