Sinatra Template

Simple, general application template for the Sinatra Ruby Web Framework.

Much of this template has come from various tutorials.

Setup

Change the database settings in config/environments.rb to match that of your own.

By default, the template uses PostgreSQL but you can use any database you like by changing the Gemfile and updating any references in config/environments.rb.

You'll then need to run the following to create the database.

$ rake db:create

The template uses ActiveRecord and sinatra-activerecord to interact with the database.

Any changes you want to make, you can execute via a Rake task, a list of tasks can be found on the sinatra-activerecord GitHub page.

Usage

The way I have set it up, it's not a full MVC setup, but rather a "Model, View, Routes" configuration with some helpers sprinkled around the side, the way you define each type is easy.

Models

Create a migration:

$ rake db:create_migration posts

The migration is an ActiveRecord migration, so if you are familiar with that pattern you should be fine to fill the migration out. If not, read the Rails Guide on the topic.

Create a corresponding model:

$ touch models/post.rb

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
end

An that's it! The template takes care of requiring the models, so you can just start writing a great web app!

Views

Views are the same as they are in vanilla Sinatra, go about it as you usually would!

Routes

Routes are also the same as vanilla Sinatra, they are defined in app.rb

NOTE: in Sinatra, the routes are basically the same as controller actions, so treat them as such.

Helpers

Helpers are defined in seperate organisational files in helpers.

In app.rb you need to include them manually inside the helpers block:

helpers do
  include MyHelper
end

This will probably change as the template matures.