What is Ruby on Rails?
If you’re new to programming, you probably heard of Ruby on Rails. In this article, you will learn what Ruby on Rails is and what it does and why you should use it.
What is Ruby on Rails?
Ruby on Rails is a popular open-source server-side web application framework built with the Ruby programming language. Rails was created by David Heinemeier Hansson and was released as open-source in July 2004. In August 2006, Apple announced that it would ship Ruby on Rails with Mac OS X v10.5 was (Leopard), which was a massive milestone for the framework.
What Ruby on Rails does?
The Ruby on Rails framework significantly simplifies the process of website and application building by taking everyday repetitive tasks off the developers’ shoulders, such as the creation of forms, tables, and menus. Developers don’t have to build a new website or web application from scratch, as they can utilize out-of-the-box solutions for repetitive tasks.
Who uses Ruby on Rails?
These are just some of the companies benefiting from Ruby on Rails. As you can see, Ruby on Rails can be used with many different industries. You can build almost anything with Ruby on Rails.
What are the benefits of using Ruby on Rails?
So, why use Ruby on Rails? This back-end framework has a few winning arguments that no developer can ignore. Once all of them are combined, they reduce the development time and make the process more efficient.
- Extensive Ecosystem
Ruby on Rails ecosystem is what makes it superior, as compared to many other frameworks. RubyGems, a Ruby community’s gem hosting service, provides access to thousands of various gems, which can take the form of add-ons, libraries, or software snippets. Gems are ready-made solutions for different problems that streamline the development process.
- MVC
MVC is another integral part of the Ruby on Rails framework. The term stands for Model-View-Controller format. The approach separates the app work intro three subsystems, each of which is responsible for a set of actions:
- Models handle data and business logic
- Controllers manage the user interface and application
- Views handle graphical user interface objects and presentation
Ruby on Rails MVC allows for parallel development and lets programmers speed up the engineering process three times over. The framework provides ready-to-use baskets for separation of the app business logic, so a Ruby on Rails web development company can save time through its utilization.
- High scalability
Ruby on Rails scalability is another benefit to consider. An app built on Rails can be scaled to process thousands of requests per second sent by multiple users. A great example of high Ruby on Rails performance is the Shopify e-commerce platform, which processes up to 80k requests per second. This makes Ruby on Rails an excellent solution for apps that are actively growing their audience.
- Security
Ruby on Rails takes no chances with security matters. Ruby on Rails security is another advantage. The framework has some security-centric features built-in that make applications protected from SQL-injections and XSS attacks. As well, you can find a lot of gems that address other security threats.
- Time and cost-efficiency
Time is often the main deal-breaker for startups. Ruby on Rails is an open-source framework, which means that you don’t have to spend money on the framework itself. Ruby on Rails contains many ready-made plugins and modules, which allow developers not to waste time writing boilerplate code.
- Convention over configuration
Convention over configuration is one of the key principles of Ruby on Rails development. This reduces the time programmers spend on configuring files. Ruby on Rails framework has a set of rules that make it easier for aspiring Ruby on Rails developers to start using the framework. By using conventions, the code becomes readable and concise and allows for easy navigation inside a Ruby on Rails web application.
What are the downsides of Ruby on Rails?
Despite having a lot of benefits, Ruby on Rails has a few disadvantages you need to consider before deciding what Ruby on Rails is used for and whether it is a fit or not.
- Runtime speed
Ruby and Rails is fast but not as fast as the vast majority of other object-oriented programming languages. Runtime speed is often the main argument against Ruby on Rails. When compared to the runtime speeds of Ruby on Rails vs Node.JS vs GoLang, Ruby on Rails lags behind. However, when we consider the Java framework Spring, Rails wins this battle. You are very unlikely to have bottlenecks in Ruby on Rails performance
- Boot speed
Developers often name boot speed one of the frustrating aspects of the Ruby on Rails framework. Depending on the number of files and gems utilized, it may take a significant amount of time to start the framework. Spring, a Rails application preloader, solved this problem somehow; however, there is still some work to be done to resolve the issue completely.
- Website hosting
Not all website hosts support Ruby on Rails. The framework requires many more resources than PHP, and low-end hosting providers can’t produce the necessary processing powers. However, you can find a lot of website hosting providers that do support Ruby on Rails applications.
Conclusion
Ruby on Rails is a preferred choice for a variety of projects because it gives us the option of the fast development of custom software solutions. Ruby on Rails is a very well established tool for creating simple to complex web projects. All its advantages make Rails a strong enough tool to build software that satisfies the market, launch successful startups, and be used by large companies.
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