Note: This is also available at
<http://rubyzen.org/tiki-view_blog_post.php?postId=1>
in its full, HTML formatted glory.
This also announces <http://rubyzen.org>, Ruby Zen's home on the interwebs!
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Hello, everyone!
It's been a while since the last update of the project (and it was on my private blog to boot, but we have our own now), but we have been busy.
What is going on, then?
!!Architectural discussion
The benefit of working in a team is that many eyes have a look on everything that is going on, and that is being decided. Concerns were raised if I wasn't too wedded to the "Ruby Appliance" idea, and we discussed the idea from a fresh perspective. A [http://rubyzen.org/tiki-index.php?page=Self-contained+Ruby+Distribution&bl=y|Self-contained Ruby Distribution] could work just as well for our desired goal, as a VM would. Maybe even easier. In this model, a virtual machine appliance would become another way of deploying Ruby in a, say, school environment.
Most of the work (bundling Ruby + Gems, providing tutorials and an editing environment) has to be done anyway.
!!Evaluation of Linux distributions
Aldric is hard at work in building a Gentoo-based Linux VM. A discussion and download link can be found [http://rubyzen.org/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=5&topics_offset=3&topics_sort_mode=lastPost_desc&forumId=2|here]. Chime in, if you have anything to add.
!!Reigning in goals
Vyper created a nice overview of the sub-projects that make up Ruby Zen. [http://rubyzen.org/tiki-index.php?page=Developer+Documentation&bl=y|The Developer Documentation] contains a more detailed write up, but here are the high points:
*Zen Editor: An IDE of sorts, tailored to a programming beginner's needs, with easy access to tutorials and documentation.
*Ruby Zen: The Ruby distribution, containing everything a beginner will need to get going fast. Eventually a Ruby distribution that can be deployed by professional developers for professional developers (including a build-chain for gems!).
*Zen Linux: Our Linux distribution, pre-packaged and ready to go, for beginners and developers alike.
!!Ruby Zen needs you
At the moment, we are three people doing the work. While we can do a lot, we would like help (also, the more the merrier). If you don't know if you can help, here's a list of what we are looking for:
*Linux gurus. Have experience with a Linux distribution? Get in touch, we can use your help. Especially if you have experience with re-mastering LiveCDs.
*Ruby gurus and users. Have a neat little trick? Have a snipped of documentation for Ruby's core or standard library? Have a tutorial, even if it is just for one tiny feature of Ruby? Know of a particularly surprising Ruby Gotcha? Get in touch, and help newbies navigate this particular corner.
*Ruby beginners. What did you find particularly hard to do when you started your journey with Ruby? Where do you think you could've used more help? Get in touch with your question / area of concern. Your feedback and ideas are most valuable to us at Ruby Zen.