Rails Plugins
Description
One of the most powerful aspects of the Rails framework is the ability to extend and override it within your own applications. This is achieved through the Rails plugin mechanism, which provides an avenue for Rails developers to add powerful new features to their applications and share this functionality with the worldwide community.
This short cut introduces Rails plugins and considers each aspect of their behavior and development. You'll learn what plugins are, how they work, and why they're useful. Discover how to find and install plugins using the provided script, then explore the world of plugin development, including common plugin idioms, testing, and version control. Finally, learn how to share your own plugins.
What This Short Cut Covers 4Section 1: Introduction 5
Section 2: Installing Plugins 14
Section 3: Saluton, Mondo! (init rb) 33
Section 4: Sharing Code (lib) 39
Section 5: The Rest (README, install rb, Rakefile, tasks, and More) 51
Section 6: Plugin Development 62
Section 7: Sharing Classes and Code 83
Section 8: Testing Plugins 100
Section 9: Sharing Your Plugin 113
Section 10: Conclusions 121
About the Author 123More details
Person
Dr. James Adam has been an active member of the Ruby community for more than four years, contributing to a number of projects including the FXRuby GUI toolkit and the Ruby-OpenGL bindings. He is a Rails early-adopter and contributor, working with the plugin system since its first appearance in Edge Rails. He has spoken at both conferences and user groups about using Rails plugins for effective team development.
James is the developer behind the Engines plugin, and works as part of a small internal development team in London producing real-world Rails applications within a corporate environment. He also helps run the London Ruby User Group, spreading the word about his favorite programming language to anyone who will listen.
Content
What This Short Cut Covers 4
Section 1: Introduction 5
Section 2: Installing Plugins 14
Section 3: Saluton, Mondo! (init rb) 33
Section 4: Sharing Code (lib) 39
Section 5: The Rest (README, install rb, Rakefile, tasks, and More) 51
Section 6: Plugin Development 62
Section 7: Sharing Classes and Code 83
Section 8: Testing Plugins 100
Section 9: Sharing Your Plugin 113
Section 10: Conclusions 121
About the Author 123