Posted by Ric
Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:29:00 GMT
Swirrl, the project that I’ve been working on for a while now, has recently opened its doors to the public. You can now sign-up for free and try it out.
I’ve shamelessly plugged Swirrl a couple of times before in this blog, but never really explained what it does.
Basically, it’s a hosted wiki service, but instead of just allowing users to create text entries, it also allows the creation of what we call Data Set entries using a spreadsheet-like user interface. But it’s not just another simple online spreadsheet.
Using contextual clues provided by the user, Swirrl builds up a picture of your data and it’s structure behind the scenes, allowing some powerful searching and analysis. So, it’s it easy for the user to add semantic information to their data in the context of their normal work, with no need for any manual entry of semantic mark-up.
(Swirrl follows the principles of the Resource Description Framework, or RDF, which is one of the building blocks of the semantic web. However, you don’t need to know anything about RDF or the semantic web to use Swirrl).
So what’s the point of this? Well, with Swirrl we hope to help make the information held in an organization more accessible and exploitable. We hope that our approach provides a simple and effective way to collaborate and share information. With our Data Sets feature we aim to combine the power of a database and the flexibility of spreadsheets with the collaboration potential of a wiki.
Anyway, I’d love it if readers of this blog could sign up and have a play around, and let us know what you think (email hello@swirrl.com). We’re very keen to get some feedback and comments, so that the service can be improved. Thanks.
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Posted by Ric
Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:48:00 GMT
I recently had to set up SSL for a Ruby on Rails app, and I thought I’d document my findings for the benefit of mankind… :-)
Actually configuring SSL on a production apache/mongrel ubuntu server is quite easy. Our rails-specialist hosts, Brightbox, have some excellent instructions on their wiki.
To get SSL working with rails, you need the ssl_requirement plugin. The readme file for this plugin is pretty self-explanatory, but here’s how to get started.
Install the plugin.
ruby script/plugin install ssl_requirement
Then, near the top of your application controller, add the line:
In the application controller, you might also want to override the ssl_required? method, to make life easier in development mode or testing, and to apply some application-specific logic. (Note that if your SSL logic is dependent on other action-filters, you need to put the include line, above, after those filters). Here’s a simple example:
def ssl_required?
return false if local_request?
return false if RAILS_ENV == 'test'
if check_pricing_plan_feature("SSL")
return true
end
super
end
Now in your individual controllers, you can add filters defining which actions need ssl. (If an action is defined as ‘ssl_required’, then you will be redirected to an ‘https’ version of the page). You can also use ‘ssl_allowed’ if the action can be used with OR without ssl.
ssl_required :log_in, :profile
Now, the code I’ve included in the ‘ssl_required?’ override above lets you test locally without using SSL. But how can you be sure if it’s working properly before deploying? As Mike Subelsky wisely says, you need to “train like you fight”.
If you’re on a Mac, here’s how to test ssl ‘for real’:
1. Make sure you’ve got apache 2.x installed.
OS X Leopard comes with 2.2.8 I think. To find out, just run
If you’ve got an older version than 2.0, you can get the latest from the apache site.
2. Create self-signed certificates.
Download (but don’t install) the latest version of mod_ssl (I used 2.8.31) – you’ll need a file from this download for the instructions below…
Follow the instructions on the apple site to create a self-signed cert.
(The actual steps to perform only start under the heading “Configuring SSL”).
Note: When it talks about your /etc/httpd directory, use /etc/apache2 instead.
Stop following the instructions when it starts talking about stopping your apache server: (”...Stop your web server if you haven’t already, either by using the Sharing control panel or through the command line…”).
3. Configure apache.
i. Change to the apache configuration folder
ii. Now edit your httpd.conf file:
iii. Find the Line that says “Listen 80” (around line 41), and below it add the lines:
Listen 443
SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/ssl.key/server.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/ssl.key/server.key
(using the relevant paths to your new certificates)
iv. Find the
<IfModule log_config_module>
section (around line 272), and add the following line to the bottom of that section:
CustomLog /private/var/log/apache2/ssl_request_log "%t %h %{SSL_PROTOCOL}x %{SSL_CIPHER}x \"%r\" %b"
(this isn’t strictly required but as Mike Subelsky suggested, it helps with debugging the apache setup)
v. Go to the bottom of the file and add the following just above the “” section:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName 127.0.0.1
ProxyPass / http://localhost:3000/
ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:3000
ProxyPreserveHost on
DocumentRoot "/users/me/documents/myproject/public"
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:443>
SSLEngine On
ServerName 127.0.0.1
ProxyPass / http://localhost:3000/
ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:3000
ProxyPreserveHost on
RequestHeader set X_FORWARDED_PROTO 'https'
DocumentRoot "/users/me/documents/myproject/public"
</VirtualHost>
Notes:
- the ServerName must be the servername for which you created the cert
- change the DocumentRoot to wherever your rails development environment lives.
4. Configure Rails.
Comment out the line in the application_controller (added earlier) that says:
return false if local_request?
so you can test ssl conditions locally.
5. Start apache
You can start and stop apache with:
and
respectively.
... and you’re all set to enjoy SSL goodness on your mac.
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Posted by Ric
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:02:00 GMT
In October, I’m going to be at the Future of Web Apps Conference in London, with the Swirrl stand on the expo floor.
If you’re in the area and you’re free please drop by and say hello. If you’re not attending the full conference, entrance to the expo floor only is pretty cheap (under £5 I think).
I attended this conference last year, and I certainly recommend it – the speakers were excellent and there was a good atmosphere. It was also great to chat to the companies on the expo floor and see what everyone else was up to.
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Posted by Ric
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:12:00 GMT
I was overjoyed this afternoon to find that my Proto.Menu article received a mention in episode 39 of Gregg and Jason’s fantastic Rails Envy podcast.
At first I was puzzled as to why they referred to me as “Ric Mon” (sounds like my Patois alter ego). But then I realised that I’d posted that article on a Monday, so the header reads: “Posted By Ric Mon”. :-)
Anyway, their mention reminded me that I’d been meaning to link to their hilarious MVC public service announcement videos. They’re worth a watch, if only for the Burt Reynolds sections (check them out and you’ll see what I mean).
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I'm Richard Roberts, a developer in the UK working with Ruby on Rails. I'm a founder of: 
