Ruby on Rails (or simply Rails) is an open-source server-side web application framework written in Ruby. It is designed to make the process of developing web applications easier and faster for programmers by defining a set of conventions for them to organize their code into, encouraging and simplifying the most common tasks, and automating many of the repetitive processes encountered in Web development.
Rails was first released in 2004 by David Heinemeier Hansson as a part of Basecamp project management tool. Since then, it became very popular amid developers and business for its ease of use, efficiency, and strong community.
Benefits of Ruby on Rails Development Services
Here are a few advantages that accrue to a business by employing Rails:
Speed of Development: Rails is known to catalyze the development process by 10–16 times which means businesses can roll their web applications at rapid speed and start minting money out of them.
Cost effective: Being open-source, Ruby on Rails comes for free and boasts of a huge developer community constantly toiling towards bettering this framework.
Scalability: Being modular being designed and holding huge potential for integrating technology, Rails can be easily scalable and would result in the management of high traffic and handling huge data.
Conventions over configurations: Rails adheres specifically to the conventions created with the purpose of helping developers to concentrate on code rather than writing long-extended configuration files.
High-security factor: Rails come built-in support of across scripting and cross-site request forgery protection which gives it a strong edge especially for highly potential industries unable to ensure data security.
Active community: Rails offer a large online community of developers sharing the knowledge, information, resources, and updates at a consistent bases.
Time-to-Market: Since RoR is all about convention and simplicity, therefore development cycles shrink.
Flexibility: It’s quite an easily projected language in Ruby on Rails to any scale of web development from startups to large corporates.
Developer Productivity: The framework comes with user-friendly tools and conventions that abstract a number of tedious administrative development tasks.
Active Record: RoR includes an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) called Active Record, which is a database access library and removes the fuss of converting concepts into actions against databases from an application program.
Agile Development: Flexibility and adaptability to RoR gels in very well with Agile development methodologies.
Integration Capabilities: RoR seamlessly integrates with other technologies and services.
Types of Web Applications developed using Ruby on Rails
Other than the generic benefits accrued to Rails, it is applied to work on types of web applications that include:
E-commerce websites: Many of the major e-commerce sites like Shopify and Etsy are built on Ruby on Rails solely because it is very robust and scalable.
Other social media platforms: Other popular platforms that are developed using Rails include Twitter, Github, and SoundCloud because Rails offers capabilities for separating data and handling a large amount of traffic.
Content management systems (CMS): It is a popular option for developing CMS such as Refinery and Radiant since Rails offers quick easy integration with other technologies besides great flexibility for customization.
Online marketplaces: Since online marketplaces such as Airbnb, Fiverr or Thumbtack are developed quickly and need to add new features anytime, it particularly recommends a language like Rails.
Educational platforms: A great number of educational online study platforms, for instance Codecademy and Treehouse, are built on Rails precisely because it’s a minimalistic and uncomplicated technology for both developers and users.
Real time chat applications: Application like HipChat, Campfire, Intercom, uses rails to efficiently handle the inter user interaction in real time.
API-Driven Applications: Ruby on Rails finds wide usage in building API-driven applications that will be queuing at the backend for the mobile apps and third-party integrations. It is the framework that has native support for RESTful API development and good rails apps tend to have APIs which are very feature-rich as well as scalable.
Financial Applications: Some of the financial and accounting applications are developed with a use of Ruby on Rails.
Event Management Platforms: The event management as well as ticketing platforms is aptly suitable for RoR. For example, Attendify is one of the big names in the list of event management platforms which is developed in Ruby on Rails.
Applications for Healthcare: The works in the healthcare application where Ruby on Rails is used are patient management, appointment scheduler, and medical records. The OpenMRS project which is an open-source medical record system has a flavor of RoR in use.
Collaboration Tools: Applications that are known for their characteristics of enhanced collaboration and communication within teams most often use Ruby on Rails as well. One obvious example of such a RoR-based application is Basecamp – a project management and collaboration tool.
Crowdfunding Platforms: RoR has also been used in developing crowdfunding sites that ideally work as a platform for raising financial support by the people as well as the organizations for their respective causes, projects, or ideas. In fact, the first ever version of Kickstarter, one amongst the most popular crowdfunding platforms today, was built by using Ruby on Rails itself.
Job Boards: A vast majority of job boards and career platforms have been built with Ruby on Rails. These platforms are targeting job searches, resume dispatches, and employer-candidate interactions. One such website is GitHub Jobs, a job board or portal for technology professionals.
Conclusion
We can see that now, Ruby on Rails has become a preferable technology in which we should develop web applications because of many advantages at the same time serving multiple purposes. Its simple, scalable and its community is also very much alive for any help or support. Ruby on Rails development services from simple to complex projects, offer a seamless integration of these advantages into your specific needs. Whether you’re a startup or an established enterprise, consider using Ruby on Rails for your next web development project and experience the power and flexibility it offers. Keep exploring and discovering new possibilities with this powerful framework!
Founder Dinis Guarda
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