Installfest (Getting Setup)

• Terminal
• Sublime Text
• XCode
• Rails
• Ruby
• Databases

Fundamentals of Programming with Ruby and TDD

• Implement Git as a source control system by pushing, pulling, and merging code
• Learn the fundamentals of object-oriented programming with Ruby by using variables, operators, conditionals, loops, methods, classes, and modules
• Research and implement Ruby gems to expand functionality
• Build functionality based on tests by applying test-driven development techniques (TDD/BDD)
• Research and apply Ruby Gems to enhance a program

Introduction to the Web and HTML5 + CSS3

• Understand the story of the internet and how it works
• Practice the user-facing building blocks of the web: HTML tags
• Apply CSS to HTML to create attractive, cross-browser compatible, and mobile responsive designs

Databases and APIs

• Experiment with a relational database solution: PostgreSQL
• Write custom SQL queries
• Apply indexing for efficiency
• Understand and establish relationships between data models
• Explore what an API is and how to build one
• Practice using external APIs that provide extra functionality such as emailing, payments, SMS text messaging, mapping/geocoding, Twitter integration, Flickr integration, and more

Ruby on Rails and MVC Concepts

• Thoroughly explore the Rails framework from the ground up
• Understand the concepts behind an MVC, how models work, what belongs in a controller, and how it all fits together
• Build custom apps by integrating models with databases, routing techniques, controller logic, and user-friendly views to create dynamic, content-rich web-based applications
• Create multi-model projects with complex relationships
• Learn how to create custom user authentication (login)
• Write unit tests, functional tests, and integration tests
• Deploy your application to the web

Team Dynamics with Agile Methodologies + Presentation and Research Skills

• Learn how to think as a developer as you solve problems and research solutions
• Apply project management tools to your projects, learn how to work in groups in a real-world dev environment
• Work as a team to plan and build projects together
• Present and demonstrate a live web application concisely and effectively

JavaScript Fundamentals

• Learn the fundamentals of JavaScript as a programming language by understanding data types, conditionals, loops, functions, objects, and constructors
• Manipulate the DOM with events and animations with pure JavaScript
• Create interactive web pages including mouse, scroll, and keyboard events
• Integrate JavaScript into Rails apps

jQuery + AJAX

• Demonstrate how to manipulate the DOM using jQuery selectors, events, and animations
• Write JavaScript that allows the browser to communicate with the server without reloading the current page
• Trigger front-end events that interact with databases and integrate with Rails applications to create dynamic pages that load quickly and seamlessly

JavaScript Libraries + MVC

• Expand your JavaScript with ruby-like functionality using Underscore.js
• Use Rails as an API to create more efficient applications with the use of a JavaScript MVC such as Backbone.js or Angular
• Explore data visualization with D3 and other graphing libraries

Advanced Ruby on Rails Topics

• Explore and assess the advantages of alternative database solutions (NoSQL, MongoDB)
• Monitoring performance of a web application
• Web analytics
• Implement Front-end frameworks, like Bootstrap and Foundation, to jump-start a front end
• Transition to SCSS to create cleaner and more maintainable CSS
• Make sure your application is secure by applying best practices to avoid site crashes and service attacks

System Administration

• Learn how to navigate through cloud-based hosting such as Heroku and Amazon AWS
• Deploy to different environments and maintain a proper development workflow
• Simulate load testing on your applications and servers

Computer Science

• Dig deep into code while exploring techniques and computer science concepts to create more efficient and elegant solutions to problems
• Build programs using the appropriate data structures and algorithms to optimize for performance
• Differentiate between various data structures and their purpose (linked lists, stacks, hashtables, etc.)
• Put skills to the test with in-class coding challenges
• Evaluate the efficiency and runtime of various algorithms used within applications