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Ruby Build a Simple Ruby on Rails Application Getting Started with Rails Installing Rails (Mac)

Posted by Bhoutik Mehta
Bhoutik Mehta
2,945 Points

Isn't Ruby Already Installed On Macs?

I thought Mac's already have Ruby installed.. I have Ruby 2.0.0 already on my computer. Also, RailsInstaller advices not to use the the installer on OSx Mavericks. Is there another way to install Ruby on Rails? Thanks!

2 Answers

James Gill
PLUS
James Gill
Courses Plus Student 34,936 Points
James Gill
James Gill
Courses Plus Student 34,936 Points

Bhoutik,

Yes, Ruby comes installed on every Mac now. But--installing RoR is a big deal, and you'll need to proceed carefully. Here's one step-by-step for installing on Mavericks: https://gorails.com/setup/osx/10.9-mavericks

Nick Stoneman
Nick Stoneman
10,093 Points
Nick Stoneman
Nick Stoneman
10,093 Points

Thanks James.

I'd like treehouse to further explain this too. Environments and versions are confusing to the new programmer. As a novice, when I think of versions I assume backwards compatibility, as this is what years of being a consumer of software has taught me. The idea that the newest version isn't best - or that you need the exact version to follow along in an exercise - was counterintuitive to me at first and led to mistakes.

It's also confusing in general when OSX comes with Ruby installed. I would have found it useful if the video reiterated the difference between just having ruby (and xcode) and a proper ruby development environment.

Just my 2¢

James Gill
James Gill
Courses Plus Student 34,936 Points

Agree. To be fair, though, I don't expect Treehouse to know and solve my specific environment, but I do appreciate it when they help--especially when it's a course necessity. It's probably too much to ask to have Treehouse deal with all the convoluted headaches of configuring each person's dev environment--nobody I know can do that.

That said: Ruby on Rails is a monstrously difficult thing to install. I'm amazed that it's as popular as it is. The ways that installation and config can go wrong--requiring reinstall, etc.--are mind-boggling.