Author:
Charles Brian Quinn
One of the best features of Ruby on Rails development is the “Rapid Feedback Loop” that allows developers to quickly make a change and see right away how that new feature, enhancement, (or bug fix) behaves and looks in real-time.
This Rapid Feedback Loop actually becomes even cooler when you loop in the client — the product owner requesting a new feature or enhancement.…
Author:
Charles Brian Quinn
On the rails-business list, someone asked recently about Iteration Based Contracts.
“Iterations” in the software development world are a simple, yet powerful concept for developers and businesses. An Iteration is a pre-defined timeframe, usually 1 or 2 weeks, a pre-defined cost, and a general overview of the functionality and goals of an iteration (see also: Iterative and Incremental Development).…
Author:
Matt Todd
Most database-backed applications, especially Ruby applications written in Rails do fine with a SQL Database, like MySQL. Adam Wiggins of Heroku does a great job explaining how SQL Databases are an Overapplied Solution. There are definitely a few cases we’ve seen where a NoSQL solution like Redis can really shine.…
Author:
Aaron Hillegass
I just open sourced a simple persistence layer for Cocoa and iPhone that uses Tokyo Cabinet. If you are frustrated with Core Data, you might find it useful. Check it out on GitHub.
Here is the Readme:
After a few years of whining that Core Data could have been better, I thought I should write a persistence framework that points in what I think is the right direction.…
Author:
Charles Brian Quinn
Deploying Rails applications has definitely become easier with the use of tools like Capistrano and Phusion Passenger (a.k.a. mod_rails/mod_rack), but really keeping them serviceable, maintainable, and always humming along can require a bit of work.
Andre over at Scout has written a fantastic guide — a checklist, really for putting a Rails or Sinatra application in production and keeping it up in tip-top shape.…