Ruby on Rails is a programming language developed by engineers and is often used for developing web applications. It is an object-oriented language that expresses data and a set of procedures that act on it as objects and is characterized by being able to be described simply with the shortcode. As a result, maintainability is high, and coding with a high degree of freedom is possible. Also, since it was initially developed to make programming fun, you can quickly build smartphone apps using Ruby on Rails, a Ruby framework.
Ruby on Rails is characterized by being developed as an object-oriented language. It is a pure object language, even if you compare it with other programming languages. Now, let’s look at what is Ruby on Rails to know why Ruby is loved.
Enables development in a short period and at a low cost
The demand for development using Ruby is extremely high at startups and venture companies.
There is a framework called Ruby on Rails in the background. By using this Ruby on Rails library, there is an advantage that most of the code can be implemented without writing the code from scratch. Therefore, the development person-hours are reduced, the speed is increased, and labour costs can be reduced by shortening the time. For these reasons, I want to start my business as soon as possible using the app! The demand from companies is increasing.
High versatility
It is characterized by a simple grammar that contains the minimum number of symbols necessary for writing programs, allowing you to write programs with fewer characters. In addition, it has the flexibility to change part of the program freely, so this flexibility does not limit the programmer and allows for a high degree of freedom in the development.
In addition to these things, there are many libraries in Ruby. An advantage is that various functions can be realized simply by using different libraries depending on the function you want to learn. Furthermore, many libraries make it possible to implement multiple roles. Also, since it is a highly versatile language, there are many Ruby engineers, and it will be possible to develop quickly, such as handing over development and adding development personnel.
What can be achieved with Ruby?
Ruby is a language that excels at developing web applications, but it can do a lot more than that. In this chapter, let’s introduce eight representative items that Ruby can do.
- Web application development
Since it has a framework called Ruby on Rails, it is good at developing web applications using it. Although it is possible to develop web applications with programming languages such as PHP, Ruby is more popular because of its superior processing speed and efficiency. A specific example of an application used is Cookpad, which introduces cooking recipes.
- Smartphone application development
It is possible to develop smartphone applications with Ruby. Indeed, it is common to use Java for Android smartphone app development and Swift for iOS. However, even if you use Ruby, it is possible to develop smartphone apps for iOS, Android, macOS, etc., using the Ruby framework Ruboto and RUBYMOTION software so that it can be used for web applications but also for a wide range of applications.
- Game development
Ruby owns a game development package called Gosu, a game development package that supports Ruby and C++. It is characterized by being open source and supporting multiple platforms such as Windows and macOS. Ruby is also suitable for creating internal DSLs and is often used for 2D game development. Specifically, it is possible to develop 2D games using the Ruby mentioned above game development libraries Gosu and DXRuby.
- SNS
Using Ruby on Rails, it is possible to quickly implement functions such as login and registration of user functions. In addition, since it is easy to add functions and expand in the future, it is also possible to change the design. Examples include Twitter and Facebook.
- Chabot
Using chatbots makes it possible to automate the response to inquiries, etc., reducing costs and shortening response time. In addition, the chatbot can be developed using Ruby’s Lita library. Specifically, the slack bot of the popular communication tool slack can also be created with Ruby.
Ruby on Rail Cons
- There is a problem with the processing speed
Since Ruby is an interpreted language, processing speed is slow compared to compiled languages.
When executing a program, an interpreted language translates the code line by line into machine language. Although it has the advantage that the written code can be run on the spot, the execution speed is slow.
For these reasons, Ruby on Rails is unsuitable for developing large-scale applications where processing speed is important.
- Compared with PHP and Java in terms of share
Ruby on Rails is one of the most popular Ruby frameworks. However, compared to PHP and Java, Ruby’s market share is small in the first place, so it is said that Ruby on Rails is also an understatement.
The share rate among server-side languages shows that PHP has an overwhelming difference.
- It can be substituted for other languages.
New programming languages are being developed all the time. Therefore, one of the reasons why Ruby and Ruby on Rails are said to be a disadvantage is that newly born programming languages can replace them.
Conclusion:
RoR has gained a positive reputation over the years, and many huge projects still rely on the framework.
This framework is great for creating prototypes, MVPs and small to medium-sized websites. So, while there are pros and cons, startups can launch products quickly if they stay within the designed bounds.
