title: Where can I read about how Ruby on Rails is structured?
body: <p>I've been looking at <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/55574/learning-ruby-on-rails">questions</a> like <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2459651/getting-started-with-ruby-ruby-on-rails">these</a> but I'm not really finding what I'm looking for.  I'm a web developer with a fair bit of expertise in other environments (Java, Python, PHP, etc.) and I tried to pick up Rails awhile back.  I was <em>incredibly</em> frustrated by the way the guides I found would say things like "put this line of code over there and look at the cool stuff that happens"...and then go on to the next cool thing, without ever explaining what was happening behind the curtains or what kinds of variations were possible.</p>
  
  <p>What I want is a document that lays out what the major functional pieces of Rails are, and how they interact.  I want it to tell me which things happen when a Rails app starts up or gets an HTTP request, in what order, and how it's all configured.  Most of all, I want links to current API documentation describing the details and letting me see what kinds of things are possible.  I want a plain listing of the directory structure of a Rails app, concisely describing all the conventions Rails is using to find my files, how it loads them, and what it expects to find in them.</p>
  
  <p>I am <em>not</em> looking for a tutorial that makes tons of assumptions, a shiny example, a screencast, a video, or an overdose of faddish enthusiasm.  Ideally I am looking for a website or a PDF rather than a book, but I'll take a book in a pinch.</p>
  
  <p>Is there anything like that available?  If not, how close can I get?</p>