Thanks to a Battlefield 3 Beta losing streak that I blame on my sucky internet connection, I’ve decided to update my hack-job of a standalone Windows installer for Rails.
Now there are two separate installers, a Ruby 1.8.7 + Rails 3.0.10 installer and a Ruby 1.9.2 + Rails 3.1.0. Here’s a table to give a quick comparison between these two installers with RailsInstaller thrown into the mix:
| RailsInstaller 2 | RailsFTW (Rails 3.1) | RailsFTW (Rails 3.0) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby version | 1.9.2-p290 | 1.8.7-p352 | |
| Rails version | 3.1.0 | 3.0.10 | |
| File Size | ~55MB | ~20MB | ~10MB |
| DB Adapter Gems | sqlite3, pg, tiny_tds (MS SQL Server) | sqlite3, mysql2 | |
| Additional Features | git, DevKit | – | |
| Internet Connection Required? | Yes | No (Bundler will fail to connect to server but new apps will still work) | No |
| Compiled by | Some of the biggest names in the Ruby community | Some random third world developer. LOL | |
Hey, I liked the idea of streamlining the railsinstaller. I have a few suggestions, however.
You might consider taking mysql2 out of package and adding DevKit. Although with sqlite3 will well be enough for a main install, without DevKit some of the gems are not going to work.
Keep up good job.
RailsFTW is meant to be a training tool. You can learn the fundamentals of Ruby and Rails without installing gems that require DevKit.
By the time you need to install DevKit (~100+ hours of training), you’re probably at the level of skill wherein going to the RubyInstaller site and installing it on your own isn’t going to be a problem.