Does Ruby on Rails Have A Future? Expert's Review

Does Ruby on Rails Have A Future? 

This becomes a crucial question for those who are planning to develop a ruby on rails application and also for those who have already created an app with the ROR framework.

In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, staying updated with the latest trends and technologies is essential for both developers and businesses. 

One technology that has garnered significant attention over the years is Ruby on Rails. 

However, as new frameworks emerge and technologies evolve, it’s natural to question the future of Ruby on Rails. 

In this expert’s review, we will explore the current state of Ruby on Rails, its challenges, and its prospects for the future.

The Origins of Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails, often called Rails, was developed by David Heinemeier Hansson. 

He developed Rails while working on the Basecamp project and open-sourced it in 2004. 

Rails was built on the Ruby programming language, known for its elegant syntax and developer-friendly features. 

The framework gained popularity for its ability to streamline web application development and promote convention over configuration.

Understanding Ruby on Rails

What Is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails (ROR) is a full-stack web application framework and it is based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. 

It provides developers with a set of tools and conventions to build robust and maintainable web applications. 

Rails emphasizes convention over configuration, enabling developers to focus on application logic rather than the intricate details of infrastructure and configuration.

Key Features of Ruby on Rails

Have look at some common features offered by ruby on rails:

Convention over Configuration

Ruby on Rails offers sensible defaults and conventions that reduce the extra requirement of configuration.

MVC Architecture

The Model-View-Controller pattern promotes separation of concerns and improves code organization.

Active Record

Rails’ Active Record provides an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) layer, simplifying database interactions.

RESTful Routing

Rails follows the principles of Representational State Transfer (REST), enabling clean and intuitive routing.

Developer Productivity

Rails offers a range of built-in features and automated tasks, boosting developer productivity and efficiency.

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Let’s see the popularity and also the challenges faced by ruby on rails in this era.

The Popularity of Ruby on Rails

As Ruby on Rails is a very simplified framework and Ruby is among the easiest programming languages to understand, Ruby on Rails gains huge popularity among developers and businessmen. Let’s see in brief:

Adoption by Startups and Tech Giants

• Ruby on Rails gained popularity due to its rapid development capabilities and developer-friendly nature. 

• It became the go-to choice for many startups, including Twitter, Airbnb, and GitHub, in their early stages. 

• These success stories helped promote Rails as a viable framework for building innovative web applications.

Community Support and Resources

• Ruby on Rails has a vibrant community that actively contributes to its development and provides extensive support and resources. 

• The community maintains an ecosystem of gems (libraries) that extend Rails’ functionality and simplify common development tasks. 

• Additionally, numerous online forums, tutorials, and documentation make learning and troubleshooting Rails more accessible for developers.

Usage Statistics of Ruby on Rails

The data and polls below demonstrate that many developers still use Ruby on Rails as a very relevant framework. 

The trend data on builtwith.com demonstrates the rising graph of Ruby on Rails-powered web applications.

The Challenges Faced by Ruby on Rails

Of course, like us, all frameworks are not getting perfect usability, there are some challenges that ruby on Rails has to face in this era. Let’s discuss it here;

Scalability Concerns

One criticism often raised against Ruby on Rails is its scalability. 

While Rails can handle moderate-scale applications without issues, scaling to handle large-scale projects may require careful optimization and architectural considerations. 

Scaling Rails applications typically involve strategies such as database optimization, caching, and horizontal scaling.

Competition from Other Frameworks

As the web development landscape evolves, new frameworks and technologies emerge, offering alternative solutions to building web applications. 

Ruby on Rails faces competition from frameworks such as Django (Python), Laravel (PHP), and Node.js. 

Developers and businesses now have more options to choose from, which has led to a decline in Rails’ market share.

Language Limitations

Ruby, the underlying programming language of Ruby on Rails, is known for its elegance and expressiveness. 

However, some developers argue that its syntax can be slower compared to other languages like Python or JavaScript. 

While the performance difference might not be significant for most applications, it has fueled discussions about Ruby’s suitability for resource-intensive tasks.

Now, we will discuss the future and top reasons to live ruby on rails.

The Future of Ruby on Rails

There some things which we have to see in little detail to understand what exactly the future look like for ruby on rails: 

Ongoing Development and Updates

Despite facing challenges, Ruby on Rails continues to be actively maintained and developed. 

The Rails core team releases regular updates, addressing security concerns, improving performance, and introducing new features. 

These updates ensure that Rails remains relevant and capable of meeting modern web development requirements.

Attractiveness for Specific Use Cases

While Rails’ popularity has declined in some sectors, it still remains attractive for specific use cases. 

It excels in scenarios where rapid development and time-to-market are critical, such as building Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) or internal tools. 

Startups and small businesses with limited resources often find Ruby on Rails beneficial due to its productivity advantages.

Legacy Systems and Maintenance

Ruby on Rails has a considerable codebase in production, powering numerous web applications and services. 

Many businesses still rely on Rails for their critical systems and continue to invest in its maintenance. 

This indicates that Ruby on Rails will persist for a significant period, even if its market share diminishes.

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Top Reasons To Live In The Future – Ruby on Rails

1. Ruby on Rails Is Perfect For E-commerce Websites

Powerful ecommerce stores are rapidly launched by ruby on rails as a fundamental technology. 

There are several Rails frameworks for e-commerce are available such as Spree, RoR-e, Piggybak, Substruct, etc for developing powerful online stores from time to time. 

Ruby on Rails is convenient for developing websites that support user-friendly features and modular approaches.

Additionally, For smooth and flawless payment integration, the Ruby on Rails e-commerce framework supports the ActiveMerchant Payment plugin.

Features related to product description and upload photos are enabled by Ruby on Rails as online stores usually have a number of them. It also preferred image resizing and custom pricing algorithms.

2. It Prefers Agile Approach

The Rails community always admires Agile approach for software development. 

Numerous economic benefits stem from the practice of creating and releasing products iteratively. 

To name just a few, have a look at the following list of advantages that come with adopting Ruby as a foundational technology and Agile as a primary methodology:

• Simplest and rapid user review or feedback on a developed software product
  
• Quick response to user’s feedbacks and execution of the changes needed
  
• Affordable and ROI will increase continuously
   
• Most concentrated on the valuable features which will save your extra efforts
  
• Good control on development procedure regularly with evaluation of its procedure

3. Great For CMS (Content Management Systems)

A good content management system (CMS) must be easy to use, friendly and convenient navigation and a normal way to upload images, videos, content, and files. And, Ruby on Rails CMS fulfills all these requirements.

Additionally, Ruby on Rails systems are the best platform for content management, from reviewing, and revising, to storing, and publishing. 

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4. Rapid Development And Easy Maintenance

If you are looking for multiple-feature web solutions in a short period, then Ruby on Rails is here to help you. Of course with the expert developers and Ruby ‘gems’ collections from the community.

As a programming language, Ruby can be updated, and modified, developers can make changes, and do coding without feeling confined.

Because of the capacity to rapidly generate new features and create their own libraries, ruby on rails will always be one of the top technologies for quick and qualitative web app development. 

5. Because of The Community

RoR is not limited to open source technology, it is something more, like open source code, and open source community.

Communication availability with several developers and evangelists is a most helpful thing for complex projects, new libraries, bug fixing, etc. 

It’s always about the human back under each community and that means the community also experiences several stages in its journey. 

Currently, it develops and has an active community around it. You can see in Github and explore the trending repo’s, you may see the best Rails activities taking place every week.

6. Strong Emphasis on Automated Testing And Enhancing Software Quality

We’ll only remark that with tests in place, your team would be informed as soon as a new defect occurs, leaving aside all the technical reasons why programmers building tests for their code count that much. 

As a result, the flaws that could show up rather frequently will be repaired before any damage is done to your program or the reputation of your company.

Checking that the code is functioning properly has practically been ingrained in the Ruby development culture promoted by the RoR community. 

Additionally, every code file a developer develops with Rails has a related test file created automatically. 

By informing your team if a test fails, a number of tools offer even greater assurance that your app is functioning as intended. 

Writing tests for their code is essential for good Rails developers, who ensure better quality and fewer nugs as a result.

We can completely see from the above reasons that Ruby on Rails is dead are just rumours. Let’s see some top company’s examples that use ruby on rails and that will confirm the great future of ruby on rails. 

Top 10 Companies That Use Ruby on Rails

Now, let’s see a brief introduction of these listed top website examples built with Ruby on Rails for backend development: 

1. Basecamp

Based on Ruby on Rails, Basecamp, a well-known project management and collaboration application, enables teams to plan projects, communicate clearly, and monitor progress easily.

The framework’s emphasis on simplicity and usability fits in well with Basecamp’s mission to develop software that is simple to use and intuitive. 

The development of Ruby can be seen in the popularity of Basecamp. To scale up quickly and effectively from 45 accounts in 2004 to more than 15 million in 2013, it was important to do so. 

The Ruby on Rails developers at Basecamp also did a great job utilizing the technology.

2. Airbnb

Ruby on Rails is used by Airbnb, the largest online marketplace for lodging and holiday rentals, to manage its massive database, improve booking processes, and guarantee a positive user experience.

The growth of Airbnb’s operations and the global management of millions of listings have been made possible by Rails’ ability to handle complicated data structures and its quick development capabilities. 

Because of Rails’ emphasis on convention, Airbnb’s development teams have been able to collaborate well and iterate quickly, resulting in a smooth user experience.

3. Shopify

Shopify, a global leader in e-commerce, uses Ruby on Rails to build scalable, adaptable online stores for retailers everywhere, facilitating frictionless transactions and inventory management.

And Shopify has been able to develop a versatile and adaptable architecture that can adapt to a variety of business requirements thanks to Rails’ modular design and large library of plugins. 

The framework’s focus on increasing developer productivity has also given developers the freedom to create and release new features quickly, enabling merchants to prosper in the ever-changing e-commerce environment.

4. Dribbble

Dribbble, a website for presenting and discovering design work, utilizes Ruby on Rails to manage its vast library of user-generated designs and provide a visually stimulating experience. Rich Thornett and Dan Cederholm founded it in 2009 and now boasts more than 12 million users.

5. GitHub

As the largest hosting service for code repositories, GitHub uses Ruby on Rails to create and manage its platform, which offers collaboration capabilities, version control, and issue tracking.

GitHub has been able to create a reliable and scalable infrastructure that can manage billions of lines of code and millions of users because of Rails’ emphasis on convention and best practices. 

Rails’ adaptability and simplicity enable GitHub to dedicate itself to continuous integration and deployment, allowing developers to ship code rapidly and effectively.

6. Groupon

Groupon, a well-known online marketplace for deals and discounts, utilizes Ruby on Rails to handle its sizable database, manage transactions, and provide a tailored user experience.

A global e-commerce network that offers activities, travel, commodities, and services links customers with local companies in more than 28 countries. 

7. Urban Dictionary

Urban Dictionary, a well-known online crowdsourced dictionary, uses Ruby on Rails to handle its huge collection of user-submitted meanings, offering a user-friendly and open platform.

Established in 1999 as a satire of Dictionary.com and Vocabulary.com, This Dictionary is an online dictionary of slang terms and phrases and has become incredibly well-known as the “go-to” resource for all things slang.

Aaron Peckham founded Urban Dictionary in 1999, and it now receives 75 million unique visitors each month.

8. KickStarter

Kickstarter is a well-known crowdfunding platform that helps creators realize their ideas by managing projects, collecting payments, and user interactions.

Over 10 million people participate in this community by pitching project ideas or providing financial support to make them a reality. It has aided numerous creative endeavors in raising capital to support their concepts.

9. Twitch

Ruby on Rails powers the backend architecture of Twitch, the top live streaming platform for gamers and content creators, enabling millions of users to engage and stream content in real-time.

Ruby on Rails facilitates a fluid user experience when streaming by simultaneously managing a high number of users.

10. Hulu

The well-known streaming service Hulu runs its backend infrastructure on Ruby on Rails, enabling customers to access a vast collection of films, TV series, and original material.

Rails’ emphasis on convention and capacity for handling large datasets makes it possible for Hulu to have a huge library of films, TV series, and live TV channels.

The framework’s scalability and performance improvements have made it possible to offer content across a variety of devices with seamless playback and little lag.

Conclusion

Ruby on Rails, although experiencing a decline in popularity, continues to have a future in the web development landscape. 

While challenges exist, ongoing development, the attractiveness for specific use cases, and legacy systems contribute to its longevity. 

Developers and businesses should consider the specific context and requirements before deciding whether to adopt Ruby on Rails for their projects.

Still, we can say that there is no end to Ruby on Rails in the future. Yes, the Ruby on Rails requirement will continue as technology evolves. 

You can contact any best Ruby on Rails consulting in your area to hand over your precious Ruby on Rails app development project to any dedicated developer. 

HAPPY ROR DEVELOPMENT!!

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