**Course Title:** Ruby Programming: From Basics to Advanced Techniques **Section Title:** Introduction to Ruby on Rails **Topic:** Setting up a Rails development environment Now that you have a solid understanding of the Ruby programming language, it's time to dive into the world of Ruby on Rails. In this topic, we'll explore how to set up a Rails development environment, which is essential for building web applications with Rails. ### Prerequisites Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed on your system: * Ruby (version 2.7 or later) * RubyGems (version 3.2 or later) * Bundler (version 2.2 or later) * A code editor or IDE (Integrated Development Environment) of your choice ### Installing Rails To install Rails, you'll need to use the gem install command. Open your terminal and run the following command: ```bash gem install rails ``` This may take a few minutes to complete, depending on your internet connection and system speed. Once the installation is complete, you can verify that Rails is installed by running the following command: ```bash rails -v ``` This should display the version of Rails that you just installed. ### Choosing a Database Rails supports several databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. For this course, we'll use SQLite as our database of choice. If you're interested in using a different database, you can refer to the [Rails documentation]([http://guides.rubyonrails.org/configuring.html#configuring-sqlite3.html](http://guides.rubyonrails.org/configuring.html#configuring-sqlite3.html)) for more information. ### Creating a New Rails Project Once you have Rails installed, you can create a new Rails project by running the following command: ```bash rails new myapp ``` Replace `myapp` with the name of your application. This will create a new directory with the basic structure for a Rails application. ### Understanding the Rails Directory Structure When you create a new Rails project, you'll notice that it generates a lot of directories and files. Here's a breakdown of the main directories and files: * `app`: This directory contains the core application code. * `config`: This directory contains configuration files for the application. * `db`: This directory contains database-related files, including schema and migration scripts. * `lib`: This directory contains library code that can be used throughout the application. * `log`: This directory contains log files for the application. * `public`: This directory contains static files, such as images and CSS files. * `test`: This directory contains test files for the application. * `vendor`: This directory contains third-party libraries and dependencies. ### Initializing a Git Repository It's a good practice to use version control when building a Rails application. To initialize a Git repository, navigate to the project directory and run the following command: ```bash git init ``` This will create a new Git repository in the project directory. ### Bundling Dependencies Rails applications use Bundler to manage dependencies. To install the dependencies for the project, run the following command: ```bash bundle install ``` This will install all the dependencies specified in the `Gemfile` file. ### Starting the Rails Server To start the Rails server, run the following command: ```bash rails server ``` This will start the Rails server on port 3000. You can access the application by navigating to [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) in your web browser. ### Conclusion In this topic, you learned how to set up a Rails development environment, including installing Rails, choosing a database, and creating a new Rails project. You also learned about the Rails directory structure and how to initialize a Git repository and bundle dependencies. Finally, you learned how to start the Rails server and access the application in your web browser. **What's next?** In the next topic, we'll cover how to create a simple Rails application. We'll explore how to generate controllers, models, and views, and how to use Rails routing to map URLs to actions. **Do you have any questions?** Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or need help with setting up a Rails development environment. We'll be happy to assist you. **External Resources** * [Rails documentation]([http://guides.rubyonrails.org/configuring.html#configuring-sqlite3.html](http://guides.rubyonrails.org/configuring.html#configuring-sqlite3.html)) * [Bundler documentation]([https://bundler.io/v2.2/man/bundle-install.1.html](https://bundler.io/v2.2/man/bundle-install.1.html)) * [Git documentation]([https://git-scm.com/docs/git-init](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-init))