Step by step guide to implementing acts_as_rateable into your rails application - part 1

Here are the steps described for a beginner:

Part 1: get plugin installed, run migration and make a single model acts_as_rateable

1. Run script/plugin install git://github.com/azabaj/acts_as_rateable.git in terminal at root of your application
2. Run script/generate acts_as_rateable_migration in terminal at root of your application. This
3. Run rake db:migrate in terminal at root of your application
4. Add acts_as_rateable to my the model that you want to rate
5. Restart script/server
6. Start script/console to test basic acts_as_rateable methods to prove installation was successful

At this point the best way to test the installation, migration and acts_as_rateable in my opinion would be to go the console:

Create an item object to rate (Item is the model I tagged as acts_as_rateable)

>> item = Item.find_by_id(6)
=> #<Item id: 6, title: "March", itemtype: "Book", author: "Geraldine Brooks", 
description: "  From Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic <I>Lit...", 
asin: "0143036661", detailpageurl: "http://www.amazon.com/March-Geraldine-Brooks/dp/014...", 
smallimageurl: "http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K4CPKPJSL._...", 
mediumimageurl: "http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K4CPKPJSL._...", 
publicationdate: "2006-01-31", created_at: "2009-05-29 22:58:14", 
updated_at: "2009-05-29 22:58:14">

Create a current user object to act as the rater

>> current_user = User.find_by_id(1)
=> #<User id: 1, username: "kristen1", email: "kristen@hazardbio.com", 
crypted_password: "3342ac0ad4dd89e53ebcdee115cb99764a43f7c058a2ec2e56e...", 
password_salt: "I3V0HfUl6jrebbOCzpoa", 
persistence_token: "5a9dff09cce526cfe6d7abd80c789edca5c86eed9ccab630436...", 
login_count: 13, failed_login_count: 0, last_request_at: "2009-08-25 20:56:45", 
current_login_at: "2009-08-25 18:41:02", last_login_at: "2009-08-18 16:46:06", 
current_login_ip: "127.0.0.1", last_login_ip: "127.0.0.1", 
created_at: "2009-08-06 22:15:34", updated_at: "2009-08-25 20:56:45">

Test method rate_it using item and current_user.id

>> item.rate_it(5,current_user.id)
=> true

Part 2: get ratings working in the view

click here for part 2