Riding the Rails

Ok, so i've bought my ticket, now I'm attempting to step off the platform and ride rails. The ticket, is a little 300 page book entitled "Ruby on Rails for Dummies". yep thats me.

So they say, "Its so easy, you can get an application made in no time at all". Well they were right! in about 20 minutes (after installing the software) I had already made my first application, complete with a database, a front end to view the data, and a back end allowing me to update the database online (without needing to access MySql directly). Only one problem... how do I get this online?

Should be simple right? I know, I'll go to the book! even a dummy has to be able to put their site online right? I mean seriously, what good is any website if you can't actually browse to it online? Even when I was first learning HTML, and wrote my very first "Hello World" site the real excitement came when I actually uploaded the file and got to see it through my browser. Surely the author of this Dummies guide wouldn't rob me of this joy right? WRONG!

After 8 hours of exacerbated searching to book and the net I gave up on my first day of learning this new incredible software!, nothing in the book about it (unless you wanted to set up you own web server at home, but with my system and my shoddy internet connection you'd really have to be a dummy to consider that option). No mention in the book! None AT ALL about how to put a site online via a hosted web service!

It was days later, when browsing the computer section at my local Borders, when I noticed another book entitled "Deploying Rails Applications". What's that you say? An entire book, just on the subject of getting your stinking site online?!? how friggin difficult could it possibly be? and why does it need to be this way? After skimming the pages I found out that there are several other pieces of software which are made especially for this task! Wow, don't you think that they would include this in the editing software?

Rediculus!

So, yea I haven't given up on this language yet, but if this language is ever going to replace the old standards its going to have to become a whole hell of a lot more user friendly, because I don't think there are that many people who are as patient as I am.