Practical Rails Social Networking Sites Learn how to implement a modern social networking web site using Rails,from design tio deployment

Practical Rails Social Networking Sites shows you the complete development cycle of a social networking community web site. The project develops first as a simple content management system, after which author Alan Bradburne progressively adds features in order to build a full Web 2.0-enabled community-based social networking site using Ruby on Rails.

You will learn how to make the best use of the Ruby on Rails framework within a large project and how to implement and adapt features specific to a community. The book offers practical advice and tips for developing and testing, along with guidance on how to take your site live, as well as optimize and maintain it.

The book also explores how to integrate with other community sites such as Flickr and Google Maps, and how to make good use of Rails Ajax features. You will also learn how to optimize and adapt your site to work well on mobile browsers.

Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and the RailsCoders Project.- Developing a Content Management System.- Adding Users and Groups.- Building a News Blog with RSS Feeds and an API.- Building a Discussion Forum.- Building a Blogging Engine with Web Services Support.- Building a Photo Gallery.- Sending E-mail and Building a Newsletter Mailing List.- Adding Friends with XFN Details.- Adding Tags to the Photo Gallery.- Creating Mashups and Integrating with Web 2.0.- Adding User-Created Themes to the Blogging Engine.- Adding a Mobile Interface.- Deploying, Optimizing, and Scaling the Application.

Alan Bradburne is the co-founder of IncrediblInc Ltd. (IncrediblInc.com), a London-based Ruby on Rails development company specializing in developing community sites for both end-users and enterprise clients. Alan has over 10 years of experience in the web and mobile development industries, and has worked for Motorola, Nextel and Sun Microsystems. Prior to founding IncrediblInc, he created Phlog.net, the world's first dedicated mobile photo blogging community. He also developed the social networking site Cudlz.com. He lives in Berkshire, England with his wife.