Rails is a full-stack, open-source web framework that enables you to create full-featured, sophisticated web-based applications, but with a twist... A full Rails application probably has less total code than the XML you'd need to configure the same application in other frameworks.

With this book, you'll learn how to use ActiveRecord to connect business objects and database tables. No more painful object-relational mapping. Just create your business objects and let Rails do the rest. You'll learn how to use the Action Pack framework to route incoming requests and render pages using easy-to-write templates and components. See how to exploit the Rails service frameworks to send emails, implement web services, and create dynamic, user-centric web-pages using built-in Javascript and Ajax support. There are extensive chapters on testing, deployment, and scaling.

Even if the Book is in Beta, already 5000 copies have been sold around the world according to LoudThinking. The book is a collaboration of many developers that include David Heinemeier Hansson the creator of the Rails framework, Dave Thomas, Leon Breedt, Mike Clark, Thomas Fuchs and Andreas Schwarz.

The book is available at Pragmatic Bookshelf