In the Beginning (Ruby on Rails)

I started reading "Hatching Twitter" the other day, and learned while reading that Jack used Ruby on Rails to write the program and code the site that would become twitter. I was immediately, for some reason, completely enamored with wanting to learn this computer language. I have an idea for a tech startup that would require the kind of programming and coding that RoR provides, and I want to learn it. Plus, as part of my job, I want to have an edge on my competitors. Where they are using old-school WordPress templates and PHP coding, I want to use something that could give one of our clients a better website.

But I have to learn the language first! And there's definitely a huge difference in designing a site using something like Squarespace and actually coding it from scratch. Let's be honest, too. Computer repair and service isn't going to pay the bills forever. Eventually our business will evolve and change, and learning to code may be the best way to ensure a future for us.

So I bought a couple of Ruby on Rails books on my kindle and started a few tutorials online. But tonight, I found an actual class from University of Texas. A 10-week course on learning Ruby on Rails from a professor who was kind enough to put the entire course online for free. (btw, if you're interested in learning for yourself as well, you can find the course here. And thank you to Schneems for putting it on the web for us!)

So, my blog will be about what I learn and how far I go in the next 10 weeks in this learning process.

WHAT I NEED TO LEARN:

- Ruby language
- How Rails works
- Scaffolding
- PostgreSQL databases

 Tonight in the UT RoR course, I learned the beginning of PostgreSQL databases, and why they are important in Rails to create dynamic websites. Dynamic websites are sites that change. Think Facebook. It changes everytime you get on, and it is different for each user. Or Twitter.

Databases are read in strings, integers and boolean (true/false).

I have a lot to learn. But I'm excited. I'll keep you posted.