2006 / May 22^nd/ Rails Day is coming, Rails Day is coming!

If there’s one time of year that I get really excited about programming, it’s Rails Day. Last year’s Rails Day was my first immersion into the wonderful framework known as Ruby on Rails. I had been playing with Rails for several months at that point - but I hadn’t really just thrown myself into the framework and forced myself to really learn how it was structured. Since that day, I haven’t turned back. So, what are you waiting for? Join the crowd - and start forming your teams now!

The Plan

The plan is simple: build an entire web application based on Rails with a small team (up to three people) in under 24 hours. No prior digital planning is allowed, and all design and development must be done within the 24 hour time slot (Saturday, June 17th this year). Teams are allowed to sketch out ideas on paper, but nothing digital can be made. No UML, or PSD comps allowed.

Last year

I never got around to writing up how much I loved last year’s Rails Day, but I can try and recap it a bit this time around. Last year I built something called Tackboard with a great developer. Unfortunately, not much of Tackboard exists any more - except for this lone review on SolutionWatch. It was a great idea, and a lot of fun to make — but I think both of us simply didn’t have the time to keep the project going.

Building Tackboard was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in front of a computer screen. The first few hours are a rush of adrenaline, watching the app churn out and shape according to each person’s interpretations of the idea you thought you had a agreed on. Of course, there are always the frustrating moments - cursing out your computer because ImageMagick won’t install properly, or your changes somehow didn’t make it in to SVN - but at the end of the day.

And then there’s the community. The whole time I was on IRC chatting with fellow Rails enthusiasts, watching their own ideas materialize. It was so cool to watch so many different development styles mesh together all at once. After the timer started, all thoughts of secrecy vanished. Demo URLs, source code snippets, and bragging were flying around the chat rooms faster than you could make an espresso. Everyone was so excited about their project, they just wanted to share it with everyone. There was a great deal of bragging, and a great deal of troubleshooting. No longer were people bound by NDAs, they were just there to have fun.

After all was said and done, it was like someone just told you a brand new Apple store opened up in town with 200 new products. It really was amazing the progress so many people made in just 24 hours. Some of these apps seemed like something you might consider to be a several month long project — but here it was, 24 hours later, a project ready for launch.

Why should you do it?

Even if you’re not really that into Rails, I’d recommend anyone that loves the web try and participate in Rails Day. It’s a great way to learn how to work tightly within a small team and have fun while doing so. Remember, Rails is not a pre-requisete: graphic designers, copywriters, project managers, information architects, and QA guys are always needed. Many group members can be absolutely invaluable, and never touch a line of Ruby.

Join my group!

If you think you’re a big enough Rockstar to work with me, get in touch - I’m still thinking about what I want to build this year, and who I’ll be working with.

1. 

   Simón Castillo

   May 22^nd | #

   Hey man!

   I have never used Rails seriously, in fact I have never installed it. But I have used PHP, Python (with Django and some PowerGears) and litle Perl, don’t get the wrong idea I suck at development, but I can give a litle help (and it would be a good time to learn about Rails and also it is going to be fun).

   Also I can do some designing on The Gimp if needed.

   Get in touch with me, maybe we can set up something :)

2. 

   Jackson Latka

   May 31^st | #

   This sounds awesome. I am more of a designer but I’m fascinated by this whole new world of Ruby on Rails. Would love to help out with the project on your team or any other, just to be involved, to learn, and to appreciate.

   Cheers,
   jackson

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