Coding is often just a small part of software development. There are lots of other tasks to attend to. Here are some tools to help with all aspects of the job.

Who did what when and to which? Don't guess. Track changes with this Rails add-on.

A new kind of startup—a font service provider—turns Verdana into Vavoom!

Hijack can debug most any running Ruby process. Here's a hands-on introduction.

The inside look at Edge Rails rumbles on.

Edge Rails has more treats in store for early adopters and lazy developers.

What's new in Rails? Lots and lots. Over the next week, peek into Edge Rails and look forward as Rails 3 chugs to release.

It's the ultimate JVM Web Framework Smackdown! Three will enter the cage. Only one will exit the victor. Will it be JRuby on Rails? Groovy on Grails? Or Helma?

Not all sites proffer slick RESTful interfaces and XML feeds. In those cases, collecting data requires some good, old-fashioned scraping. This week, let's look at some of the tools and techniques required to scrape a site.

Rails is a productive environment -- once you install gems, plugins, and initializers, configure routes, generate code, migrate databases, and tune your environments. Rails templates can automate all of that busy work.

SWIG makes it easy to write an extension for your favorite scripting language (or languages). Learn how it works.

One day, we won't have to worry about browser eccentricities. (I have a dream.) Until then, tools like Browserlab make the horrible realities of Web development tolerable.

Here are ten or so invaluable resources for software developers.

Webby is ideal for a content archive, a small business or governmental website, and even small catalogs that link to PayPal for commerce. Here, learn how to use Webby to create a site fast.

Tired of juggling Ruby gems? Try Rip. It's a one-size-fits-all, no fuss, powerful package manager.

"Build it and they will come?" Try "Embed it and they will stay."

A new tool, Mockups, models graphical user interfaces and Web applications.
Here’s a hands-on review.

Search can make or break your website. Sunspot and Solr give you an intuitive engine that maps directly to your Ruby objects.

Tired of Arial and Verdana? Add some sizzle to your Web pages with a new open source project that can render any font in a page. (Flash not required.)

Are Rails, CakePHP, Django, and Catalys too big for your taste but you still want the benefits of DRY programming? Maybe it's time to get small with micro-frameworks.

Are the "Two Ps" (print statements and prayer) all that comprise your debugging strategy? It's time you were introduced to the Interactive Ruby Debugger.

Protecting the sanity of Rails developers is job #1! Reduce new project setup time and speed the installation of essential gems and plug-ins with new application templates.

No one likes writing -- or reading -- HTML. Thankfully there are tools like Markdown, HAML and SaSS to make your hypertext life easier.

Checking out improvements to Rails' ActiveRecord object, including dynamic scopes and batches.