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Securing an API
Episode #352 – May 23, 2012 – 74 comments

Securing an API

There are many approaches to locking down an API. Here I start off with HTTP Basic authentication then move on to generating a unique token which can be passed through a URL parameter or HTTP header. (7 minutes)
Polymorphic Association (revised)
Episode #154 – May 19, 2012 – 99 comments

Polymorphic Association (revised)

A polymorphic association allows a model to belong_to different types of other models. Here I show how to make a single comment model belong to articles, photos, and events. (11 minutes)
A Look at Meteor
Episode #351 – May 16, 2012 – 105 comments

A Look at Meteor

Meteor is a JavaScript framework for building rich client-side applications. Here I re-create the Raffler app to compare with Backbone.js and Rails. Meteor may not be related to Rails, but I think many will find it interesting. (15 minutes)
REST API Versioning
Episode #350 – May 16, 2012 – 108 comments

REST API Versioning

APIs should be consistent, but it is difficult to do this when returning a JSON response along side the HTML interface. Here I show how to add a versioned, RESTful API. The version can be determined from either the URL or HTTP headers. (10 minutes)
Syntax Highlighting (revised)
Episode #207 – May 11, 2012 – 58 comments

Syntax Highlighting (revised)

Here I compare several syntax highlighting solutions and show how to use Pygments in a Rails app. I also show how to integrate it with Markdown and add caching. (8 minutes)
Rails Modularity
Episode #349 – May 09, 2012 – 55 comments

Rails Modularity

Rails is a modular framework allowing you to include only what you need. Here I show how the smallest Rails app works, and then I take a look at how to whittle down a full Rails application stack. (13 minutes)
The Rails API Gem
Episode #348 – May 09, 2012 – 74 comments

The Rails API Gem

It is often asked: Is Rails a good fit if I only need to serve an API? In this episode I show how to use the Rails API gem to create a slimmer Rails application designed to respond with JSON. (9 minutes)
Token Fields (revised)
Episode #258 – May 05, 2012 – 158 comments

Token Fields (revised)

The Chosen plugin makes it easy to turn a many-to-many select menu into a searchable token field. Then see how the jQuery Tokeninput field can help with AJAX loading and creating new records. (10 minutes)
Rubber and Amazon EC2
Episode #347 – May 03, 2012 – 199 comments

Rubber and Amazon EC2

Deploying to Amazon EC2 allows you to scale an application quickly. Learn how to use Rubber to deploy to the cloud with just a few commands and monitor the cluster with various web tools. (17 minutes)
Wizard Forms with Wicked
Episode #346 – May 03, 2012 – 84 comments

Wizard Forms with Wicked

Creating a wizard form can be tricky in Rails. Learn how Wicked can help by turning a controller into a series of multiple steps. (11 minutes)