Ruby on Rails decryption - MySQL

Installation is easy! Just make sure you have mysql installed, install the mysql gem, and voila, right?

Well maybe for you, but not for me. I wanted to write to share some of my headaches in case they were also your headaches. I had mysql installed, and I also installed the mysql gem, and now this kept happening on the server log:

[10-07-06:14:54 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] script/server start
=> Booting Mongrel
=> Rails 2.3.8 application starting on http://0.0.0.0:3000
=> Call with -d to detach
=> Ctrl-C to shutdown server
/!\ FAILSAFE /!\  Tue Jul 06 14:55:26 -0700 2010
Status: 500 Internal Server Error
uninitialized constant MysqlCompat::MysqlRes
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activesupport-2.3.8/lib/active_support/dependencies.rb:440:in `load_missing_constant'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activesupport-2.3.8/lib/active_support/dependencies.rb:80:in `const_missing'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql_adapter.rb:9:in `define_all_hashes_method!'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/mysql_adapter.rb:68:in `mysql_connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:223:in `send'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:223:in `new_connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:245:in `checkout_new_connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:188:in `checkout'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:184:in `loop'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:184:in `checkout'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/monitor.rb:242:in `synchronize'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:183:in `checkout'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:98:in `connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:326:in `retrieve_connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_specification.rb:123:in `retrieve_connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_specification.rb:115:in `connection'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/query_cache.rb:9:in `cache'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/query_cache.rb:28:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/activerecord-2.3.8/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/connection_pool.rb:361:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/string_coercion.rb:25:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/head.rb:9:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/methodoverride.rb:24:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/params_parser.rb:15:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/session/cookie_store.rb:99:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/failsafe.rb:26:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/lock.rb:11:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/lock.rb:11:in `synchronize'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/lock.rb:11:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/dispatcher.rb:114:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/reloader.rb:34:in `run'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/actionpack-2.3.8/lib/action_controller/dispatcher.rb:108:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rails-2.3.8/lib/rails/rack/static.rb:31:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/urlmap.rb:47:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/urlmap.rb:41:in `each'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/urlmap.rb:41:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rails-2.3.8/lib/rails/rack/log_tailer.rb:17:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/content_length.rb:13:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/chunked.rb:15:in `call'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/handler/mongrel.rb:67:in `process'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:159:in `process_client'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:158:in `each'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:158:in `process_client'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:285:in `run'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:285:in `initialize'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:285:in `new'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:285:in `run'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:268:in `initialize'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:268:in `new'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/mongrel-1.1.5/lib/mongrel.rb:268:in `run'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rack-1.1.0/lib/rack/handler/mongrel.rb:38:in `run'
/Users/brian/.gem/ruby/1.8/gems/rails-2.3.8/lib/commands/server.rb:111
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `gem_original_require'
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/rubygems/custom_require.rb:31:in `require'
script/server:3

Argh! Not good. I did some googling and saw suggestions about installing the 2.7.x gem because the 2.8.1 gem wasn't friendly with mysql 5.1 (which I found hard to believe, but the same error kept coming up).

I saw another suggestion about adding a compile flag to tell gem to compile the 64-bit version of the gem. That made sense to me, because I was running the whole kit and kaboodle on my macbook Intel Core Duo which, to my surprise, was a 64-bit processor. Hello apple! Okay, so I tried reinstalling the gem with some fitting compile flags:

[10-07-06:14:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] gem uninstall mysql
Successfully uninstalled mysql-2.8.1
[10-07-06:14:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] sudo env ARCHFLAGS="-arch x86_64" gem install mysql -- --with-mysql-dir=/usr/local --with-mysql-config=/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_config
Password:
Building native extensions.  This could take a while...
Successfully installed mysql-2.8.1
1 gem installed
Installing ri documentation for mysql-2.8.1...

... snip ...

No definition for time_equal

No definition for error_errno

No definition for error_sqlstate
[10-07-06:14:58 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester]

No errors... looking good. Now to kick up mongrel and try again:

dyld: lazy symbol binding failed: Symbol not found: _mysql_init
Referenced from: /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql-2.8.1/lib/mysql_api.bundle
Expected in: flat namespace

dyld: Symbol not found: _mysql_init
Referenced from: /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql-2.8.1/lib/mysql_api.bundle
Expected in: flat namespace

zsh: trace trap  script/server start

And then mongrel dies right there after the first page load! WHA?? Okay, so the 32-bit compile of the gem throws an exception in ruby, and the 64-bit compile throws a dyld error that the system can't find _mysql_init. I was able to successfully reproduce the errors in irb as well, which at least tells me that it's not really a rails issue. Oh this is fun.

It then hit me... what if my install of mysql is what's wrong? Maybe rails can't find _mysql_init because it's a pointer that's not in the expected place or format? I did some checking out and found my version of mysql was 32-bit:

[10-07-02:14:00 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] mysql --version
mysql  Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.1.43, for apple-darwin10.2.0 (i386) using readline 5.1
[10-07-02:14:00 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] file `which ruby` `which mysql`
/usr/bin/ruby:              Mach-O universal binary with 3 architectures
/usr/bin/ruby (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64
/usr/bin/ruby (for architecture i386): Mach-O executable i386
/usr/bin/ruby (for architecture ppc7400): Mach-O executable ppc
/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql: Mach-O executable i386

Time to upgrade peoples! I won't get into the details of the upgrade, since the method of mysql installation is entirely up to you, and I know you'll have your own reasons for choosing why you installed mysql in the way you did. Anyway, I did the mysqldump to reserve my database content, installed the 64-bit version, did some clean-up, re-upped the database from the dump, and now my mongrel log looks like this:

[10-07-06:14:58 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/feedtester] script/server start                                                                                                              
=> Booting Mongrel
=> Rails 2.3.8 application starting on http://0.0.0.0:3000
=> Call with -d to detach
=> Ctrl-C to shutdown server
 SQL (0.1ms)   SET NAMES 'utf8'
 SQL (0.1ms)   SET SQL_AUTO_IS_NULL=0


Processing MybooksController#index (for 127.0.0.1 at 2010-07-06 14:58:41) [GET]
 Mybook Load (0.0ms)   Mysql::Error: Table 'hb.mybooks' doesn't exist: SELECT * FROM `mybooks`

ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid (Mysql::Error: Table 'hb.mybooks' doesn't exist: SELECT * FROM `mybooks` ):
 app/controllers/mybooks_controller.rb:5:in `index'

Rendered rescues/_trace (99.0ms)
Rendered rescues/_request_and_response (1.2ms)
Rendering rescues/layout (internal_server_error)
  

Well I didn't expect it to find the table, but at least it's not crashing and the exceptions are expected.

In conclusion, if you find your mysql gem isn't connecting, make sure you have the right versions and distributions for your system.

Nostalgic spam

Weird! Today I got an email containing the "Microsoft/AOL Giveaway" note. In case you don't recall, the best write-up is here on snopes. I haven't seen this in, well, jeez... dunno how many years it's been. I was about to hit the delete button, but then I thought "wow, this is a part of history, kinda like walking the Internet equivalent of the John Muir trail." My mind boggles as I think of how much ancillary spam had likely been created from this email circling the globe so many times. I can't help but feel a bit of guilt for the young, naive, teenage version of myself who actually believed in and hoped for that check from nowhere that had no logical reason of existing. Besides, there's nothing more convincing than the words "I AM A LAWYER" in bold, caps, and H2 font size.

[delete]

Ruby on Rails decryption - MVC

Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm frustrated at documentation from the ruby and from the ruby-on-rails community that enforce committing to a whole new way of thought in order to produce applications. As an experienced perl developer, I'm just looking for some basic equivalents and paths to conversion. So, as I figure things out and discover some new things, I'm going to publish them here.

This is not in any way meant to disrespect or disregard the "ruby way" as much as it is intended to just share techniques that I've learned. Anyway, on with the show!

Model-View-Controller was one of the hardest concepts to wrap my mind around when I started looking at rails. So, rather than try to understand MVC directly, I'm going to look at how the app functions and later relate to MVC. This may seem backwards to those who know, but sometimes the easiest way in is through the back door.

With most static applications, the path in the URL is the path to the file being processed. Apache does have some fanciness using mod_rewrite to alter the appearance of the path, but the concept is still the same in the end. MVC apps, such as ruby-on-rails or perl's catalyst, use the path to give instruction to the application. For example, in a rails app, a URL path that begins with domain.tld/foo/bar looks for the "bar" class in the "foo" controller. By default, the "bar" class loads the "bar.erb" view, but this can be altered in the class as needed (e.g., loading an error or rickroll page)

Didn't understand any of that? Let's break it up a bit further.

Let's say you created your first rails app and just wanted to try a simple "Hello World" page to see if things were working (or even further, let's say you wanted to create a rails app that didn't require a database, so using scaffold wasn't an option). You'd first create your rails app:

[10-06-28:13:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails] rails HelloWorld

create

create app/controllers

create app/helpers

create app/models

create app/views/layouts

... snip ...

create doc/README_FOR_APP

create log/server.log

create log/production.log

create log/development.log

create log/test.log

[10-06-28:13:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails] cd HelloWorld

Then, you'd dilligently run your generate script to create your first controller:

[10-06-28:13:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/HelloWorld] script/generate controller hello

exists app/controllers/

exists app/helpers/

create app/views/hello

exists test/functional/

create test/unit/helpers/

create app/controllers/hello_controller.rb

create test/functional/hello_controller_test.rb

create app/helpers/hello_helper.rb

create test/unit/helpers/hello_helper_test.rb

[10-06-28:13:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/HelloWorld]

Wow, that's a bunch of files for an app that doesn't even really work yet. Theoretically, you should be able to start your server and see something:

[10-06-28:13:57 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/HelloWorld] script/server start -d

=> Booting Mongrel

=> Rails 2.3.8 application starting on http://0.0.0.0:3000

[10-06-28:14:00 brian@koolaid /Users/brian/rails/HelloWorld]

Visiting this place in the browser returns the sexy default home page for your rails app. But, what about your controller?

Routing Error

No route matches "/hello" with {:method=>:get}

(pardon the inaccurate styling... blogspot is being challenging right now... soon I will have my own stuff hosted somewhere) So, I have to create more to produce a workable page? Understandable, but still confused since there's no here-is-what-you-do-next doc.

The default action that rails will execute when there is no action is "index" (sound familiar, apache fans?). So, in your hello controller, you'll want to create an "index" object.

Oh, and for those who don't know ruby (which I barely know at this point), you will also want to create an "initialize" function. This is, in my perspective, analogous to the "new" construct used in perl, or the "__construct" function in php. The path in your rails app to the controller is always "app/controllers/[name]_controller.rb" for easy locating.

Here's the stock hello_controller we created just a bit ago:

class HelloController < ApplicationController

end

Pretty dull, huh? Oh, more ruby language syntax for you... the left angle bracket means that HelloController inherits the ApplicationController features. Anything you put into ApplicationController becomes available to all your other controllers. Fun, eh? This also means we don't have to fuss with an initialize function since we're inheriting it from ApplicationController.

Ok, so here goes with a simple index action:

class HelloController < ApplicationController

def index

end

end

Not too scary. Let's check out the response when we visit the page:

Unknown action

No action responded to index. Actions:

The error changed, which is actually good. This means what we did had an impact in the system. It's recognized the index action, but nothing happened. Why? Because there's no view!

So, let's give it a view.

The path to the views for a controller is "app/views/[controller_name]/[action_name].erb". In this case, we're using the "hello" controller and the "index" action, so let's rock it!

<html>
<head>
<title>Hello World!</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Hello World</h2>
<p>Hello from Ruby on Rails!</p>
</body>

Engage app/views/hello/index.erb

Hello World

Hello from Ruby on Rails!

And load up 0.0.0.0.:3000/hello

Hello World

Hello from Ruby on Rails!

Success! Now that seemed like a lot for just publishing a plain static page. We'll get more into some fun stuff in the next post, but I wanted to get the basics out. Have fun getting started!