“Is Ruby On Rails Dead”
No “Is Ruby a Dead Language?” type of article can do without mentioning the classic link https://isrubydead.com/ answering the question on its own.
Introduction:
You may remember that Ruby was a hip language in the software development scene a few years ago but most of its popularity had to do with the rails framework. Ruby on Rails gained popularity with web standards such as JSON and XML for data transfers, HTML, CSS and user interfaces with its innovative scaffolding and views for developing web apps as well as the easy creation and migration of databases and tables.
By the end of 2018, Ruby on Rails was one of the best tools for fast, secure and high-quality web application development. At the time, development companies using Ruby and Rails were in the forefront and other technologies such as JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java and others had no chance of beating them. Although Ruby is still a great technology to learn in 2021 (and the statistics make it clear that it will indeed stay relevant) some people are trying to predict its fall.
Why is Ruby on Rails claimed to be dead?
It’s old
Ruby on Rails is 17 years old and developers seem to be looking for something new simply for the sake of change. Technology, due to its robustness and far-sighted planning, is certain to outlast the average time a topic remains trendy. At some point though, people simply get bored.
Flexibility
Like any other framework, Ruby on Rails has defined its rules and code patterns. For complex architectures idealized in modernity, it becomes difficult to implement them with the framework. Patterns such as duck writing and static type approval are better supported in the latest versions of Rails. Ruby 3 was released to try to get around the lack of flexibility in rails.
Compatibility
Machine learning, one of today’s trending technologies, is difficult to implement in Ruby on Rails. Building flexibility and problems with forward compatibility are starting to cause problems for the framework. However, there are signs that the framework is not nearing its death and will actually soon undergo drastic updates.
Python was a pioneer in the field of compatibility with machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep learning. It also has great support when creating web applications. Ruby on Rails was never intended to be universal, it was created for very specific usages which it does very well. However, other modern alternatives to the universal Ruby on Rails are beginning to make it seem more outdated than it ever was. Don’t jump the gun though, this alone is not a sufficient reason to declare her dead just yet.
The drawbacks of Ruby on Rails
The drawbacks of Ruby on Rails are more a myth than a reality. Despite its advancing age, Ruby on Rails has long been associated with a multitude of disadvantages. Although some of these drawbacks are true, most of them are myths because of their age-old design.
It’s slow
Many developers claim that Ruby on Rails is built more slowly than its modern counterparts. The only reason behind this assumption is that the framework is so old that it was assumed that it would slow down with time. This assumption is completely wrong on many levels.
Ruby on Rails is old, but not outdated. Since its conception, it has received regularly ongoing updates. The Ruby team has always made performance a high priority when introducing new releases. The latest Ruby version, Ruby 3, was planned with a 3×3 upgrade, so it should be three times faster than Ruby 2.
Ruby on Rails offers a high development speed. With a large number of prefabricated modules, it is quick and easy for developers to develop applications. Ruby loading times on rails are also significantly lower than other frameworks, increasing the speed of development and testing.
It’s unreliable
Ruby has been associated with various failures compared to other frameworks of a similar scale. Tons of applications rely on Ruby on Rails, and if it were really so crash-prone, big players such as AirBnB and others would not have invested in it.
When a bug is found, instead of crashing and restarting the entire application, Ruby on Rails activates a red priority to fix it. This is how it deals with bugs.
It’s hard to scale
Many start-ups wonder if Ruby is scalable. The classic story in which Twitter moved from Ruby to Scala set off a lot of flares towards Ruby, but that doesn’t mean the whole thing is over. Just because the Java vs Ruby debate has been ongoing for a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that the end of Ruby on Rails is here.
Many major projects, including Shopify and GitHub, have been running on Ruby on Rails since its inception. However, the platform has had to contend with problems that have been scaled up and down over the years, depending on user demand.
It’s expensive to develop with
There is a misconception that Ruby-on-Rails applications are expensive to design, develop, scale and maintain. It is safe to say that Ruby On Rails is more scalable than any other framework for web applications. In reality, it’s a low-cost language loved by start-ups that can be easily scaled up and down.
Ruby on Rails is the first choice for start-ups because of its high development speed and its cost-effectiveness. Prototypes of Ruby on Rails are very simple and they include many pre-built modules to increase the initial release speed.
Benefits of Using RoR
Libraries
After seeing the problems with Ruby on Rails it’s time to look at its positive side. Like npmjs, Ruby on Rails has its own repository and packages in the form of gems. All of them are available online and easily accessible. Ruby On Rails has almost every gem imaginable.
Code Quality
The presence of large repositories with prescribed code helps to accelerate development, as one does not have to constantly reinvent the wheel. The quality of the code available in the average jewel in Ruby is much better than that of its Node.js or PHP counterparts. This means that if you use third-party packages in your application, you can be sure that they will contain excellent quality code and won’t interfere with the performance of your Ruby application. Testing is an important phase in the life cycle of a project.
Testing
Ruby on Rails reduces the burden on developers by simplifying the process of testing code. Writing tests for each line of code is time-consuming and can seem redundant over time. Ruby on Rails has a community of tests that automate the process. This adds incredible value to the applications built with Ruby on Rails and helps deliver high-quality software that is planned in advance.
Community
Ruby on Rails has built a great community around itself which also means that if you decide to build your project today, the chances are good that in the future you will still have a huge pool of people to maintain and improve your application.
Good for start-ups
At this point, other Silicon Valley companies should consider trying Ruby on their top projects. In big cities, there are local Ruby communities that meet regularly to help people of all levels learn something new. There are also local groups and online communities where the language has matured and you can find solutions to the normal problems you encounter. Ruby on Rails is a language for start-ups.
Big guys use it too
With the advancing age and growing community of language, RoR has become a framework that can be described as mature. This maturity brings many advantages for developers and companies that choose RoR for their projects. When looking at some of the world’s most successful start-ups (including GitHub, Airbnb, Etsy and Shopify) you’ll find that they all rely on RoR for their mission-critical projects. As a company, you have a long list of projects and other companies that rely on this framework to earn money and achieve their dreams. There is a huge community that is ready to solve any problems you might face as a developer when trying to build your Ruby project on rails.
Ruby helps to write code quickly and eliminates ambiguities that occur in high-level languages.
Efficiency
Because Ruby is short and has a clear syntax, it supports complex paradigms such as duck typing and static typing checks. With the latest update of Ruby 3.0, it also supports simultaneous and parallel execution with Ractor. This makes the entire Ruby on Rails setup a productive framework for building and scaling applications.
Summary:
After 17 long years of successful activity in the industry, the framework has become a mature and reliable framework for the development of server-side applications. Prominent companies such as AngelList, GitHub and Crunchbase rely on it for their critical products and services. With the latest features introduced in Ruby 3 and the Rails 6 update, it seems to be the perfect alternative for business-savvy projects.
Ruby on Rails is a convenient and easy-to-use solution for critical projects and inevitably improves as it matures and becomes more community. It offers a relatively low entry point for new developers and rarely becomes a bottleneck for the project. What remains the benchmark for its excellence is a business-oriented framework that takes into account the ease of use of developers.
People have been using the framework since its introduction and the ongoing rumors about its death does not mean the end of the RoR era. It simply indicates that the peak of its popularity has been reached and that the framework has undergone a period of stability and saturation. With so much content on the Internet, it has become a perfect solution for companies of all sizes and developers interested in the language.
