[scubasteve]

I think that's the biggest key, to implement what you learn. I think now I have a good idea of smaller projects I want to work on, with a bigger project in mind. This was a great motivator. I never felt like I could finish a small app after chapter 3. I'll definitely have to go back and think through it this time around. Thanks!

[jayrobin]

When I say a 'basic, one-page app' I just mean a controller serving static content (i.e. not even any models), which is the main topic of Hartl ch3. The point was really to try creating anything from scratch - starting with a newly generated rails project, creating the controller, setting up the routes, developing the page, all the way to actually deploying it on Heroku. It may not be pretty and it may be just a single page, but it was a fantastic feeling to actually build something of my own from nothing in Rails and see it live.