Riding the Rails (And Learning Not to Fall Off)

It’s hard to believe that only a few months ago, I thought the idea of using a web framework to generate a website seemed like taking the easy way out.  Although I’d heard of Django and Rails, I didn’t really see the point of them.  Apparently I had a lot to learn.  Last week was our first experience of Rails, and I think I’m being converted.  It’s nice to type a few lines of code into the terminal and to have a barebones working framework for a site. And although the syntax initially seemed as clear as gibberish incantations, I’m starting to see how to have it build what I want it to, even without the scaffolding.  I’m finally understanding MVC architecture patterns, and I think that many features of Rails, including partials, will be incredibly helpful.  I’m even thinking about rebuilding my digital project (I blogged about it a few weeks ago) in Rails.  I think that it might still take awhile before I feel comfortable creating my own site in it without step by step instructions, but I’m looking forward to trying it.  Maybe next time I’ll blog about transitioning my project from its current framework (html5, css, and javascript) to Rails!