Ruby on Rails: An Introduction

Johns Hopkins University

About this Course

10,960 recent views

Did you ever want to build a web application?  Perhaps you even started down that path in a language like Java or C#, when you realized that there was so much “climbing the mountain” that you had to do? Maybe you have heard about web services being all the rage, but thought they were too complicated to integrate into your web application. Or maybe you wondered how deploying web applications to the cloud works, but there was too much to set up just to get going.
In this course, we will explore how to build web applications with the Ruby on Rails web application framework, which is geared towards rapid prototyping.  Yes, that means building quickly! At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to build a meaningful web application and deploy it to the “cloud” using a Heroku PaaS (Platform as a Service). Best of all, it will almost feel effortless… Really!
 
“But wait”, you will say, “there is no way that we can build a useful application if there is no database involved. You need the data for an application to be useful.” Great point! But what if… instead of getting the data from the database, we get it from the internet by tapping into one of the web services out there that readily provides data needed by our application? “Ok, but that’s probably very complicated”, you will say. Take this course and you will be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is!

Learner Career Outcomes

44%

started a new career after completing these courses

47%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

16%

got a pay increase or promotion

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Chinese (Simplified), Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish

Skills you will gain

Ruby (Programming Language)Ruby On RailsHeroku

Learner Career Outcomes

44%

started a new career after completing these courses

47%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

16%

got a pay increase or promotion

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 15 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Chinese (Simplified), Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.6/5 (25 Ratings)

Kalman Hazins

Adjunct Professor, Graduate Computer Science

Whiting School of Engineering

81,941 Learners

2 Courses

Offered by

Johns Hopkins University

The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating93%(12,140 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Welcome and Setting Up the Development Environment

In this module, we will install software required to develop Ruby on Rails applications. We will also demonstrate the use of a popular Ruby on Rails editor called “Sublime Text”. We will finish the module by familiarizing ourselves with a version control system called “Git” that will be used later in the course to submit assignments, as well as to deploy Ruby on Rails applications to a PaaS (platform as a service) called “Heroku”.

3 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 101 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

9 videos

Course Introduction8m

Welcome to Module 1: Setting Up the Development Environment3m

Software Installation For Linux Users22m

Software Installation for Mac Users17m

Software Installation for Windows Users11m

Editors & IDEs for Ruby on Rails12m

Introduction to Git6m

Local Git Repository10m

Remote Repos and Github7m

3 readings

Grading10m

Github Repository for Module 110m

Recommended Books10m

2 practice exercises

Introduction to Git30m

Module 1 Quiz30m

Week

Week 2

6 hours to complete

Introduction to Ruby

In this module, we will explore the different areas of the Ruby programming language.<p>We will start with the basics and continue with more advanced topics, such as arrays and hashes. We will also spend time exploring object oriented programming in Ruby, and finish the module by demonstrating how to perform unit testing.</p>

6 hours to complete

18 videos (Total 151 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz

18 videos

Welcome to Module 2: Introduction to Ruby2m

Ruby Basics8m

Flow of Control10m

Functions8m

Blocks5m

Files6m

Strings10m

Arrays10m

Ranges5m

Hashes12m

Classes13m

Class Inheritance8m

Modules9m

Scope9m

Access Control7m

Introduction to Unit Testing9m

Introduction to RSpec8m

RSpec Matchers4m

5 readings

GitHub Repository for Module 210m

Recommended Books10m

Practice Programming Assignment - Case Statement10m

Practice Programming Assignment: Collections10m

Practice Programming Assignment: Classes10m

Week

Week 3

6 hours to complete

Introduction to Ruby on Rails

In this module, we will become familiar with core concepts behind Ruby on Rails, such as CoC (Convention Over Configuration) and MVC (Model-View-Controller). <p>We will then learn about consuming JSON API with HTTParty, a Ruby gem. We will then integrate this ability to consume JSON API to serve as the data layer for our Rails application.</p>Finally, to conclude this module we will deploy the application to Heroku and write a unit test that will verify the desired functionality.

6 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 115 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz

14 videos

Welcome to Module 3: Introduction to Ruby on Rails3m

Introduction to Rails7m

Creating your First Application12m

Controller and View7m

Routes7m

Moving Business Logic Out of View6m

Helpers7m

Introduction to HTTParty15m

Bundler6m

Rails & HTTParty Integration6m

CSS, Parameters & Root Path8m

Deploying to Heroku6m

Blackbox Testing10m

Debugging Rails Applications9m

4 readings

Github Repository for Module 310m

Recommended Books10m

IMPORTANT UPDATE10m

Practice Programming Assignment: HTTP Client10m

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes, Coursera provides financial aid to learners who cannot afford the fee. Apply for it by clicking on the Financial Aid link beneath the "Enroll" button on the left. You’ll be prompted to complete an application and will be notified if you are approved. Learn more.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Ruby on Rails: An Introduction