Gaurav

Using RubyAmf for creating a CRUD application in Rails

CRUD applications can be easily created using Ruby on Rails as the backend and Flex as the frontend app using the XML format as demonstrated here.

Another way to create such applications is using the AMF protocol which is optimized for network communications and stores objects in binary format so consumes less bandwidth. Another compelling reason for using this library is that it doesn’t feel like a hack as it integrates very nicely with Rails :)

The Ruby port of this protocol known as RubyAmf can be downloaded from from here. More information about this protocol can be found here.

Lets start making the application.

Create a Rails Application:

   1: > rails amf_demo

This will create a rails application. Please note that I am using Rails 2.1.2 for this example and it is not tested on any other Rails version.

Generate a scaffold:

   1: > ruby script/generate scaffold blog_post title:string body:text

Create Tables and run Migrations:

   1: > rake db:migrate

   1: > rake db:create

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Multiple ways to open PowerShell in the current Explorer window

These techniques are generic and can be used for other items like command prompt as well. A word of caution, everything given below involves fiddling with the registry so please backup your system’s registry or create a restore point before trying this out.

1) Adding it to Vista Explorer’s toolbar:

This is the most convenient one in my opinion, but requires most work to enable it.

Firstly, navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FolderTypes\{7d49d726-3c21-4f05-99aa-fdc2c9474656}

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Silverlight 2.0 Beta-1 now available, version 1.0 ported to Nokia mobiles

Microsoft has just released highly anticipated first beta of Silverlight here. The development tools for visual  studio 2008 can be downloaded from here. Tutorials are also available on the same site.

This link reports that Silverlight is now also available on the Nokia mobile devices (specifically S60 on Symbian OS, as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets). It seems really strange that silverlight wasn’t ported to window mobile devices first. There is a version available for window mobiles as well. I hope it is better than flash lite which really sucks.

If the performance of Silverlight is anywhere near flash then it could be a huge success for Microsoft as .Net as a development platform is already very popular and developers can use their existing skills to create better web experiences. Also IronPython and IronRuby (two of the Silverlight programming languages) are much better (and faster?) languages than Actionscript and .Net provides a much bigger library set.

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Setting up BlazeDS with Flex

Let me give some introduction first.

BlazeDS is a server-based Java remoting and web messaging technology that allows to connect to back-end distributed data and push data in real-time to Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR rich Internet applications (RIA). Because of its open licensing, BlazeDS is not precluded from being used with other client platforms, such as JavaScript/AJAX. (wikipedia)

Adobe Flex is a collection of technologies released by Adobe Systems for the development and deployment of cross platform, rich Internet applications based on the proprietary Adobe Flash platform. The initial release in March 2004 by Macromedia included a software development kit, an IDE, and a J2EE integration application known as Flex Data Services. Since Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005, subsequent releases of Flex no longer require a license for Flex Data Services, which has become a separate product rebranded as LiveCycle Data Services. (wikipedia)

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Tabs for windows explorer

QT Tab Bar is a new software that I have come across that alows you to have tabs on windows explorer.

It integrates very well in the windows interface and adds features that are normally associated to a web browser like firefox. When you middle click on a folder it opens in a new tab, middle click opens a tab and it also stores a history for tabs.

You can optionally make many more changes to the explorer making more usable and easier to navigate.

The download link is on this page.