And there's never been a better time to jump into the world of Rails, as the release of Rails 2 is a huge evolutionary leap from earlier versions. Unlike other Rails books, this book does not throw you to the end of the straight with the hope that you will learn to swim. Rather than emphasize the theoretical discussion boring, Foundation for Rails 2 allows you to get your hands dirty with the framework and study the hows and why of Rails faster than before. We begin with a tour of what makes Rails special and why you should learn it, move to the gentle introduction to the high points of programming in Ruby, and then take a tour of a sample Rails application. At the end of this book, not only will you know how to build a Rails application, but you will understand the reasons behind what you do. In this book you will learn the foundations of the programming language Ruby Rails philosophy of the most important and conventions that accelerate the development of web How to make working with databases easy and fun to use ActiveRecord automated testing with RSpec to make sure that your application How to build a rock solid Rails application complete with a special discussion on security, performance, and the spread of Contents Summary Chapter 1 Why Rails Chapter 2 Introduction to Ruby Chapter 3 Touring a Rails Application Introducing ActiveRecord ActiveRecord Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter Presents Advanced Display 7 Exploring the Action Pack: Understanding Routing Control Controller Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Scaffolding and Plug-ins our Chapter 10 Introduction to Testing with RSpec Chapter 11 Building a Complete Application Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Improving Our Application Security and Performance Enhancements Chapter 14 Deploying Rails Applications Appendix A Place You Go from Here Appendix B Appendix C Installing Rails Database Design 101