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Hackers Love Mass Assignment
Episode #26May 02, 200767 comments

Hackers Love Mass Assignment

Your site may be at risk! When using mass assignment, you are giving the user complete control over that model and its associations. See how a hacker might use this vulnerability and learn how to stop it in this episode. (6 minutes)
SQL Injection
Episode #25Apr 30, 200737 comments

SQL Injection

One of the most common security problems for dynamic sites is SQL Injection. Thankfully Rails does everything it can in solving this issue, but you still need to be aware of it. (5 minutes)
The Stack Trace
Episode #24Apr 27, 200746 comments

The Stack Trace

The stack trace can be a very useful tool when it comes to debugging. Learn the ins and outs of how the stack trace works in this episode. Note: I am using an older version of the Rails bundle here so it might be a little different than yours. The command in the newer version is called Install Plugin and requires you to type textmate_footnotes in the search. (4 minutes)
Counter Cache Column
Episode #23Apr 25, 200769 comments

Counter Cache Column

If you need to display the record count for a has_many association, you can improve performance by caching that number in a column. (7 minutes)
Eager Loading
Episode #22Apr 23, 200754 comments

Eager Loading

One way to improve performance is to cut down on the number of SQL queries. You can do this through eager loading. Learn all about it in this episode! (4 minutes)
Super Simple Authentication
Episode #21Apr 20, 200777 comments

Super Simple Authentication

The final piece of the administration puzzle: authentication. There are many different approaches which is why I saved this step for last. This episode will cover a few techniques including the simple solution used for this site. (6 minutes)
Restricting Access
Episode #20Apr 18, 200753 comments

Restricting Access

In this second part of the series on administration, you will learn how to lock down the site to keep the public from accessing the administration features. (4 minutes)
Where Administration Goes
Episode #19Apr 16, 200753 comments

Where Administration Goes

This is the first part of a three part series on building an administration system. Many developers choose to separate it completely from the public side of the site by placing it into an admin subdirectory. This episode will show you an alternative and often better solution. (5 minutes)
Looping Through Flash
Episode #18Apr 13, 200735 comments

Looping Through Flash

Displaying flash messages in the layout can be a pain at times. In this episode you will learn an easy way to display any kind of flash message by looping through the hash. (1 minute)
HABTM Checkboxes
Episode #17Apr 11, 2007115 comments

HABTM Checkboxes

It is often asked: how do I create a list of checkboxes for managing a HABTM association? Ask no more because this episode will show you how to do exactly that. (6 minutes)