One of the most powerful aspects of the Rails framework is the ability to extend and override it within your own applications. This is achieved through the Rails plugin mechanism, which provides an avenue for Rails developers to add powerful new features to their applications and share this functionality with the worldwide community. This short cut introduces Rails plugins and considers each aspect of their behavior and development. You’ll learn what plugins are, how they work, and why they’re useful. Discover how to find and install plugins using the provided script, then explore the world of plugin development, including common plugin idioms, testing, and version control. Finally, learn how to share your own plugins. What This Short Cut Covers 4 Section 1: Introduction 5 Section 2: Installing Plugins 14 Section 3: Saluton, Mondo! (init rb) 33 Section 4: Sharing Code (lib) 39 Section 5: The Rest (README, install rb, Rakefile, tasks, and More) 51 Section 6: Plugin Development 62 Section 7: Sharing Classes and Code 83 Section 8: Testing Plugins 100 Section 9: Sharing Your Plugin 113 Section 10: Conclusions 121 About the Author 123