Rails v 2.0 will be a milestone release not only due to a great many enhancements but due to a change in the default behaviour of the ’scaffold’ creation – the default scaffold command will produce a RESTful framework for the model, controller and views. At the moment, you have to give a specific command (scaffold_resource) to have a RESTful outline automatically created.

However, this is not about the future (no matter how exciting that may be), it is about the present and one of the things that many people have some difficulty understanding: Active Record.

Exactly how does the database relationship work?

Do I need a has_one or a belongs_to relationship? And what is this ‘through’ that I hear about?

Well, Rails Envy has created an excellent video which explains many of these aspects from the basics to more advanced usage.

The video is 25 minutes long and, if you want a laid back and interesting lunch break, give it a shot.

The video covers:

• Who invented ActiveRecord and why
• How to use ActiveRecord
• Basic model to table mapping
• has_many relationships
• Magical counter fields
• Many to many relationships
• has_many => through
• Polymorphic relationships
• acts_as_taggable

Oh, it even has the code available as a download (direct link).

I think it is well worth a shot – even if you are happy with using these terms, it may well produce one of those great “I didn’t know that” moments.

Six Apart’s Movable Type blogging software got updated to it’s 4.0 final status today. The new release no doubt comes under pressure from the success that WordPress has had as open source software. You can read more about MovableType’s transition to opensource here.

Mt 4 boasts over 50 new features, including a new plugin system, a component based architecture, and some fantastic new launch partners. Overall this feels like a solid release, with a lot of functionality that Wordpress is still only aiming for.

New features also include a fresh installation and upgrade wizard, easier and more powerful template management tools that speed site development, all new default templates and themes, and a completely redesigned user interface focused on streamlining common tasks. You can see the full list here.

This release also includes a transition to a component based architecture running on top of a single MT 4 code base. Components will be paid extensions of the platform meant to provide greater functionality out of the box. The first example component will be their enterprise version. Instead running as a separate installation, the enterprise version of the software will run on top of the basic MT 4 code base. It will feature the original enterprise feature set, including LDAP and Oracle support.

Among other notable enhancements, they released a new community component to MovableType that stengthens basic community features such as a ratings system and more indepth user profiles. The ratings system is comprised of post specific user ratings and a ‘buzz’ feature that tracks and records the top rated content. The new profile pages consist of a blog, their latest comments, and recommendations on your site.

With this new release, Six Apart gained some valuable partners that will be developing supporting applications and tools for MT 4. HP, Amazon, Technorati, Sphere, Snap, Feedblitz, NewsGator, SimplyHired, Fliqz, SocialText, Vizu, Mpire, Oodle, and SodaHead have all jumped on the MovableType wagon. How about you?