Installing HOBO on Windows with MySQL

Duck Whistle — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:08:30 +0000

In November I was asked to install HOBO, an excellent extension to Ruby on Rails, on a Windows PC, using MySQL as its database.

HOBO is new, and at the time, only compatible with Rails 2. So I learned Rails 3 from a book and used various websites to fill the gaps. (See links at the end.)

The version numbers are important. I believe these combinations work:

Ruby 1.8.7
Rails 2.3.10
MySQL 5.0.83
HOBO 1.0.2

Here, I’ve used the stable releases. Note, the Rails syntax changes between versions 2 and 3.

1. Before we begin, let’s get a good, free editor that recognises Ruby syntax: Komodo Edit

download version 6.0 from http://www.activestate.com/komodo-edit
install in the usual way

2. Download and install Ruby 1.8.7

from http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubyinstaller/ or http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=167
choose file rubyinstaller-1.8.7-p302.exe
install to folder C:\Ruby187 , tick the box “Add Ruby executables to your PATH”

3. Install the MySQL/Ruby connector gem

open a console (XP/Vista: Start, Run, “cmd”) (Win 7: Start, Search, “cmd”)
run cd \Ruby187
run gem install mysql, Ignore “No definition for…” errors if they show

4. Download the MySQL 5.0 installer

from http://downloads.mysql.com/archives.php?p=mysql-5.0&v=5.0.87
choose 5.0.87 Microsoft Windows 32 Installer (mysql-essential-5.0.87-win32.msi)
install with default options except you must tick “Include Bin Directory in Windows Path” – make a note of the root password!

5. Copy libmySQL.dll to Ruby

copy from C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0\bin
copy to C:\Ruby187\bin

6. Install Rails 2.3.10 gem

in a console, still in the Ruby187 directory
run gem install rails –version 2.3.10

7. Install HOBO Support gem

in a console, still in the Ruby187 directory
run gem install hobosupport

8. Install HOBO gem

in a console, still in the Ruby187 directory
run gem install hobo

9. You are now ready to build your first HOBO application.

create a directory C:\HoboApps\ (in Explorer, or the console with mkdir)
in a console, cd \HoboApps
run the command hobo -d mysql MyTestApp
this will create several directories and files in C:\HoboApps\MyTestApp

10 You need to make sure the username and password you set up for MySQL is correct in the project.

in the Komodo Edit editor, open C:\HoboApps\MyTestApp\config\database.yml
in the “development” section, update the username and password fields
save the file

11. Create a simple data model. All work for a Rails/HOBO app is done in its directory.

in the console, cd MyTestApp
run the command ruby script/generate hobo_model_resource mytask name:string due:date status:string
this creates the MyTask model, and the User model is also created by HOBO

12. In MySQL installations, this step may be necessary, to initialise the database.

in the console, still in the MyTestApp directory
run the command rake db:create

13. Generate the hobo_migration for these two models

in the console, still in the MyTestApp directory
run the command ruby script/generate hobo_migration
then select the “m” (migrate) option and accept any default settings then select the “g” (generate) option and press to select the default migration file name

14. [This step is covered automatically by “migrate” above, so unless you chose “g” (generate) instead of “m”, skip it!] Now implement the migration using the “rake” command

in the console, still in the MyTestApp directory
run the command rake db:migrate
this will create the tables in the development MySQL database – you can use the usual mysql command to have a look at these, or the Rails console tool

15. You could run the app now with the default WeBrick server, but Mongrel is a better performer. Install the server gem:

in another console, cd \Ruby187
run the command gem install mongrel
back in the first console, still in C:\HoboApps\MyTestApp directory
run the command ruby script/server
now Ruby will boot the Mongrel server by default
Press Ctrl+C to stop it.

16. Load your browser, enter the URL accessing the default port: http://localhost:3000

notice that Hobo uses the application folder name as the default title
choose the “Sign up” option – the first user to sign up will be given admin rights

And there you go. Where done, login after you signup, and your app is ready for you.

This document is based on http://blog.insicdesigns.com/2008/10/installing-and-running-ruby-rails-and-hobo-on-windows/, with help from

Welcome

Duck Whistle — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:47:41 +0000

Duck Whistle is the label for my self-employed business, working for local businesses and community groups.

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