Website for the Alpha Zeta Eta Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega

Technology Overview

• Git: The program we are using to download the website files and push the changes back to the server
• Ruby: Programming language we are using on the server
• Rails: Ruby web framework we are using to serve the website on the server
• Openshift: 'Platform as a Service' Cloud hosting service that hosts our website
• Bootstrap: Web UI framework used to make our website pretty

First Time Setup

• Install Git
  • Download: http://git-scm.com/download
  • When installing in Windows, I recommend choosing the oftion to 'Run Git from the Windows Command Prompt' and to 'Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style line endings'
• Install Ruby (Version 1.9)
  • Download: http://rubyinstaller.org/downloads
  • I would recommend checking the option to add the Ruby stuff to your system PATH during installation if you're on Windows
• Install Ruby Development Kit
  • Instructions: https://github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/wiki/Development-Kit
  • Download: http://rubyinstaller.org/downloads
• Install Rails (Ruby on Rails)
  • Command: gem install rails
• Setup your computer for Openshift:
  • Instructions: https://www.openshift.com/developers/rhc-client-tools-install
  • Command: gem install rhc
  • Command: rhc setup
  • Refer to the Credentials file (available outside of this repository to officers in the chapter) for the Openshift username and password
  • You should create and upload the SSH Key for your computer during the process
• Clone the site repository:
  • The address for git repository can be obtained in the Credentials File or by signing into the Openshift website, then going to the page for the Site application
  • Command: git clone [git repository address]
• Install the Ruby Gems used on the site
  • Command: bundle install
• Set up the database
  • If the database is clean, initialize with the database schema with the command: rake db:schema:load
  • Remember with each change to the schema, you'll need use migration to load the new design: rake db:migrate

Now you're ready to do work on the site!

Test the site on a local server by running rails server and going to 'http://localhost:3000/' in your browser. Apply changes to the server by using Git to make a commit of local changes and then push the commit to the server.

Troubleshooting Tips

If the server does not start again after pushing changes, restart the server, which is possible on the openshift website, the RHC command-line tool, or SSH-ing into the server.

In Ubuntu, installing nodejs (command: sudo apt-get install nodejs) solved a problem with javascript engines or something when trying to start the local server

If there are errors on pages that interact with the database, the database may be out of date. Use migration to change the schema to reflect the latest version (rake db:migrate)