In the application development world, 2006 is likely to be remembered as the year of Ajax and Ruby on Rails or RoR (roar) as it is commonly known to lazy typists. We are not going to talk about Ajax just yet but if you are interested in Ruby on Rails, you really need to look at the Startup Toolkit for DB2 on Rails project on IBM alphaWorks. It is the fastest way to get started with RoR no matter what database you fancy for your web projects and it is an absolute must for DB2 people. Startup Toolkit for DB2 on Rails has everything you need packaged in to a single one-click installer that will make your Windows PC in to real RoR development workstation. This includes the Ruby language itself, the Rails framework, DB2 enablement for Ruby on Rails, assorted learning materials and, naturally, DB2 Express-C 9 test drive (formerly known as DB2 Viper). And, if you are familiar with DB2 Express-C then you know that there are absolutely no charge for developing, deploying, and even redistributing DB2 with your applications. Yes, completely free and including way cool pureXML technology.
We have also started a new blog dedicated to DB2 and Ruby on Rails at http://db2onrails.com/blog/. So, don't delay, point your browser to http://alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/db2onrails and let your machine download and install DB2 on Rails while you are watching that gripping Soccer World Cup match.
