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Hello, everyone! I started at Heroku about two years ago. How many of you have heard of Heroku? And how many of you have used it? I was previously involved with a group called Millions of Us. We were doing some crazy stuff in Second Life, and honestly, I didn't really like it. However, they presented me with this pitch that a new project they were starting for a company was going to receive something like five million requests per second day one on launch. We ended up getting about ten, but I had to prove that my system could handle it. At that time, I wasn't using the right database; my release was a bit bulky as I was hosted on Engine Yard back when they operated as a slice. I was working with Ezra, who showed me MB, but MB had a complex directory structure and all this MVC stuff. I said to myself, "I just need three routes, and I don’t really need all that." So, I started writing a simple ERB solution, and that's how Sinatra was born.
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I want to go over the basics of Sinatra for just a couple of minutes, and then I'll dive into something that I think is really cool — a very emerging pattern that people are starting to use, which involves including standard gems. Here's what Sinatra does: I think it best describes a story about HTTP. When you read Sinatra or when you look at HTTP, the most basic request looks a certain way. How many of you know that you can type that into `curl`? You don’t have to use any complex frameworks. If we were to look at how Sinatra describes the response to an identical HTTP request, it would look very straightforward. The only difference is that I've defined exactly what response I want for what HTTP is supposed to represent. It's very simple and concise.
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Now, I'm going to give you a brief overview. In order for me to show you how to build an application with Sinatra, I'm first going to show you classic Sinatra. To start with classic Sinatra, you create a new file, require 'sinatra', and define your root path. Then, just run it with Ruby to get it started. You can see it in your browser, and it's running.
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So, why use Sinatra? Some of you may wonder why you should transition from Rails if it gets the same job done. The thing is, Sinatra is very small and minimalistic. The code base for Sinatra is quite light; if you look at the core Sinatra file, it’s around 700 to 800 lines of code. It's extremely fast, so much so that at present, it is the fastest micro framework out there. Once you need a little more than bare rack, Sinatra becomes the best option. But how many of you have actually worked with rack? Let's see some more hands raised because understanding rack is incredibly important for new web developers. If you’re working with Rails, Merb, or any modern web framework, they are based on rack. If you don’t take the time to understand how rack functions, you won’t be able to utilize these tools to their fullest potential.
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Sinatra also places a strong focus on HTTP; it doesn’t hide that from you. All your URLs are right there. For instance, how many of you have used the `link_to` helper in Rails? That assumes you're linking to an action in an MVC structure. But with Sinatra, we typically just write an anchor tag without worrying about helpers. It allows HTTP caching developers to build without the complexities of these other frameworks. If you're not familiar with HTTP caching, I highly recommend looking into tools like Rack::Cache.
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One of the great things about Sinatra is its seamless content negotiation built directly into the framework. There are also middleware options you can use, which allows for more flexibility in routing requests. For example, when a request comes in without an extension on the URI, I can have middleware adjust it accordingly. This way, I can make use of that pathway directly without needing to manage additional content negotiations. A great piece of middleware called Rack::Static allows developers to do this effectively. It’s really cool, and we plan to contribute to it as well.
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Now, let’s talk about configuration in Sinatra. With Sinatra, you don’t have to deal with complicated boilerplate code. You don't need a controller just to get started; you just need to focus on your app. It’s incredibly liberating! How many of you have encountered the hassle of tuning configuration options in larger frameworks? When you write a Sinatra app, it's simple to configure because the options are intuitive and straightforward. If you check out the source code, you'll see how configuration works nicely without having to worry about too many complexities.
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Additionally, extending Sinatra for your specific needs is incredibly manageable. The framework has built-in hooks that you can easily add your own customizations to without going through extensive overhead. It also has smart configurations that allow you to build your app without the common frustrations tied to configuration in larger frameworks.
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Now, let’s shift to discussing dependencies. Sinatra is lightweight regarding dependencies—if you need ERB or HAML, you can include them, but they’re not required. This design philosophy keeps your Sinatra applications clean and easy to manage. You won't find an assortment of confusing gems and plugins that can complicate your application. When I attended a presentation by Jeremy, he stressed why it's beneficial to write your framework before you opt for another. I agree, as it sets a more straightforward foundation for understanding the ratio of feature sets versus size.
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If you’re just starting, consider utilizing Sinatra when you have only one model or just a few routes. It's a great place to start when your requirements are minimal. Many times, you’ll find yourself stuck trying to define routes at the controller level when you don’t necessarily need to structure it that way. With Sinatra, it’s about straightening paths and getting things up quickly. The moment you understand rack and get comfortable building a basic rack app, you’ll see how well Sinatra will handle your needs with flexibility.
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Here’s another enticing aspect of Sinatra: it can be your top-level application, but it can also serve as middleware. Middleware in this sense is a simple component allowing for extended functionalities without bloating the core application. The neat part is when you deploy Sinatra with Rails; it seamlessly knows whether it should be treated as a middleware or the main event handler. If it doesn’t find a route match, it can forwarded requests to the next middleware pipeline. This interoperability between Sinatra and Rails allows for flexibility in building applications.
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Speaking of speed, if you have a sizable application already, you may require a few additional routes and layers for efficiency. You can use Sinatra to develop a middleware that sits in front of Rails, optimizing your request handling while offloading heavier processing to Rack. If you need performance, Sinatra maintains that quality very well.
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A wonderful example of a community using Sinatra is GitHub. Within GitHub, several significant internal applications run on Sinatra. One instance is the GitHub Services platform, which handles numerous requests efficiently. Every time someone pushes to a repository, it interacts with Sinatra to process and relay that action, effectively handling thousands of interactions throughout the platform. These backend services power a lot of the current interactive features you enjoy on GitHub.
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Another example is the recently released Integrity tool for continuous integration. I came across this project, and it's fascinating! You can build small applications powered by Sinatra for personal or professional use. For instance, you might build a local app that reflects specific data about your workloads, systems, or tasks. Sinatra is efficient for projects like pulling GitHub info, managing local databases, or doing utility tasks. It’s quick to deploy and allows for real-time productivity.
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The main takeaway is how easy it is to get Sinatra running in various environments. For instance, you can set up configurations effectively without relying on heavy frameworks. You would define your usernames and passwords in your instance variables, which streamlines deploying to production. Should you want to deploy, using something like Heroku integrates without complications. The setup process is simple: get your app up, provide a gem file, and it runs deploying so cleanly once configured.
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It's worth noting Sinatra's capabilities extend to server management as well. You can include middleware components that manage tasks such as managing a web socket or responding to specific routing requests. This approach allows for controlling how Sinatra responds to instances based on context—whether it handles requests or passes them onto another service.
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To sum it all up, it’s incredible how approachable and flexible Sinatra can be for various applications. Whether you need a utility tool, middleware for Rails, or standalone applications, you can trust Sinatra to provide a fluid and scalable framework. Consider diving into learning more about the Rack framework and the ecosystem surrounding Sinatra. There are tons of resources for learning how to harness the real power of Sinatra in your applications.
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It's great that there are a number of screencasts available for visual learners. If you search for resources related to Sinatra or Rack, you will find excellent materials that take you from a basic rack app to deploying a full Sinatra application. Additionally, looking beyond the formal documentation can lead you to community-driven initiatives full of guides and practical examples. The journey of understanding and mastering Sinatra will enhance your appreciation for what it offers.
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In conclusion, thank you for your attention! If anyone has any questions about Sinatra, Rack, or how to approach building applications effectively with this toolkit, I would be happy to chat. Let’s keep the conversation alive and feel free to ask!
