Coaster

note: This app can only be run in a local development environment with a Rails server. You can interact with it using a web browser directed to localhost:3000

Inspiration

We wanted to create a wild-west style, minimalist text posting environment.

What it does

Coaster is a very simple Rails app, built primarily with the help of basic tutorials, that allows anyone to create, edit, or delete simple 'articles' that include a title and text.

How I built it

We used Ruby on Rails, following beginner guides rather closely to figure out how everything worked and build a basic prototype, then fleshed it out into our own app and used CSS to style the homepage.

Challenges I ran into

Getting Ruby and Rails set up on Windows was a challenge - we were running two laptops, one with Windows and the other with Debian. We ended up using teletype for Atom to share code, pushing to GitHub from the Debian machine. Additionally, neither of us had any experience with Ruby before this, so it was challenging to get everything setup and figure out what was going on for the first several hours.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Honestly getting anything in Rails to work...we ran into a lot of routing errors.

What I learned

Ruby on Rails, basic

What's next for Coaster

We want to add some security to prevent severe trolling (like deleting all the contents of the entire database, which is in no way protected against), add user signup/login, finish the CSS styling, and perhaps develop a more concrete purpose for the app...we were thinking it may be helpful for creative writers who want to collaborate. The app is also not deployed on a webpage, and can only be run with a local Rails server. We tried to use Heroku and switch our DB to PostgreSQL from sqlite3, but didn't have enough time.

Built With

• ruby-on-rails