From: Alex Gutteridge <alexg@...>
Date: 2012-08-29T20:28:37+09:00
Subject: Re: Can I do this with Ruby and sqlite alone?

On 29.08.2012 10:59, Kaye Ng wrote:
> Hi Alex,
>
> 1. what do you mean by, "unless terminal access is a specific
> requirement you will probably find
>> it easier going to use one of the many gui toolkits (just Google) or 
>> a
>> web framework (of which there are many - again just Google)."

Hmm, not sure how to answer that question. Hopefully the other answers 
make my meaning clearer.

> 2. What's terminal access? Do you mean clicking on the Command Prompt
> icon on my desktop? I'm running windows 7.

I mean viewing the ui via a text terminal 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_terminal). I don't use Windows, 
but yes I think the Command Prompt icon takes you to a text terminal.

 From your question it seems very unlikely that this would be a 
requirement for you, so I would go via the gui or web routes.

> 3. Does "Shoes" qualify as a gui toolkit and can I use it to create
> something like the attached file?

Never used it, but yes I believe so.

> 4. How does a gui toolkit differ from a web framework like RoR?

Sorry to be terse, but:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_framework
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUI_toolkit

> 5. With regards to number 4, what's easier or faster to study?

Hard to say. You will need to learn more different pieces with a web 
framework (ruby + html + css + js + setting up a web server), but some 
of the frameworks hold your hand quite tightly through that and there 
are lots of resources online to help learning from scratch. GUI toolkits 
are in my (limited) experience slightly less hand-holdy, but then you 
only need to know Ruby + the toolkit. As I understand it, Shoes is 
specifically designed for people with less background in this area, so 
may be a fruitful line of enquiry.

-- 
Alex Gutteridge