For almost two decades, Ruby on Rails has been the go-to choice of programming language for creating software applications ranging from uncomplicated calculators to intricate web services. If you’re keen on learning RoR, it is advisable to begin with fundamental exercises, such as designing a calculator or transforming strings and characters.
Companies like GitHub, Airbnb, Dribble, and many more rely on Ruby on Rails to run and maintain their websites. To become a skilled developer, it’s essential to dedicate time and energy to honing your craft by engaging in small-scale projects and practice.
As part of this course, you’ll master the creation of four simple Ruby on Rails projects, each taking a maximum of three hours to complete. You’ll learn to design a content publishing blog, a shopping cart, a quiz game, as well as a Twitter bot. Besides, you’ll acquire knowledge on project creation, database interaction, model definition, and controller configuration, ensuring the seamless performance of your program.
Let’s get started!
You’ll employ Ruby on Rails to fashion a blog.
Building a blog with Ruby on Rails requires the following steps:
Set up Ruby and Rails.
Ensure that Ruby and Rails are properly installed on your computer by executing the command ‘ruby -v’ in the terminal. If Ruby is not installed, utilize package managers like rbenv or rvm to install it. For setting up Rails, type ‘gem install rails’ on the terminal.
To start a new Rails application, follow these steps:
Generate a new Rails project named “myblog” by typing ‘rails new “myblog”‘ in a terminal. The procedure will create a new folder, “myblog” along with all the essential subfolders and files required for a full-blown Rails application.
Ensure the Database is Set:
One of the purposes of Rails is to store data such as blog articles and comments in a database. For a personal blog with a small audience, the native SQLite database suits the needs. Upgrading to another database is a breeze- all you need to do is to modify the Gemfile and configure it accordingly.
Describe Different Models:
A model in a Rails project corresponds to a database table. For a blog, you need to have at least two models: one for posts and the other for comments. To create a model, execute the command ‘rails generate model’, including the desired fields, e.g., ‘Post title:string body:text’ to create a ‘Post’ model with a title and body field. The same process can be done to establish a layout for comments.
Arrange the Controllers and Views.
To design a controller for your blog, enter ‘rails generate controller Posts’ on the terminal. This command will automatically set up the required folders and views, as well as set up a new ‘Posts’ controller. The role of the controller is to process user inputs and produce the resulting view.
Organize the Travel Itinerary:
Routes enable Rails to recognize URL patterns that map to designated controller actions. To form a new route for a blog, append a line such as `resources:posts` to the file `config/routes.rb`. This will establish four separate paths for each of Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) functions concerning posts.
Give Some Preliminary Information:
The seeds.rb file in Rails enables you to conveniently insert sample data into your blog. To validate the models you built, open ‘db/seeds.rb’ file and add the necessary code to generate blog posts and comments. To implement the seed data into the database, type ‘rails db:seed’ into the terminal and press enter.
Test the Application to Ensure Proper Functionality.
To view your weblog, activate the Rails development server using the command `rails server`, and then access https://localhost:3000 via your web browser. You will be able to observe your contributions to the seed data, including posts and comments.
With the information you’ve just acquired, it’s possible to construct a blog using Ruby on Rails. Additionally, you can personalize it further by incorporating user login, tagging, and pagination. To gain a deeper understanding of Ruby on Rails, it’s suggested to read its official documentation and finish its tutorials.
Create a Fundamental Online Storefront with RoR, complete with a Product Catalogue.
Ruby on Rails may be utilized to build a product catalogue along with a shopping cart.
Establish Ruby and Rails:
Before installing Ruby and Rails on your computer, verify if Ruby is already installed by running the command ‘ruby -v’ in the terminal. If Ruby is not present, employ a package manager like rbenv or rvm to install it. For installing Rails, type ‘gem install rails’ in the terminal.
To Begin a New Rails Application, Follow These Instructions:
Use the ‘rails new’ command to initiate the mandatory files and folders for a ‘mystore’ Rails project in a freshly generated directory.
Ensure that the Database is Prepared:
To simplify data access when employing Rails, information such as orders and products are saved in a database. For a small shop, the default Rails database, SQLite, should suffice. Changing to a different database is uncomplicated since it involves altering the Gemfile to link to a new one and performing the appropriate configuration functions.
Describe the Different Models:
In a Rails project, a model represents a database table. To meet business requirements, two models are necessary: one for products and the other for customer orders. To create a model, use the command ‘rails generate model’. For instance, to establish a ‘Product’ model with a name, price, and description, use the ‘Brand of the item being sold: string’, ‘Cost in decimal places with eight digits of precision: scale:2’ attributes, and ‘description: text’. To build an ‘Order’ model, continue in a similar manner.
The Controllers and Views Need Configuring.
The controller in a Rails project is in charge of managing user input and creating the appropriate view. To start a controller for your shop, input the command ‘rails generate controller Products’. This will produce the needed files and folders for the ‘Products’ controller.
Outline Your Travel Itinerary:
In a Rails project, routes can be established to direct URL patterns to the respective controller actions. To configure the routes for an online shop, include entries like ‘resources:products’ and ‘resources:orders’ in the ‘config/routes.rb’ file. This will enable the formulation of paths for simple product operations, such as creating, reading, updating and deleting.
Give Some Initial Details:
In a Rails project, you can promptly and smoothly fill your store with sample data using the `seeds.rb` file. To create objects based on the model you’ve defined, access the `db/seeds.rb` file and insert the necessary code. To feed the seed data into the database, execute the `rails db:seed` command in the terminal.
Establish the Shopping Cart:
To produce a shopping cart, utilize a session to monitor the items currently in the cart. Setting the @cart variable for each request is simple via the addition of a before-action callback to the ApplicationController. Furthermore, the ProductsController may have supplementary methods appended to it, allowing the addition and removal of items from the cart.
Test the Application to Check Its Functionality.
To see your store, activate the Rails development server by entering the command ‘rails server’ and go to https://localhost:3000 using your web browser. The items entered in the seed data should now be viewable in the shopping cart.
These are the major steps for creating an online store with a product catalogue in Ruby on Rails. The extent of customization available is considerable, including user login, payment processing, and transaction history tracking.
Constructing an Object-Oriented Quiz Game with Ruby on Rails
Developing an object-oriented quiz game in Ruby involves the following steps:
Categorization of Quiz Games
To establish the quiz game, it’s necessary to create a corresponding class. This class’s Object() { [native code] } should proceed through a sequence of steps, like generating a random set of questions and answers, before launching the quiz. Within the class, make sure to include suitable methods to begin with, display a question, and verify the answer.
Identify the Type of Question:
Moving on, create a class for questions. The class’s Object() { [native code] } should generate a question prompt with a series of possible answers. Implement methods within the class to exhibit the question, as well as to check the response’s accuracy.
Construct the Trivia Game:
To create a working instance of the quiz game, an array of question objects must be passed into its Object() { [native code] } function. Once done, the start method for the quiz game can be called to initiate the assessment.
Present the Questions:
To show each question from the assortment, use a For loop to iterate through them, invoking the show function. Employ the gets method to retrieve the user’s response, then evaluate its accuracy using the check answer method.
Make sure to maintain the score:
To keep track of a user’s score during gameplay, include a score variable within the Quiz Game Class and update it after each correct answer. For the game’s conclusion, add a ‘finish’ function to the Quiz Game Class to exhibit the ultimate score.
The following is an example of a typical Quiz Game Class:
Take a look at this relevant article on enhancing your Rails project through the application of Rails Service Objects here!
The following is a prospective configuration for the question group:
As an illustration:
This guide details the process involved in building a quiz game utilizing an object-oriented structure in Ruby. The game can be advanced with more features and complexity by utilizing additional methods and variables within the classes, as well as through the utilization of more advanced Ruby language capabilities. To ensure quicker deployment, further scalability, maintainability, and flexibility, Ruby on Rails microservices can be integrated.
To learn more about implementing Ruby on Rails microservices, visit https://rubyonrails.org/.
Employ Ruby on Rails for the creation of a bot on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
Absolutely! Here’s a Twitter bot created using Ruby on Rails as an example:
To start, create a new Rails application. Enter this command into your terminal:
After completing the previous step, proceed to create a Twitter account for your bot, and acquire the corresponding API credentials and access tokens. This entails creating a new developer account on the Twitter Developers website. You will be able to create the required API keys and access tokens for your application following successful registration.
To incorporate the Twitter API into a Rails project, install the ‘twitter’ gem. This gem provides a simple approach to accessing the Twitter API. Add the following line to the Gemfile to install the gem:
To configure the gem, use the subsequent command:
The Twitter API is now accessible through the Twitter gem. As an illustration, to tweet a message, use the client object in this way:
For the automation of the tweeting process at particular intervals, utilize the Whenever gem to create a cron job. Start by adding the Whenever gem to your Gemfile.
The fundamental setup for “whenever” can be established by executing this command:
To designate cron jobs, create a config/schedule.rb file. For instance, to tweet every hour, include the following line in the file:
With the creation of a Tweet model that has a ‘send tweet’ function, you can now establish automatic tweeting at hourly intervals. The ‘client object’ and the ‘send tweet’ command can be used to send a tweet, as demonstrated below.
Goodbye! It’s now time for your Twitter bot to initiate its automatic tweeting at hourly intervals. Moreover, the bot’s behaviour can also be modified to fit your needs.
Conclusion
We’ve designed four projects for this blog. Working on these examples can provide valuable knowledge on how to build Ruby on Rails applications.
Ruby on Rails is a straightforward system for creating a simple web application. To begin, you must establish an appropriate development environment by installing Ruby on Rails. Subsequently, you can proceed to internal operations, such as generating classes and definitions, creating databases, populating them with data, and finally, retrieving and presenting the data to the user.
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