Rack is Now 1.0
Rack is now 1.0. If you’ve been following the development in the IRC and the mailing list, you already knew it was coming.
I’m still working out the issues with Ruby 1.9 on my fork of the project. There are tons of interesting conversation going on except for the “middleware” issue, so give this project some of your time if you’re interested in working on open source.
Komodo Edit – TextMate Alternative
There are lots of screencasts popping up about TextMate these days. In this screencast (please watch it in HD), I introduce the text editor of my choice for those who cannot use TextMate. This is a brief introduction and depending on the response, I’ll make it a series to cover other neat features, so please comment.
Ubuntu 9.04 Released
The latest Ubuntu is now officially released. It’s not LTS (long-term support) and will expire before my favorite 8.04 Hardy Heron. I always stick with LTS version.
I highly doubt that I’ll be able to download it today as everyone will be flocking to it. As with any Ubuntu release, it should work better with newer hardware. This time around, they even released a version for netbook. I plan to install that version on my Asus eeePC 1000HA, but just on a flash drive.
It is my understanding that my installation of Ruby and Rails remains true with this version. Oh, by the way, RubyGem is now version 1.3.2 and I haven’t updated my script yet.
Now That MySQL Is Oracle…
With Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, you can bet that MySQL is done. Besides, I’ve been working with PostgreSQL at work and it really is better in many ways, especially for scalability and high concurrency. However, installing it used to be pain in the ass, and with my dislike towards MacPort, I really didn’t want to install it on my development machine. Well that is, until now.
You can download one-click installer at http://www.postgresql.org/download/macosx and follow the link. Before you install it, PLEASE READ THE README file!
I also highly recommend test driving Navicat as the client tool. Trust me, it’s well worth it.
Oracle Buys Sun – Final Nail in MySQL’s Coffin?
I just got the message that Oracle is buying Sun, now what? My main concern is not about Java or Solaris, but what’s going to happen to MySQL. IMHO, this basically seals the final destination for MySQL. I think it’s the time for PostgreSQL to shine as THE open source database.
The Well-Grounded Rubyist Out in eBook Format
David Black’s latest book, The Well-Grounded Rubyist, is now available via download. If it’s anything like the first edition, published under “Ruby for Rails”, it should be a good one. If you’re moving to Ruby 1.9, this should serve you well as it’s updated for 1.9.
The problem is, how do I get an autograph for a eBook? Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
International Method Name Experiment – Screencast Short
Sorry, I screwed up on the size of the video… Still learning… ;)
Phusion Passenger With Nginx
Those nice folks at Phusion just announce that Passenger now supports Nginx. Click on the link below for info. It even includes a nice screencast from Geoffrey Grosenbach. Another thing is that it even install Nginx if you don’t have it installed already. Nice!
http://blog.phusion.nl/2009/04/16/phusions-one-year-anniversary-gift-phusion-passenger-220/
Learning Rack – My List
If you want to learn about Rack, here’s my recommendation for learning resources.
Screencasts
Presentation by Dan Webb
8 minutes on Rack
Remi Taylor’s 3 part series on Rack
Rack Basics
Rack: Part II
Rack: Part III => Middleware
Railscasts – in relations to Rails
Rack Middleware
Web
The Website
Github – very well documented and coded
Rack at Github
IRC – I’m “RubyHead”
#rack at irc.freenode.net
I stopped subscribing to the mailing list because of nasty spams. Instead, I just browse on regular basis via Google group.
Phusion Passenger – Forbidden Message on Mac OS X?
I was getting really annoying “forbidden” error message when I tried to access my development apps on MBP. The irony is that my desktop does not have this problem. They’re both Mac OS X Leopard, so I really couldn’t understand what was going on.
The way I solved this was just run the Apache as me. Since all the projects are in my home directory, it shouldn’t really have any permission issue. By the way, I wouldn’t recommend this on production or even staging site. Just in case you don’t know how to do this, open /etc/apache2/httpd.conf and change user to your name and group to “staff”. Just restart the Apache afterwards and everything should be good to go.
