[clue-admin] CLUE talk info for July

[Dennis J Perkins]

Max, please post this to the website.  Let me know when you have done
so.  Thanks.


RAILS
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Many presentations have been put together by Rails enthusiasts that talk about how it is the only logical tool to solve all your website problems.  Enthusiasts from other languages point to some perceived flaw in Ruby on Rails (usually accurate several versions ago, but not any longer).  The truth is that RoR is a terrific tool for a very specific group of website types.  When used correctly, it can provide a web framework that is second to none.  Despite what you have heard, when used correctly, it will scale to Twitter-sized proportions.
As good as RoR is, it is definitely not the tool for all problems.  Along with all of Rails's advantages, we will discuss what Rails does very poorly.  RoR is not a tool to replace all the other tools in your web toolbox, but instead is a powerful addition to the tools you already use.  Understanding RoR's limitations is just as important as understanding its strength.
After a view of its strengths and weaknesses, we will get into developing a basic address book application, starting with database design.  This will lead into a better understanding of one of the web's newest and best technologies, ActiveRecord.
But a simple demo application is never all that useful in and of itself.  So, we will then modify this application to provide login fields capable of being used with the SQL module for PAM, or on your favorite website.
Next we will look at how the website you are building with RoR is very well structured to allow multiple developers with different skill sets to work together without getting in each others way.  Data from the program side is kept completely separate from the site navigation and overall look and feel of the site.  This allows programers to program, and web designers to design, and work completely in harmony.
Finally, we will discuss how to extend your application so that you can develop non-web applications that can fully work with our new login system, providing a truly enterprise class application...
All in one hour


Kevin Fries is a Senior Linux Engineer at Computer and Communications Technology, Inc.