Improve Rails README [#4740 state:resolved]

Signed-off-by: Rizwan Reza <rizwanreza@gmail.com>

1 files changed, 113 insertions, 85 deletions

diff --git a/railties/README b/railties/README
index e4de4a5cb2..4d155189cd 100644
--- a/railties/README
+++ b/railties/README
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@
 Rails is a web-application framework that includes everything needed to create
 database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Control pattern.
 
-This pattern splits the view (also called the presentation) into "dumb" templates
-that are primarily responsible for inserting pre-built data in between HTML tags.
-The model contains the "smart" domain objects (such as Account, Product, Person,
-Post) that holds all the business logic and knows how to persist themselves to
-a database. The controller handles the incoming requests (such as Save New Account,
-Update Product, Show Post) by manipulating the model and directing data to the view.
+This pattern splits the view (also called the presentation) into "dumb"
+templates that are primarily responsible for inserting pre-built data in between
+HTML tags. The model contains the "smart" domain objects (such as Account,
+Product, Person, Post) that holds all the business logic and knows how to
+persist themselves to a database. The controller handles the incoming requests
+(such as Save New Account, Update Product, Show Post) by manipulating the model
+and directing data to the view.
 
 In Rails, the model is handled by what's called an object-relational mapping
 layer entitled Active Record. This layer allows you to present the data from
@@ -21,35 +22,45 @@ layers by its two parts: Action View and Action Controller. These two layers
 are bundled in a single package due to their heavy interdependence. This is
 unlike the relationship between the Active Record and Action Pack that is much
 more separate. Each of these packages can be used independently outside of
-Rails.  You can read more about Action Pack in
+Rails. You can read more about Action Pack in
 link:files/vendor/rails/actionpack/README.html.
 
 
 == Getting Started
 
-1. At the command prompt, start a new Rails application using the <tt>rails</tt> command
-   and your application name. Ex: <tt>rails myapp</tt>
-2. Change directory into myapp and start the web server: <tt>rails server</tt> (run with --help for options)
-3. Go to http://localhost:3000/ and get "Welcome aboard: You're riding the Rails!"
-4. Follow the guidelines to start developing your application
+1. At the command prompt, create a new Rails application:
+       <tt>rails myapp</tt> (where <tt>myapp</tt> is the application name)
+
+2. Change directory to <tt>myapp</tt> and start the web server:
+       <tt>cd myapp; rails server</tt> (run with --help for options)
+
+3. Go to http://localhost:3000/ and get:
+       "Welcome aboard: You're riding the Rails!"
+
+4. Follow the guidelines to start developing your application.
 
 
 == Web Servers
 
-By default, Rails will try to use Mongrel if it's installed when started with <tt>rails server</tt>, otherwise
-Rails will use WEBrick, the webserver that ships with Ruby. But you can also use Rails with a variety of
-other web servers.
+By default, Rails will try to use Mongrel if it's installed when started with
+<tt>rails server</tt>, otherwise Rails will use WEBrick, the web server that
+ships with Ruby.
 
-Mongrel is a Ruby-based webserver with a C component (which requires compilation) that is
-suitable for development and deployment of Rails applications. If you have Ruby Gems installed,
-getting up and running with mongrel is as easy as: <tt>gem install mongrel</tt>.
+Mongrel is a Ruby-based web server with a C component (which requires
+compilation) that is suitable for development and deployment of Rails
+applications. If you have Ruby Gems installed, getting up and running with
+mongrel is as easy as: <tt>sudo gem install mongrel</tt>.
 More info at: http://mongrel.rubyforge.org
 
-Other ruby web servers exist which can run your rails application, however <tt>rails server</tt> does
-not search for them or start them.  These include {Thin}[http://code.macournoyer.com/thin/], {Ebb}[http://ebb.rubyforge.org/], and Apache with {mod_rails}[http://www.modrails.com/].
+You can alternatively run Rails applications with other Ruby web servers, e.g.,
+{Thin}[http://code.macournoyer.com/thin/], {Ebb}[http://ebb.rubyforge.org/], and
+Apache with {mod_rails}[http://www.modrails.com/]. However, <tt>rails server</tt>
+doesn't search for or start them.
 
-For production use, often a web/proxy server such as {Apache}[http://apache.org], {Nginx}[http://nginx.net/], {LiteSpeed}[http://litespeedtech.com/], {Lighttpd}[http://www.lighttpd.net/] or {IIS}[http://www.iis.net/] is
-deployed as the front-end server, with the chosen ruby web server running in the back-end
+For production use, often a web/proxy server, e.g., {Apache}[http://apache.org],
+{Nginx}[http://nginx.net/], {LiteSpeed}[http://litespeedtech.com/],
+{Lighttpd}[http://www.lighttpd.net/], or {IIS}[http://www.iis.net/], is deployed
+as the front end server with the chosen Ruby web server running in the back end
 and receiving the proxied requests via one of several protocols (HTTP, CGI, FCGI).
 
 
@@ -85,24 +96,25 @@ set the RewriteBase in this htaccess file.
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
   RewriteRule ^(.*)$ dispatch.cgi [QSA,L]
 
-Incase Rails experiences terminal errors instead of displaying those messages you
-can supply a file here which will be rendered instead.
+In case Rails experiences terminal errors, you may supply a file here to be
+rendered instead.
 
   ErrorDocument 500 /500.html
-  ErrorDocument 500 "<h2>Application error</h2>Rails application failed to start properly"
+  ErrorDocument 500 "<h2>Application Error</h2>Rails failed to start properly."
+
 
 == Debugging Rails
 
-Sometimes your application goes wrong.  Fortunately there are a lot of tools that
+Sometimes your application goes wrong. Fortunately there are a lot of tools that
 will help you debug it and get it back on the rails.
 
-First area to check is the application log files.  Have "tail -f" commands running
-on the server.log and development.log. Rails will automatically display debugging
-and runtime information to these files. Debugging info will also be shown in the
-browser on requests from 127.0.0.1.
+First area to check is the application log files. Have "tail -f" commands
+running on the server.log and development.log. Rails will automatically display
+debugging and runtime information to these files. Debugging info will also be
+shown in the browser on requests from 127.0.0.1.
 
-You can also log your own messages directly into the log file from your code using
-the Ruby logger class from inside your controllers. Example:
+You can also log your own messages directly into the log file from your code
+using the Ruby logger class from inside your controllers. Example:
 
   class WeblogController < ActionController::Base
     def destroy
@@ -114,26 +126,26 @@ the Ruby logger class from inside your controllers. Example:
 
 The result will be a message in your log file along the lines of:
 
-  Mon Oct 08 14:22:29 +1000 2007 Destroyed Weblog ID #1
+  Mon Oct 08 14:22:29 +1000 2007 Destroyed Weblog ID #1!
 
 More information on how to use the logger is at http://www.ruby-doc.org/core/
 
 Also, Ruby documentation can be found at http://www.ruby-lang.org/ including:
 
-* The Learning Ruby (Pickaxe) Book: http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/
-* Learn to Program: http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/  (a beginners guide)
+* Programming Ruby: http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/ (Pickaxe)
+* Learn to Program: http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/ (a beginners guide)
 
-These two online (and free) books will bring you up to speed on the Ruby language
-and also on programming in general.
+These two online (and free) books will bring you up to speed on the Ruby
+language and also on programming in general.
 
 
 == Debugger
 
-Debugger support is available through the debugger command when you start your Mongrel or
-Webrick server with --debugger. This means that you can break out of execution at any point
-in the code, investigate and change the model, AND then resume execution!
-You need to install ruby-debug to run the server in debugging mode. With gems, use 'gem install ruby-debug'
-Example:
+Debugger support is available through the debugger command when you start your
+Mongrel or WEBrick server with --debugger. This means that you can break out of
+execution at any point in the code, investigate and change the model, and then,
+resume execution! You need to install ruby-debug to run the server in debugging
+mode. With gems, use <tt>sudo gem install ruby-debug</tt>. Example:
 
   class WeblogController < ActionController::Base
     def index
@@ -146,12 +158,14 @@ So the controller will accept the action, run the first line, then present you
 with a IRB prompt in the server window. Here you can do things like:
 
   >> @posts.inspect
-  => "[#<Post:0x14a6be8 @attributes={\"title\"=>nil, \"body\"=>nil, \"id\"=>\"1\"}>,
-       #<Post:0x14a6620 @attributes={\"title\"=>\"Rails you know!\", \"body\"=>\"Only ten..\", \"id\"=>\"2\"}>]"
+  => "[#<Post:0x14a6be8
+          @attributes={"title"=>nil, "body"=>nil, "id"=>"1"}>,
+       #<Post:0x14a6620
+          @attributes={"title"=>"Rails", "body"=>"Only ten..", "id"=>"2"}>]"
   >> @posts.first.title = "hello from a debugger"
   => "hello from a debugger"
 
-...and even better is that you can examine how your runtime objects actually work:
+...and even better, you can examine how your runtime objects actually work:
 
   >> f = @posts.first
   => #<Post:0x13630c4 @attributes={"title"=>nil, "body"=>nil, "id"=>"1"}>
@@ -163,28 +177,37 @@ Finally, when you're ready to resume execution, you enter "cont"
 
 == Console
 
-The console is a ruby shell, which allows you to interact with your application's domain
-model. Here you'll have all parts of the application configured, just like it is when the
-application is running. You can inspect domain models, change values, and save to the
-database. Starting the script without arguments will launch it in the development environment.
+The console is a Ruby shell, which allows you to interact with your
+application's domain model. Here you'll have all parts of the application
+configured, just like it is when the application is running. You can inspect
+domain models, change values, and save to the database. Starting the script
+without arguments will launch it in the development environment.
 
-To start the console, just run <tt>rails console</tt> from the application directory.
+To start the console, run <tt>rails console</tt> from the application
+directory.
 
 Options:
 
-* Passing the <tt>-s, --sandbox</tt> argument will rollback any modifications made to the database.
-* Passing an environment name as an argument will load the corresponding environment.
-  Example: <tt>rails console production</tt>.
+* Passing the <tt>-s, --sandbox</tt> argument will rollback any modifications
+  made to the database.
+* Passing an environment name as an argument will load the corresponding
+  environment. Example: <tt>rails console production</tt>.
+
+To reload your controllers and models after launching the console run
+<tt>reload!</tt>
+
+More information about irb can be found at:
+link:http://www.rubycentral.com/pickaxe/irb.html
 
-More information about irb can be found at link:http://www.rubycentral.com/pickaxe/irb.html
 
 == dbconsole
 
-You can go to the command line of your database directly through <tt>rails dbconsole</tt>.
-You would be connected to the database with the credentials defined in database.yml.
-Starting the script without arguments will connect you to the development database. Passing an
-argument will connect you to a different database, like <tt>rails dbconsole production</tt>.
-Currently works for mysql, postgresql and sqlite.
+You can go to the command line of your database directly through <tt>rails
+dbconsole</tt>. You would be connected to the database with the credentials
+defined in database.yml. Starting the script without arguments will connect you
+to the development database. Passing an argument will connect you to a different
+database, like <tt>rails dbconsole production</tt>. Currently works for mysql,
+postgresql and sqlite.
 
 == Description of Contents
 
@@ -230,8 +253,8 @@ app
 
 app/controllers
   Holds controllers that should be named like weblogs_controller.rb for
-  automated URL mapping. All controllers should descend from ApplicationController
-  which itself descends from ActionController::Base.
+  automated URL mapping. All controllers should descend from
+  ApplicationController which itself descends from ActionController::Base.
 
 app/models
   Holds models that should be named like post.rb.
@@ -239,48 +262,53 @@ app/models
 
 app/views
   Holds the template files for the view that should be named like
-  weblogs/index.html.erb for the WeblogsController#index action. All views use eRuby
-  syntax.
+  weblogs/index.html.erb for the WeblogsController#index action. All views use
+  eRuby syntax.
 
 app/views/layouts
-  Holds the template files for layouts to be used with views. This models the common
-  header/footer method of wrapping views. In your views, define a layout using the
-  <tt>layout :default</tt> and create a file named default.html.erb. Inside default.html.erb,
-  call <% yield %> to render the view using this layout.
+  Holds the template files for layouts to be used with views. This models the
+  common header/footer method of wrapping views. In your views, define a layout
+  using the <tt>layout :default</tt> and create a file named default.html.erb.
+  Inside default.html.erb, call <% yield %> to render the view using this
+  layout.
 
 app/helpers
-  Holds view helpers that should be named like weblogs_helper.rb. These are generated
-  for you automatically when using <tt>rails generate</tt> for controllers. Helpers can be used to
-  wrap functionality for your views into methods.
+  Holds view helpers that should be named like weblogs_helper.rb. These are
+  generated for you automatically when using rails generate for controllers.
+  Helpers can be used to wrap functionality for your views into methods.
 
 config
-  Configuration files for the Rails environment, the routing map, the database, and other dependencies.
+  Configuration files for the Rails environment, the routing map, the database,
+  and other dependencies.
 
 db
-  Contains the database schema in schema.rb.  db/migrate contains all
-  the sequence of Migrations for your schema.
+  Contains the database schema in schema.rb. db/migrate contains all the
+  sequence of Migrations for your schema.
 
 doc
-  This directory is where your application documentation will be stored when generated
-  using <tt>rake doc:app</tt>
+  This directory is where your application documentation will be stored when
+  generated using <tt>rake doc:app</tt>
 
 lib
-  Application specific libraries. Basically, any kind of custom code that doesn't
-  belong under controllers, models, or helpers. This directory is in the load path.
+  Application specific libraries. Basically, any kind of custom code that
+  doesn't belong under controllers, models, or helpers. This directory is in
+  the load path.
 
 public
-  The directory available for the web server. Contains subdirectories for images, stylesheets,
-  and javascripts. Also contains the dispatchers and the default HTML files. This should be
-  set as the DOCUMENT_ROOT of your web server.
+  The directory available for the web server. Contains subdirectories for
+  images, stylesheets, and javascripts. Also contains the dispatchers and the
+  default HTML files. This should be set as the DOCUMENT_ROOT of your web
+  server.
 
 script
   Helper scripts for automation and generation.
 
 test
-  Unit and functional tests along with fixtures. When using the <tt>rails generate</tt> scripts, template
-  test files will be generated for you and placed in this directory.
+  Unit and functional tests along with fixtures. When using the rails generate
+  command, template test files will be generated for you and placed in this
+  directory.
 
 vendor
-  External libraries that the application depends on. Also includes the plugins subdirectory.
-  If the app has frozen rails, those gems also go here, under vendor/rails/.
-  This directory is in the load path.
+  External libraries that the application depends on. Also includes the plugins
+  subdirectory. If the app has frozen rails, those gems also go here, under
+  vendor/rails/. This directory is in the load path.