Flexible Rails

I'm going to be speaking at acts_as_conference on February 8-9 in Orlando, Florida.

The title for my talk is "Rails on AIR". The pompous title is "Rails on AIR: Best Practices for using Flex 3 and Adobe AIR with Ruby on Rails 2". I'd hoped to be done Rails on AIR (my planned sequel to Flexible Rails) by this conference; as it stands currently the book isn't even in alpha yet. (Finishing Flexible Rails took a lot longer than I naively expected: I now know how much work goes into taking a Manning book from "completed manuscript" to "fully typeset", and why Manning books have such consistent high quality...)

So, my talk will be some of the material from Flexible Rails, plus a good sized sneak preview of the new ideas and code being developed for Rails on AIR. The ideas and code are already far enough along to talk about, even if that book is not. So, you'll be getting a look at the material before anyone else!

The conference looks to be really great -- I'm really honoured to be included among the list of speakers. Also, the charity session looks great: learn about Rubinus from Evan Phoenix and Merb and Ezra Zygmuntowicz!

So, if you want to go somewhere warm and sunny in February, I'd definitely check it out...

With everything going on surrounding Flexible Rails, I forgot to blog this until now: I am speaking about using Flex with Rails at the Rails to Italy conference in Pisa this Saturday (October 27, 2007)!

I am very honoured to be included in this amazing speaker list.

The full title of my talk is "RESTful Rich Internet Application Development with Rails and Flex 2″. It's from 4:15 to 4:45 on Saturday, October 27, 2007.

I'm sitting in a hotel in Florence right now, having spent a few days in London and a couple days in a villa in Lastra a Signa revising Flexible Rails. Of course, I could think of worse places to write a book than overlooking the Tuscan hills. Still, it's a shame I can't spend the whole time sightseeing--not that I'm complaining though! Walking around Florence and seeing the amazing art and sculpture is a constant reminder not to take one's own work too seriously, since it is not even on the same planet as the accomplishments of the people who lived here hundreds of years ago...

Flexible Rails is becoming a Manning book, and is going to cover Flex 3 and Rails 2. It's available now on the "MEAP" - Manning Early Access Program. There are currently 6 chapters (238 pages) available, which is about half the book. Even though the Manning book isn't as complete as the Lulu book was, I want everyone to buy it from the Manning Early Access Program so that I get as much current feedback as possible.

I have now "retired" the Lulu book. It went through 23 (!) revisions over the period of September 10, 2006 - October 24, 2007. It rose to #73 all time on the Lulu sales rank. When I first started writing it, making the top 100 was my goal for the book over its lifetime on Lulu, so I'm really happy that it made it. I had assumed that the "lifetime on Lulu" would have included at least one "non-Beta" version, so in some senses I'm "ahead of schedule"--but I had also assumed that the Alpha and Beta process wouldn't have taken over a year, so it balances out, I guess!

Anyway, I'm really grateful to everyone who bought the book on Lulu and gave me such great feedback. Thank you!!!

P.S. I'm not going to allow anyone new to join the flexiblerails Google Group, since it will be used for distributing the free updates and discounts that Lulu purchasers will get. Readers who buy the book through Manning will be able to use the Author Forum or just email me directly at peterarmstrong@gmail.com.

Tony Hillerson of Effective UI is going to be presenting two sessions at Adobe MAX 2007 about using Flex with Rails.

Anyone lucky enough to go to MAX should check out one of them:

Flex on Rails Skill: Intermediate Flex, Adobe Integrated Runtime, Flash Player

• Monday, October 1 - 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
• Wednesday, October 3 - 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm

The official description is: "Learn how to integrate your Flex applications with a Ruby on Rails back end. Topics include remoting, using ActiveRecords in Flex, and the Flex/RoR SDK. Finally, learn how to deploy your Flex application to Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR)."

Yesterday, 363 days after Flexible Rails was first released as an Alpha Book, Flexible Rails finally cracked the Lulu Top 100!

It was #92 yesterday, and is #94 today--competition is a lot tougher in the top 120 spots. My hope was for the book to get in the top 100, and I'm really happy that it got there. I didn't expect the book to still be in Beta when it did though--of course, I didn't expect the book to still be in Beta a year later either!

The description of the Office 2.0 Conference panel is here.

It's on Thursday, September 6, 2007, from 2:15PM - 3:00PM in the Conservatory.

Marc Orchant from blognation USA is going to be moderating, and Dion Almaer, Jnan Dash from Curl, Kevin Hakman from TIBCO, Ryan Stewart from Adobe and David Temkin from Laszlo will all be on the panel with me. (I'm very honoured to be in such company--I'd go to this panel in a second!)

The panel will be looking at the big questions surrounding Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) -- where do they fit, what are they best suited for, etc.

I'm going to be talking about Flex and Rails at a free (but space is limited, so go sign up NOW!) "Vancouver RIA Developer Camp", i.e. Flex Camp, on August 30.

Space is limited, so go sign up!

Besides me, there is a great line up of speakers including Andre Charland, Duane Nickull, Ross Ladell, Steve Bond and Ryan Stewart. I'm flattered to be included in this list...

I've just released the first complete version of Flexible Rails!

Highlights:

• all bugs fixed
• all tests pass in all iterations
• iteration 11 (which used to be called iteration 12) has been overhauled to properly enforce the GTD semantics

The update is available via the usual methods.

Now that the book is "done", I would really appreciate any reviews. I'm thinking of doing a Thinking in Java-style approach of putting nice quotes from readers (who have given me permission of course) in the first few pages of the book and on http://flexiblerails.com/buzz. So, if you don't mind being quoted, please email me a review along with your name and, optionally, your job title and/or blog URL. Besides email, if you blog about the book, please let me know and I'll add a link to your blog review from http://flexiblerails.com/buzz.

Also, I really welcome constructive criticism too, of course. Please email me any feedback you have, positive and/or negative.

Update 2007-08-19: The RubyAMF + Rails combination isn't production ready (Aaron Smith, RubyAMF creator, was helping me with this iteration, so he would know!), so I've dropped that iteration from the book for now. So, there is currently no coverage of WebORB for Rails or RubyAMF in the book, other than a short blurb and some links in an Appendix. I may add an iteration on RubyAMF + Rails when I update the book code to Flex 3 + Rails 2, but that won't be for a long time.

I've just released a minor book release, which revises the "Finishing Pomodo with Flex + Rails + HTTPService" iteration (this used to be #13, now it is #12). These changes are also applied to the AIR iteration. There are some bug fixes and a delete user feature which are necessary for pomodo to be demoable.

The nice thing is that the code from iteration #12 is now (finally!) running at http://pomodo.com.

Note that the plan is now to just cover RubyAMF + Rails (goal: by Monday), as opposed to both RubyAMF + Rails and RubyAMF, Standalone. The book is called Flexible Rails after all, not Flex and Rails and Merb and RubyAMF and AIR and the Kitchen Sink. As such, the iteration numbering has been updated accordingly.

The update is available to existing readers via the usual methods.

Hi all,

I just released a new book version, which adds two new iterations:

• Finishing Pomodo with Flex + Rails + HTTPService [28 pages]
• Pomodo on AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) [20 pages]

It also adds Appendix B: Handwaving at Omitted Topics. This includes an extremely brief discussion (essentially just links) of testing, file upload and WebORB. (I'm deleting the WebORB iteration, since it's not up to the standard of the rest of the book.)

The update is available to readers via the usual methods.

Aslak Hellesoy is going to be doing a half-day session at RailsConf Europe 2007 about Using Adobe Flex with Rails. His speaker bio is here; he's the CTO of BEKK Consulting in Oslo, Norway.

This is really cool...

Chad Fowler quoted Gandhi at RailsConf 2007; I think it's fitting that I quote the same quote now too:

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi

So, we've gone from being ignored, to being ridiculed, to being fought.

The hilarious thing is that I'm advocating using HIS FRAMEWORK. (Well, a subset of it anyway ;-) So, I'm not trying to fight him or Rails, and he is fighting with a use of his own framework.

(The quote also doesn't apply, since I'm not trying to "win": I'm advocating Rails!)

Update: I just realized that it is extremely possible that DHH has never heard of using Flex and Rails together. He wasn't at my BOF at RailsConf 2007, after all :-) So maybe this is all a big misunderstanding, and tomorrow DHH will be raving about how great it is that Rails can be used to power Flex applications :-)

Update #2: I may have overreacted. See DHH's comment and my reply around comments #30-35 in this thread. Before you know it, DHH will be writing a Flex front end to Basecamp and realize what he's been missing ;)

I think it's pretty clear that DHH isn't sold on the combination of Flex and Rails....

Oh well, despite his best efforts, I am still convinced that the Flex + Rails combination is the best one for rich Internet applications. In case my comment goes away from the thread on that blog post, here was my initial reaction. I'll blog more about this later:

Hi David,

While you are a much better coder and a lot richer than I am, you are 100% wrong about rich Internet applications.

This is even more misguided than your "You're not on a fucking plane" post.

This debate is not "Rails vs. rich Internet applications", by the way. I am a proponent of using Rails and Flex together.

See the MIT licensed code samples from my book Flexible Rails for an example of how Flex and Rails can be used together. (Yes, this is blatant and shameless self-promotion, but it's extremely relevant to this discussion so I'll mention it anyway: I am trying to show the world how YOUR framework can be a key part of the next generation of rich Internet applications--applications which go way beyond the amazing tricks that gurus like yourselves and Thomas Fuchs have been able to do with JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

If someone like me can put together a decent, fairly well-designed application with hardly any code (or time or funding), imagine what someone with your (and your colleagues') talents and resources could do with the technology! I bet it would blow away what you have done so far, which is already very impressive and successful...

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong

Update 2007-08-19: I dropped the WebORB iteration from the book (a while ago, but I forgot to update this post) since the iteration quality wasn't up to the level of the other iterations.

I just released a new book version, which adds a 44-page iteration entitled "Holding State on the Client Properly". This iteration improves the quality of the code, decoupling it from XML and using an object model instead.

Besides being a major improvement, this is also is essential preparation for the WebORB iteration which I am currently working on (and which I hope to finish in 2 weeks). The tiny sections discussing use of Subversion and the Flex Builder debugger will also be in the WebORB release.

This brings the book length up to 448 pages, or 393 if you omit the Preface and Appendices. The book is now about 2/3 done. (It would be over 80% done, but I am now planning on adding a section covering Adobe AIR at the end of the book. Hence the % done number has been lowered, as the planned book length is now about 700 pages.)

The update is available for current readers via the usual methods.

As readers who are subscribed to the private flexiblerails Google Group know, I have been approached by two major publishers regarding publishing Flexible Rails. When confronted with any major decision involving the book, I have solicited feedback from my readers on the flexiblerails Google Group.

I took a poll which asked the following question:

"Obviously everyone gets the final PDF copy of the Lulu edition of the book (about Flex 2 + Rails 1.2), which should be done in 2-3 months. In addition to that, which would you prefer (in order):

A) $20 off the print book from Lulu (about Flex 2 + Rails 1.2), and 50% off all subsequent PDF editions (Flex 3 + Rails 2, Flex 4 + Rails 3, etc)

B) a decent size percentage discount (better than the Amazon discount) off of a professionally produced print version of this book (about Flex 2 + Rails 1.2) in approx. 3-4 months

C) a decent size percentage discount (better than the Amazon discount) off of a professionally produced print version of the next version of this book (about Flex 3 + Rails 2) in approx. 9-12 months

D) approximately 50% off of a professionally produced PDF version of the next version of this book (about Flex 3 + Rails 2) in approx. 9-12 months"

I got tons of very thoughtful replies. The people on the flexiblerails Google Group are great.

The typical response was essentially the following: "I just expected the final PDF of the first edition, so do what you want on a book deal. If you want one, you deserve it. That said, my preference is A." Almost everyone who expressed a preference chose option "A" as their most preferred choice. This was what I expected, and was primarily why I turned the book deal down in the first place. (There were other confidential reasons, of course.)

So, the resolution is that I am going with option A: Flexible Rails is going to remain published and sold on Lulu as a PDF and (when it's done) as a print book. Anyone who buys the PDF will get $20 off the print book from Lulu, and 50% off all subsequent PDF editions (Flex 3 + Rails 2, Flex 4 + Rails 3, etc.).

In terms of getting distribution for the print book, Lulu can sell books on Amazon and other online merchants (as well as directly from lulu.com). So, while the book won't be quite as widely distributed as it would have been with a traditional publisher, it will be fairly good.

One thing that a couple of readers have said to me is that they saw this book as more of a service and community than "just a book". I agree: this is something that just kind of evolved accidentally over the last 10 (!) months, but which I'm really happy about. I have felt that this book is as much a group conversation as anything else, and there is no reason to change that now.

So, I am starting to see Flexible Rails as an example of a new model in publishing: BaaS (Books as a Service). [I couldn't help parodying SaaS.] Since PDF books, like software, have essentially zero variable cost, they should also have a proper upgrade process--just like software. (This is especially true with a topic which is as fast-moving as the Flex + Rails combination.)

In my opinion, this is the next step in the evolution of the "Beta Book" process pioneered by the Pragmatic Programmers. I am not saying that it is right for every book--a book like Getting Real probably wouldn't have benefited from it as much. However, I think that the BaaS model is the right model for this book and potentially for many others. The excellent royalty rates and control to the author that Lulu offers enables a lot more creativity in this regard.

I really appreciate the generosity of my readers: essentially everyone was willing to free me from my future discount promise if I really desperately wanted a book deal. Also, I'm not knocking all traditionally published books--I may even write one in the future, partially out of curiosity to see what that process is like. However, the Lulu + BaaS approach seems hard to beat...