4 Rail Environments Upgraded. 0 Problems. Great work everyone, I
really appreciate it.
~ Ben
Ben R.
http://www.benr75.com
Ben R. wrote:
4 Rail Environments Upgraded. 0 Problems. Great work everyone, I
really appreciate it.~ Ben
Ben R.
http://www.benr75.com
I upgraded to Rails 1.1 and found it to have only a few issues. Don’t be
surprised if sites that worked on 1.0 stop functioning on 1.1. For one
example, see:
http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/59801
I also read the site5 upgraded to rails 1.1 and then rolled back to 1.0
because of problems reported by users.
I hope a small bugfix release addressing the top ~10 most annoying bugs
(like regressions) come out soon. It would be great to see rails 1.1.x
as the default on hosted servers so new users can benefit from all the
great new features before they learn to freeze edge.
Frankly, given the huge number of changes and many new features, it is
simply amazing there hasn’t been more problems with rails 1.1. Overall
a very impressive release indeed. Huge thanks to all the core members
and people who submitted patches.
I upgraded to Rails 1.1 and found it to have only a few issues. Don’t be
surprised if sites that worked on 1.0 stop functioning on 1.1. For one
example, see:
That page actually has a recommendation disguised as a complaint, the
bit where they say “because Rails doesn’t have a VERSION constant” –
this could be a useful thing to add.
–
Giles B.
www.gilesgoatboy.org
You can specify a version constant if you are running edge rails. Now
would be a good time to start using edge rails so that you can lock into
the 1.1 release.
On Thu, 2006-03-30 at 10:06 -0700, Giles B. wrote:
–
Giles B.
www.gilesgoatboy.org
Rails mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
Charlie B.
http://www.recentrambles.com
I hope a small bugfix release addressing the top ~10 most annoying bugs
(like regressions) come out soon. It would be great to see rails 1.1.x
as the default on hosted servers so new users can benefit from all the
great new features before they learn to freeze edge.
Do you have such a top 10? The only major issues I’ve heard of is
Prototype performance in IE (fixed), Oracle adapter issue (fixed), and
a failure to communicate that the environment.rb style from 0.13.x
would need updating.
Regarding the problem of freezing, we’ll be making that mandatory on
“rails myapp” now. It’ll automatically extract all the gems into
vendor/rails.
All applications should be distributed with the version of Rails
they’re certified to work with in vendor/rails. I hope we’ll see a new
typo release shortly that does this.
David Heinemeier H.
http://www.loudthinking.com – Broadcasting Brain
http://www.basecamphq.com – Online project management
http://www.backpackit.com – Personal information manager
http://www.rubyonrails.com – Web-application framework
David Heinemeier H. wrote:
I hope a small bugfix release addressing the top ~10 most annoying bugs
(like regressions) come out soon. It would be great to see rails 1.1.x
as the default on hosted servers so new users can benefit from all the
great new features before they learn to freeze edge.Do you have such a top 10? The only major issues I’ve heard of is
Prototype performance in IE (fixed), Oracle adapter issue (fixed), and
a failure to communicate that the environment.rb style from 0.13.x
would need updating.
The list should be decided by you and core members to maintain
objectivity. For example, the Oracle adapter issue is very serious to
those that use Oracle–but not for me.
Tickets about regressions (things that worked in previous revisions)
should probably be included unless the changes are too time-consuming or
risky for a bugfix release. For example #3704 and #4234 are probably
worth investigating.
After regressions, tickets like #4378 are probably worth considering
because it can bite a lot of people without warning.
Frankly, at the rate you’re fixing bugs, maybe you can simply bless a
revision as 1.1.1 in a matter of days. Why bother? Because of
perception, testing, and easier collaboration. It won’t matter to
hobbiests but to companies running ecommerce sites, bugfix-only stable
releases will give them a sense of comfort–which they need in order to
migrate away from Java and PHP.
Mark my words…you will begin to see a lot of articles about Rails
being ‘too risky’ or ‘too buggy’ in articles sponsored by
vendors/developers of competing tools. They will point to events like
site5 rolling back their servers to rails 1.0 after encountering issues
with 1.1. Have them find out what went wrong and see if the problems
can be fixed and site5 migrated to 1.1 before the FUD articles appear.
The beauty of rails is that we can actually fix those pesky ‘major new
release issues’ before the sponsored FUD articles show up in IT
magazines read by decision-makers. You know…the same folks that get
withdrawal symptoms if they don’t see the word “enterprise” in every
product description–sadly, the same ones that dictate what developers
are allowed to use.
Regarding the problem of freezing, we’ll be making that mandatory on
“rails myapp” now. It’ll automatically extract all the gems into
vendor/rails.
Fantastic!
All applications should be distributed with the version of Rails
they’re certified to work with in vendor/rails. I hope we’ll see a new
typo release shortly that does this.
Keep up the great work! And don’t let the upcoming avalanche of
sponsored FUD about rails get you down.
Hi, I have upgraded to rails 1.1. Thus, I’m wondering, if I should have
done so in light of all the errors reports that I have been posted here?
I’m new to the Rails development and I simply would like to get through
all
the tutorials and move to developing for projects. Thus, if anyone can
provide with a clear picture as to the state of Rails 1.1, it would be
GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-Conrad
John S. wrote:
site5 rolling back their servers to rails 1.0 after encountering issues
with 1.1. Have them find out what went wrong and see if the problems
can be fixed and site5 migrated to 1.1 before the FUD articles appear.
Companies running high availability sites didn’t get bitten by the Rails
1.1 bugs. They already knew not to deploy a new piece of software on the
first day it was released.
If you have a site that you are running for yourself or your clients
that needs to be up 24x7, you don’t deploy software without testing it.
Not just your software, but any software. Even if there aren’t any bugs
in the third-party software that you are deploying (ha!) the deployment
might uncover some previously hidden bugs in your own code.
Just read the release notes. There were over 500 changes in Rails 1.1.
If you are doing test driven development, you aren’t going to deploy 500
changes without testing.
As to the various ISPs that apparently just pulled Rails 1.1 down and
deployed it to all their servers, without testing and without
communicating the change to their customers in advance, I don’t know
what to think. I can’t imagine what they were thinking. Were they trying
to please their customers who were clamoring for Rails 1.1?
–
Ray
John S. wrote:
[…]
withdrawal symptoms if they don’t see the word “enterprise” in every
product description–sadly, the same ones that dictate what developers
are allowed to use.
One thing that “enterprises” will expect is the ability to get bug fixes
without adding new features, and to continue to get bug fixes for a
release long after the next release is out.
Is this part of the plan for Rails?
regards
Justin
Wow… This thread has turned into the exact opposite of what I
intended.
There have been a lot of posts with issues on the new 1.1, and I wanted
to
put a positive one out there so that the core members and other
contributors
realize that they make the lives a real world developers easier.
Rails 1.1fixed a bug I couldn’t figure out, motivated me to get all of
my systems
running Ruby 1.84, and introduced many enhancements that in only a
couple
of days have shortened my code base.
I keep seeing this word ‘enterprise’ on this list and around the net. I
hate that word. I equate it with having an app that requires a couple
hundred IT folks to keep running. All businesses, large or small,
depend on
the up time and reliability of their apps. Ruby on Rails is a powerful
web
application development framework that requires fewer developers to
maintain… PERIOD. If Sun released a new version of Java today, how
long
would it take to work out the bugs that it creates in current java apps?
I
can guarantee that most Java developers out their would not even attempt
to
move to the new version for months if at all. I have a friend whose
full
time job is purely to manage Java versions for the company so that their
apps aren’t broken.
When Rails is deployed properly and tested thoroughly, issues with new
releases are minimal, especially when developers are allowed to follow
the
development of the framework on a daily basis.
So to answer Conrad, Rails 1.1 is where it’s at*. Many of my Rails
co-developers have been riding the edge version for months. 37 signals
if I
am not mistaken runs on the bleeding edge of the code base too. Now
that
there is a certified 1.1, start there and don’t go back. You’ll miss
great
features like polymorphic associations, RJS templates, an overall faster
app, and much, much more.
So again, Rails 1.1 ~ Kick Ass. Thanks David and crew ~
~ Ben
- Two turn tables and a microphone…
Hey Ben, thanks for the information and I really appreciate it. Thus,
I’ll
get going with Rails 1.1.
Thanks again,
-Conrad
Tickets about regressions (things that worked in previous revisions)
should probably be included unless the changes are too time-consuming or
risky for a bugfix release. For example #3704 and #4234 are probably
worth investigating.
+1
Frankly, at the rate you’re fixing bugs, maybe you can simply bless a
revision as 1.1.1 in a matter of days.
Call me crazy, but it would be incredibly cool to just take the
release schedule to the level which is normal for Web 2.0 apps like
Flickr, which builds and releases every couple hours. Do
incredibly-minor-version releases every single day. It would take some
work to get a sufficiently kick-ass testing/integration framework in
place, but that would be work worth doing.
It would also permanently clobber the “enterprise” wankers. 
Mark my words…you will begin to see a lot of articles about Rails
being ‘too risky’ or ‘too buggy’ in articles sponsored by
vendors/developers of competing tools.
True, but that was happening already anyway.
–
Giles B.
www.gilesgoatboy.org
As to the various ISPs that apparently just pulled Rails 1.1 down and
deployed it to all their servers, without testing and without
communicating the change to their customers in advance, I don’t know
what to think. I can’t imagine what they were thinking. Were they trying
to please their customers who were clamoring for Rails 1.1?
I think they just got carried away in all the excitement.
–
Giles B.
www.gilesgoatboy.org
Ben R. wrote:
Wow… This thread has turned into the exact opposite of what I
intended.
There have been a lot of posts with issues on the new 1.1, and I wanted
to
put a positive one out there so that the core members and other
contributors
realize that they make the lives a real world developers easier.
Rails 1.1fixed a bug I couldn’t figure out, motivated me to get all of
my systems
running Ruby 1.84, and introduced many enhancements that in only a
couple
of days have shortened my code base.I keep seeing this word ‘enterprise’ on this list and around the net. I
hate that word. I equate it with having an app that requires a couple
hundred IT folks to keep running. All businesses, large or small,
depend on
the up time and reliability of their apps. Ruby on Rails is a powerful
web
application development framework that requires fewer developers to
maintain… PERIOD. If Sun released a new version of Java today, how
long
would it take to work out the bugs that it creates in current java apps?
I
can guarantee that most Java developers out their would not even attempt
to
move to the new version for months if at all. I have a friend whose
full
time job is purely to manage Java versions for the company so that their
apps aren’t broken.When Rails is deployed properly and tested thoroughly, issues with new
releases are minimal, especially when developers are allowed to follow
the
development of the framework on a daily basis.So to answer Conrad, Rails 1.1 is where it’s at*. Many of my Rails
co-developers have been riding the edge version for months. 37 signals
if I
am not mistaken runs on the bleeding edge of the code base too. Now
that
there is a certified 1.1, start there and don’t go back. You’ll miss
great
features like polymorphic associations, RJS templates, an overall faster
app, and much, much more.So again, Rails 1.1 ~ Kick Ass. Thanks David and crew ~
~ Ben
- Two turn tables and a microphone…
I’m glad you were here to respond to Justin’s questions. It shows
everyone that without paying any overpriced ‘enterprise’ fees, we
respond quickly with relevant answers that are very practical.
I only have one tiny correction to make in your otherwise fantastic
response.
I think comparing Rails to Java is comparing a framework to a language.
Maybe a comparison to Struts or Zope at the next opportunity…
Anyway, here’s Justin’s original question in case we want to put this
question into the Rails FAQ along with with your answer. I think it’ll
prevent his question from being asked again because the answer is so
precise and clear.
Justin>> One thing that “enterprises” will expect is the ability to get
bug
Justin>> fixes without adding new features, and to continue to get bug
fixes
Justin>> for a release long after the next release is out.
Justin>>
Justin>> Is this part of the plan for Rails?
I’d put this into the wiki’s FAQ page but I’m pressed for time and need
to run.
We need more people like you to help answer questions. Too bad forums
for other software is full of fanboys with religious ferver.
I’m sure you’ve made rails much more appealing to many others by your
response. See? Conrad already jumped on board because of you!
Rock on!
Ben R. wrote:
Wow… This thread has turned into the exact opposite of what I
intended. There have been a lot of posts with issues on the new 1.1,
and I wanted to put a positive one out there so that the core members
and other contributors realize that they make the lives a real world
developers easier. Rails 1.1 fixed a bug I couldn’t figure out,
motivated me to get all of my systems running Ruby 1.84, and introduced
many enhancements that in only a couple of days have shortened my code
base.
Hi, Ben. I was glad to see your post, and you are not responsible for
the twists and turns that the thread took after you started it.
versions for the company so that their apps aren’t broken.
Yes - I haven’t yet had the chance to work with Java 5.0, which came out
in mid-2004. Both the clients I’m working for (a leading UK insurance
company, and a foreign exchange settlement bank) are IBM-based, so even
green-field projects use WebSphere App Server v6, which runs on Java
1.4.2. (Even so, we have used Rails successfully for prototyping in one
project.)
At the application level, Java upgrades don’t break much and do bring
advantages. We just can’t get those advantages because of the weight of
application server between us and the language.
When Rails is deployed properly and tested thoroughly, issues with new
releases are minimal, especially when developers are allowed to follow
the development of the framework on a daily basis.So to answer Conrad, Rails 1.1 is where it’s at*. Many of my Rails
co-developers have been riding the edge version for months. 37 signals
if I am not mistaken runs on the bleeding edge of the code base too.
Now that there is a certified 1.1, start there and don’t go back.
You’ll miss great features like polymorphic associations, RJS templates,
an overall faster app, and much, much more.
37 signals knows exactly what is going on at the edge. I’m sure they
don’t automatically update their servers after every commit!
As the audience for Rails grows, it becomes too much to expect every
developer to make these judgements (and the more Rails is positioned as
being easy to use, the truer this will be).
The fact that 37 signals runs on the edge is a mixed blessing for other
users. On the plus side, it means that released code has been proved in
production. On the down side, it means that 37 signals are not feeling
the pain of working with the current release. Until 1.0, every Rails
release I saw was followed quickly be a 0.n.m.1 release which fixed some
teething troubles. 1.0 had at least one serious bug (relating to the
saving of multiple associations) - but there was never a 1.0.1 release.
Are users expected to find and apply patches? Should everyone switch to
Edge Rails to get fixes? (If so, the concept of a release loses all
relevance.)
To echo my earlier post, I do think it is important for Rails to have
maintenance releases, and where an upgrade is a major change it will be
important for the earlier release to continue to be maintained for a
while.
So again, Rails 1.1 ~ Kick Ass. Thanks David and crew ~
Absolutely!
Justin
Ray B. wrote:
As to the various ISPs that apparently just pulled Rails 1.1 down and
deployed it to all their servers, without testing and without
communicating the change to their customers in advance, I don’t know
what to think. I can’t imagine what they were thinking. Were they trying
to please their customers who were clamoring for Rails 1.1?
I think that if you’re running an application on shared hosting, you
need to ensure that you have require_gem statements locking you to the
version you need.
Now, I’d love to see Rails create those for you-- inserting the chunk of
environment.rb shown in the Wiki
(Peak Obsession)
would make everyone’s lives a bit easier, I think.