Pragmatic - Agile Web Development with Rails

Introduction

Ruby on Rails is a framework that makes it easier to develop, deploy, and maintain web applications. During the months that followed its initial release, Rails went from being an unknown toy to being a worldwide phenomenon. It has won awards, and, more important, it has become the framework of choice for the implementation of a wide range of so-called Web 2.0 applications. It isn’t just trendy among hard-core hackers: many multinational companies are using Rails to create their web applications. Why is that? There seem to be many reasons.

First, there seemed to be a large number of developers who were frustrated with the technologies they were using to create web applications. It didn’t seem to matter whether they were using Java, PHP, or .NET—there was a growing sense that their job was just too damn hard. And then, suddenly, along came Rails, and Rails is easier.

But easy on its own doesn’t cut it. We’re talking about professional developers writing real-world web sites. They wanted to feel that the applications they were developing would stand the test of time—that they were designed and implemented using modern, professional techniques. So these developers dug into Rails and discovered it wasn’t just a tool for hacking out sites. For example, all Rails applications are implemented using the Model-View- Controller (MVC) architecture. Java developers are used to frameworks such as Tapestry and Struts, which are based on MVC. But Rails takes MVC further: when you develop in Rails, there’s a place for each piece of code, and all the pieces of your application interact in a standard way. It’s as if you start out with the skeleton of an application already prepared.