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FAQ
WHERE DO I GET WEBORB FOR RAILS??? What is WebORB for Rails? Who should use WebORB for Rails? How difficult is it to use WebORB? How much does WebORB for Rails cost? I develop in Java or C# or VB.NET or PHP, is there anything here for me? Where do I get started with WebORB for Rails? How do I expose a Ruby class for Flex/Flash clients? How can I make an invocation of a Ruby class from Flex? Can I commit changes to the WebORB for Rails source code? Are there any restrictions on distribution of the product? I need help with the product, what are my options? WHERE DO I GET WEBORB FOR RAILS??? WebORB for Rails can be installed as a rails plugin by running the following command from the root of your rails application: On *nix systems: ./script/plugin install http://themidnightcoders.net:8089/svn/weborb/ or on Windows: ruby script/plugin install http://themidnightcoders.net:8089/svn/weborb/ For more information see the Getting Started Guide.   What is WebORB for Rails? WebORB for Rails is a fast and reliable remoting gateway for Flex and Flash applications. Designed as a Rails plugin, it provides a non-intrusive way to expose Ruby classes to Flex and Flash clients. Flex applications can connect and invoke methods on any Ruby class using mx:RemoteObject tag or API. To support the Flex RPC mechanism, Ruby classes must be registered in remoting-config.xml (see related FAQ entry here). Traditional flash applications can use Remoting Components to connect to WebORB for Rails as a remoting gateway and thus issue AMF0 requests to invoke Ruby classes via WebORB.   Who should use WebORB for Rails? Functionally WebORB for Rails connects Flex and Flash client applications with backend services developed in Ruby. Traditionally Ruby on Rails applications use HTML/DHTML/JavaScript enabled clients. With WebORB, Ruby application developers can expose their services to the new and very exciting user interface technology - Flex and Flash. Flex in particular provides a robust UI design environment for creating rich internet applications. Combined with the ease-of-use and the speed of development delivered by the Ruby on Rails framework, we envision Flex-enabled applications taking the center stage in the RIA marketplace.   How difficult is it to use WebORB? Our goal is to make WebORB a completely transparent component of your application architecture. When a Ruby class is accessed by a Flex or Flash client, it should appear as if it is a local invocation both from the client and server-side perspectives. To achieve the goal, we added a lot of interesting features into the product. Features like dynamic class loading, type resolution, client-to-server type adaptation and automatic serialization of complex types should make it very easy to use WebORB.   How much does WebORB for Rails cost? WebORB for Rails is an open source project. It is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License.   I develop in Java or C# or VB.NET or PHP, is there anything here for me? Most definitely, WebORB is also available for Java, .NET and PHP environments. The PHP option is also free and open-source. WebORB for .NET and Java offers a free standard edition with a limited feature set as well as Professional edition that includes Flex integration along with a variety of other features.   Where do I get started with WebORB for Rails? We recommend starting with the Getting Started guide. If you experience problems with the product once you go through the guide, or have any questions about WebORB, consider posting to the WebORB for Rails forum.   How do I expose a Ruby class for Flex/Flash clients? WebORB can locate and load any class deployed in a Rails application. However, we recommend placing classes exposed to Flex and Flash into the \app\services folder. Future releases of WebORB will contain features enabling special processing for the deployed classes. For instance, automatic update of the configuration files, generation of security descriptors and dynamic client side code generation.   How can I make an invocation of a Ruby class from Flex? Consider using the following mini-tutorial: http://www.themidnightcoders.com/weborb/rubyonrails/remoteobjectandruby.htm   Can I commit changes to the WebORB for Rails source code? Currently only authorized project administrators can commit new code, however, we would love to use the collective power of the community to enhance the product and make it better. If you have any ideas for new features of improvements, please post them to the discussion forum or contact us directly.   Are there restrictions on distribution of the product? Only the restrictions associated with the license the product is released under.   I need help with the product, what are my options? There are several options available: (1) You are welcome to use all the resources available on this website including online articles, example and discussion forums. (2) Consider purchasing a support contract which enables you to obtain professional support from the creators of WebORB for Rails.
OBTAINING SUPPORT
If you cannot find the information you are looking for using the resources above, please consider posting to the General Discussion forum. Professional product support is available and can be obtained for a separate charge. Customers can send support inquires to support@themidnightcoders.com.