setting up postgresql development in rails with multiple users in database.yml? - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am in the process of migrating my SQL to Postgresql because I want to develop in the same environment as my production.
I installed Postgres and was able to set my database yml file such that rake db:create:all worked with no problems.
However before I pushed, I realized that the username and password of the postgresql database is only available on my computer. I.e. I created the login role on my computer. When my friend who is also developing on the application, pulls the code, he won't have the username and password created by me on my computer.
Is he supposed to also create the same login role? Or is there a way to leave username / password blank so that everyone who develops can access the application? More importantly, what is the best practice for a situation like this?
I am developing on windows and he is on mac.
My database.yml: username and password left out.
development:
adapter: postgresql
encoding: unicode
database: volatility_development
pool: 5
timeout: 5000
host: localhost
test:
adapter: postgresql
encoding: unicode
database: volatility_test
pool: 5
timeout: 5000
host: localhost
production:
adapter: postgresql
encoding: unicode
database: volatility_production
pool: 5
timeout: 5000

Answer 1

one possibility would be to use a combination of erb and environment variables, for example:
development:
username: <%= ENV['USERNAME'] %>
password: <%= ENV['PASSWORD'] %>
adapter: postgresql
encoding: unicode
database: volatility_development
pool: 5
timeout: 5000
host: localhost
then you could do either of the following:
start your server like so: USERNAME=bob PASSWORD=secret rails s
add the following to your .bashrc
export USERNAME=bob
export PASSWORD=secret