Welcome to RailsSpace!

RailsSpace: Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails by Michael Hartl and Aurelius Prochazka is an introduction to Ruby on Rails aimed at programmers with no prior Rails experience. RailsSpace is structured as an extended tutorial, which teaches you Rails by example through the development of a social networking website—the very site you are visiting now! Log in and create your profile to see the types of things we teach you how to do in the book.

Notes

Rails version compatibility

Just starting RailsSpace? You should know that RailsSpace was written using Rails 1.2.3, which means that the safest route to follow when reading the book is to replace the Rails installation command on page 15 with the following:

Windows: 
> gem install rails -v 1.2.3 --include-dependencies
Mac & Linux: 
$ sudo gem install rails -v 1.2.3 --include-dependencies

The book is guaranteed to work with this version of Rails. On the other hand, many people have had success following the book using Rails 2. As a result, our recommendation for new readers is to use the latest version of Rails when reading RailsSpace, and then consult the RailsSpace Google group if you get stuck.

The book source code (available at the RailsSpace book resources page) has been updated to use Rails 2, and the RailsSpace Google group is an outstanding resource if you run into any trouble. If all else fails, fall back on Rails 1.2.3, but try using Rails 2 first. As one of our most helpful readers notes, "if you are a resourceful person, keep in mind the possibility to start using R2.x from the first page."

Good luck, and happy Railsing!

Resources

Here are some links to the book and video tutorial:

RailsSpace cover RailsSpace: Building a Social Networking Website with Ruby on Rails (Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series)
RailsSpace video image RailsSpace Ruby on Rails Tutorial Video (LiveLessons)