Source: tinhthongsoft.com

Ruby, an Object Oriented scripting language for web-development, gets extension from a software library called Rails. As a collective framework for web development, Ruby on Rails or simply Rails has become very popular among developers in recent years, a lot of credit goes to ease of programming for web application development. Ruby on Rails  comes for free with large open source libraries, allowing faster development and easier collaboration. Web developers can  use HTML, CSS and Javascript for display and user interfacing with Ruby on Rails, in addition to web standards like JSON and XML.  

Before the release of Rails in 2004, PHP and Java frameworks were the big names for frameworks available for web development. But Rails, a modelviewcontroller (MVC) framework, soon started giving them tough competition with its default structures for a database, a web service and web pages. On the other hand, lack of innovation turned into a big setback for frameworks like Apples WebObjects, Microsofts .NET framework, Adobes ColdFusion etc.

What makes Ruby on Rails a top choice for web development project?

• Increases speed of project development by 30-40%

• Removes hassles of hectic coding

• Ruby on Rails is a complete MVC framework

• Less configuration data

• Provides Rails generators, modules and gems for web development

• Great built-in test system

• Scalability

• Allows easy and quick modification of a website

• Reduces cost of creating and maintaining a site

As Ruby on Rails requires less coding, developers can create a website within 6 weeks compared to 12 weeks that are required when using other frameworks. The main reasons behind such time saving are a modular design, availability of existing plugins and  less coding for creation of basic structures.

Below are some categories that are the best to go for Ruby on Rails

• E-Commerce - Ruby on Rails provides user-friendly features for E-Commerce sites. Moreover, it becomes easier to make large uploads and updates, especially when needs arises for images of thousands of products on an E-Commerce site.

• Membership sites - A plethora of plugins are available get rid of any obstacle that comes on the way of social networking. Rails is a top-notch framework if you are looking forward to develop a membership website.

• Content management - Its very easy for users to navigate a Ruby on Rails site that contains myriad of articles, audio files and other content. Uploading and managing content on a site becomes a doddle with Ruby on Rails.

• Custom database solutions - Ruby on Rails provides a novel database structure for custom database solutions. Time requirement is also much lesser than other frameworks in addition to reduced expense for supporting a creative business model.

The package manager RubyGems makes Ruby on Rails distinct and much better than other frameworks by  allowing to create and share software libraries that extend Ruby.

Members of Ruby on Rails development community have years of experience in JavaScript, C#, C++, Java, SQL etc and they keep on innovating new things to make the framework even better for developers. Developers are now more inclined to use the Haml template language and Saas CSS preprocessor. An important point to note here is both are native to Rails. Since Rails is an open source, it allows developers to do creative things for making a cutting-edge website.

Rubys flexible multi-paradigm syntax provides a versatile answer to many problems and developers can save a lot of time they otherwise have to waste in writing boilerplate code. With this, I am wrapping up this blog and hope that it helps you understand the many virtues of Ruby on Rails.