Transferred from his diligent drudgery at Basecamp, Danish programming maharishi David Hansson, who’s also recognized for his innovation of Instiki Wiki, shaped perhaps the most straightforward, easy to work with programming framework based off MVC, or model view controller schemas: Ruby on Rails. While many other languages and object-oriented programming codecs have been implemented over the course of time, websites have become much easier to launch thanks to this release. We now dive into the world of Ruby and where it’s been and where it’s going, and if Apple will continue to bundle it with their MacOS operating systems shipped with Macs.
What It Is
By means of modeled controls to map tables within databases, Rails controllers respond to external web server calls connected to countless applications running the script. Designers who use RESTful routes such as update, new, index and so forth charter said commands through conventions to where they need to call. Other various internal commands through MVC allow scaffolding, or describing how specific databases should be used, to transpire seamlessly. Much of ROR relies on JavaScript codec libraries Scriptaculous for Ajax and Prototype while also offering XML and HTML output formats to streamline programming of websites. Recent versions of Rails, 3.2, uses Sass for CSS templation and have their hand in creating things like a computers directory or a robust website.
The entire philosophy which went into creating this platform resonates from convention over configuration which basically translates into specification of programming aspects not already native to the application being developed. Using this philosophy, along with MVC, makes database recall quickly accomplished with a singular keyword.
In the most recent release of Rails (3.2), a new query engine was unveiled which allows for easier data fetching in controller codecs and much quicker database queries altogether. Dependency managers, along with an action mailer module, round out some goodies that were given to savvy programmers in this newer release.
Who’s Using It
Plenty of experienced programmers are implementing this programming language simply because it offers out-of-the-box simplistic coding whereas languages of the past have taken exponentially longer to produce plausible results. These days, many people tinker with ROR, including:
- Freelance programmers willing to work for less just to get their feet wet in ROR
- Businesses wanting complex frameworks
- Entrepreneurs on budgets
- Apple – for now
- Web application developers
Plenty more people will begin learning, adapting and tweaking Ruby on Rails to fit their own programming knowledge to vastly expand upon the MVC controller framework which already seems easy to use. Hansson applied for his patent on naming rights of ‘Rails’ and ‘Ruby on Rails’ in 2007 and has actually filed suit against one company attempting to use his logo in their articles.
Why It’s Hotter Than Java
Aside from big-dog companies like Yahoo, Amazon and some major banks using Rails in some formation or another, web application developers are finding productivity increases when using already built frameworks like ROR. Customized software packages that differentiate businesses from each other has also contributed to the popularity of this platform while the cost of having new programs or apps developed is much cheaper than Java or Python platforms which proffer more complexities within their backbones. IT budgets can finally breathe easier because experimentation with this platform doesn’t come with high amounts of risk. Overall, the sudden popularity of Rails is heavily contributed to lowered costs to develop, making it the platform of choice for many seed-stage companies or other tech startups wanting to cut their teeth on new technology without incurring heavy initial investments.
Aside from programming aspects, the demand for Ruby on Rails developers has skyrocketed according to an Indeed.com study. If you are an avid programmer with experience in Rails, you’re not working because you’re not trying as the work almost outweighs the available programmers. Finally, getting funds earmarked for Rails programming projects takes less time than traditional Java, C+ or PHP funding requests since the budgets are so minuscule.
Hosting Companies Who Love Rails
Because of the increased popularity of programmers wanting pre-Rails servers, several hosting companies have jumped onboard with 37signals, the company where Hansson works, and Ruby on Rails. Just a few of these companies are below:
- Joyent
- Rackspace
- Linode
- BrightBox
- Heroku
Many more somewhat support the software, and several dedicated server companies allow the install onto your rented server. For those who feel assistance in Ruby on Rails hosting or platform choosing, there are several ROR consultants available to train your sales or programming teams such as Koz and WyeWorks.
Major Corporations Who Implement Rails
Many large companies have decided to implement the Ruby on Rails framework into their business websites, making their sites more productive, interactive and simpler to update. Some of these popular companies include:
- Yellow Pages
- Shopify
- LivingSocial
- Groupon
- Hulu
- Lumosity
- White Pages
- Bayer Advanced website
Many gaming and learning sites have also decided to implement the ROR web programming schema like MixBook, Kongregate, Jango and Writeboard.
What Should The Future Of Rails Look Like?
Speculation is all many people can offer when thinking of how this dynamic web framework could eventually grow into something anyone can afford to build – or have built. Since many ecosystems, or miniature Ruby readers, exist today such as YARV, JRuby, Iron Ruby and Rubinius, the consensus believe that only positive things could come of this MVC, especially with Hansson at the helm. Major concerns do exist, however, considering many flexibility, agility and adaption issues still persist that prevent ROR usage with other cross-browser frameworks. Many see other forms of MVC sprouting up as Rails becomes boring or out of date while faithful minions of Ruby on Rails foresee nothing but improvements in coming releases.
On the flipside, people see Ruby on Rails losing traction unless other larger corporations adopt the schema such as IBM or Sun Microsystems as the platform hasn’t picked up enough momentum in major programming markets like India or China. Some others even think technological limitations could end the prevalent usage in common web infrastructures within 5 years, although to dismount the PHP kingdom will take killer changes to this programmer friendly framework.
