OKCOOL

Every now and again I need to stretch my brain, remember that I once used to actually code applications and make sure that I still understand the many processes involved in creating an application…

These days the only language/framework that I “play with” is Rails/Ruby - I really love it. I’m not much cop at it but I can get things done, they work and they’re fast to develop. The problem I always have is the setup and the deployment…

When I first heard about Heroku I was scepticle to say the least, I signed up for the beta, had a fiddle, thought WOW, but didn’t really like it. A few months later, last weekend actually, I though that I’d give it another go.

So I though that I’d build a simple job board from start to finish using Restful techniques and various other current buzz words. :)All I can say is “Awsome” - using Heroku, I had pretty much a fully functioning, albeit simple app, in about three hours.

While the one page at a time editing can be a bit clunky and I found that having the “site” open in a different tab almost essential (instead of using the “run arrow”) it was a most pleasant experience.

The biggest revelation for me was the ease of adding plugins - you go to your vendor directory and there at the top is an “add plugin” item which takes you to a directory of plugins, with one click installs. This is fantastic.

If you’ve never tried Rails, I strongly recommend giving Heroku a go, follow one of the many cool Rails tutorials (Railscasts is great) and see what you can come up with.