title: What is rack? can I use it build web apps with Ruby?
body: <p>ruby newbie alert! (hey that rhymes :))</p>
  
  <p>I have read the official definition but still come up empty handed. What exactly is it when they say middleware? Is the purpose using ruby with https?</p>
  
  <p>the smallish tutorial at patnaik's blog makes things clearer but how do I do something with it on localhost? I have ruby 1.9.2 installed along with rack gem and mongrel server.</p>
  
  <p>Do I start mongrel first? How?</p>