Debunking The Myth Of Ruby On Rails Perishing

Is Ruby on
Rails dead?

January 6, 2023

6 min read

Software engineering

Six compelling reasons Ruby on Rails is still alive and thriving.

It’s not a secret that almost every new tech startup is built with Ruby on Rails (RoR). There is a reason for Rail’s popularity than that. Created in the early 2000s, written with Ruby – the language supporting multiple programming languages and paradigms – RoR got an army of enthusiasts and fans. Just ten years ago, Rails was all the rage, but now you’ll find dozens of posts on Quora, Reddit, or StackOverflow stating, predicting, or asking about the eventual demise of Ruby on Rails. So what is true about that?

Be Rails dead, and it’s unlikely that such remarkable technology startups and even established companies like Shopify, Airbnb, SoundCloud, Imgur, and GitHub would continue using Rails as their major technology. Rails is not dead and even shows no signs of dying. You can check out the list of popular tech startups built using Ruby Dead Rails developers RoR List of popular tech startups built with Ruby on Rails.

Here are the reasons suggesting Ruby on Rails is alive and shows no signs of serious illness or give it up as a hopeless technology.

Reason to live #1. It’s a perfect web development framework for e-commerce

Robust e-commerce stores are quickly launched using Ruby on Rails as a core technology first because innumerable Rails e-commerce websites have frameworks available (Spree, RoR-e, Piggybak, Substruct, etc.) for developing robust online stores in a timely. User-friendly features and modular approaches to site development help online stores benefit from the RoR framework.

Smooth payment system integration

The RoR e-commerce frameworks are supported with the ActiveMerchant payment plugin to enable smooth and flawless payment system integration. Rails help connect features with product descriptions and photo uploads, as online stores usually have thousands. Image resizing tools and custom pricing algorithms are among other technologies and features online shops prefer.

Reason to live #2. Agile first!

The Rails community could be the biggest admirers of the Agile approach to custom software development. The art of developing and releasing products in iterations has numerous business advantages, and to enumerate only the framework of most essential rewards, you’ll get from using Ruby as a core technology for web application and Agile as a critical methodology, have a look at the following list:

Easy and quick user feedback on a developed software product
Rapid response to user feedback and implementation of the required changes
The budget is kept lean while ROI continues to increase
With focus provided on the most valuable features, you eliminate wasted effort
Better control over the development process regularly with regular evaluation of its progress

The Rails community’s commitment to the Agile methodology streamlines the development process and ensures a high return on investment. This Agile-first approach allows for rapid iterations, making Ruby on Rails an ideal choice for businesses looking for flexibility and efficiency in their web development projects.

Reason to live #3. Best for Content Management Systems (CMS)

A sound content management system is easy to use, has convenient navigation, and is a simple and handy way to upload images, content, and files. Ruby on Rails content management systems comply with all these demands. Ruby on Rails-built systems are great platforms for content organization, from revising and reviewing to storing and publishing.

Insights into SEO

On top of the other languages, if you are wondering whether is Ruby on Rails dying, it has one of the best SEO instruments to help your web app or website improve search engine rankings and visibility to guarantee you better traffic and return on investment.

Reason to live #4. Faster development with easier maintenance

Do you need a feature-rich web solution but there is time pressure? RoR can help you solve this task. Of course, with the expert engineers and Ruby’ gems’ collection. Ruby, as a programming language, can be modified. Programmers can make necessary changes and can code without feeling restricted. Primarily because of its open-source technologies and the ability of Ruby developers to quickly generate new features and create their libraries, RoR remains among the top technologies for rapid but quality web development.

Reason to live #5. The programming language community

RoR is more than open-source technology. It’s also about open-source code and, what is even more critical, open-source community support. Communication with thousands of developers and evangelists can be constructive for complex projects, bug fixes, new technologies, libraries, etc.

Human factor

There’s always a human face behind each community, which means the community also experiences different stages in its life. Now, it still develops and has a very active online community around it. Just look at GitHub and visit the trending repo, and you will see a great Rails activity and active community taking place at least every week.

Reason to live #6. Strong focus on automated testing and better-quality software

Putting aside all the technical reasons why programmers writing tests for their code count that much less code now, we’ll state that with tests in place, your team would be alerted as soon as a new bug appears. Consequently, the bugs that occur often will be fixed before any harm to the scalability issues of your software and business reputation are caused.

Code correctness

Ensuring the code is working correctly has become almost a part of Ruby’s development culture fostered by the RoR community. Moreover, Rails automatically generates a corresponding test file for every code file a developer creates. Several other frameworks or tools provide even greater assurance that your app works well by emailing your team if a test fails. Good Rails developers know the importance of writing tests for their code, so better quality and decreased number of nugs are guaranteed.

The Ruby on Rails is dead – long live the Rails!

All the rumors about whether Ruby on Rails is dead are just rumors. However, they can be explained since the irony of Rails is that it was initially designed as an easy way to code and build websites. Consequently, one may think that something too simple to evolve will not evolve. Ruby on Rails somehow managed to become quite ‘complex’ in the positive meaning of this word. With all its gems, extensions, and add-ons, it continues to change, becoming more streamlined, functionality-rich, and effective for both quick development of web apps and solutions of different complexity.

Rails is more than a software library or an API since it’s the heart of a vast community sharing many core values and supporting each other within an informal network built on volunteerism. The Rails framework is significantly prevalent among web startups because the pool of open-source software libraries, RubyGems, makes it possible for junior developers to build complex sites quickly.