Setup a Ruby on Rails Development Environment Fast in Vista
July 11, 2007 – 3:29 pmNormally when I’m at the home base, I am hacking away using my Ubuntu setup on my desktop. However, when traveling I have a Dell Latitude D420 that runs Vista. So for now, I’m using Vista on the road. I needed to be able to hack while traveling in the Ruby on Rails environment. Following six steps to get started quickly.
1. Install InstantRails
Follow the instructions here and make sure to pay attention to the Automatic RadRails section.
2. Start InstantRails
Before you start InstantRails, make sure to stop any instances of Apache and MySQL as you will get a port sharing violation.
3. Download and Install Aptana
You can of course go the Eclipse route, but I find Aptana to work very well. Make the default workspace the rails_apps directory as directed in the Automatic RadRails instructions from step 1 so that RadRails will work out of the box.
4. Install Aptana RadRails
Use the instructions here to install the Ruby on Rails development environment. I suggest you also install subclipse (it’s an option alongside the Ruby on Rails development environment) so that you will have integrated SVN support.
5. Use SVN to Checkout/Checkin Your Code to the rad_rails Directory
I recommend that you store your repository remotely. I found DreamHost to be good for that purpose since they give you a large amount of storage space for cheap. You can use TortoiseSVN to manage the repository in Windows.
6. Start a Ruby on Rails Project in Aptana using the directory of your checked out code
File->New->Project
Click on the Servers tab at the bottom and then right click under the tab and choose add. Start up the Mongrel server on port 3001. Go to http://localhost:3001 to make sure everything works.
Don’t forget to create the necessary databases and use rake db:migrate to import you data.
Remember that with Vista you will need to run Aptana and IntantRails with Administrator privileges.
If you have any problems, please let me know in the comments.