5 Rails Tips I Use All The Time

Over at Railscasts, they’re holding a contest, and the way to enter is to submit 5 tips for othe Rails developers. I’ve put together two simple Rails-based sites so far, and I consider myself to be a beginner moving into intermediate levels. I’ve relied on tips from countless other developers to make my first two sites happen, and I think this contest is good motivation for me to start giving back.

Here are my tips:

1. Use raise @variable_name.to_yaml all over the place. It helps you figure out what you’ve got in your variables. I use it my controllers all the time. You can also use the .inspect method.
2. Use Subversion + Capistrano. I didn’t use this combination for my first site, but I’m running it for my second and loving it. It makes deploying changes to my site ridiculously simple.
3. Use Slicehost. My first site is adequately hosted at TextDrive (or is it Joyent now?), but I wanted more control in my second site. Slicehost sets up a virtual machine called a slice, allows you to set up your own Linux distro, and let’s you take it from there. I learned a ton about Linux and the true ins-and-outs of hosting a rails app.
4. Use Textmate. Honestly, I was using a PC when I first got interested in Rails, but I saw screencasts using Textmate and I knew I had to switch. Best decision I’ve ever made (computer-wise).
5. Use the API documentation. When I first started, I was intimidated by that document, but once you get comfortable, you really see what can be done with Rails. Sometimes I go to find syntax for one method and find another I never knew existed, but works even better.