We Asked the Industry: Is Ruby on Rails Dead?

See what they had to say below:

Ruby on Rails is not the young, exciting platform like it used to be. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s dead.

Far from it – RoR is now a stable framework with known strengths and weaknesses, an extensive library ecosystem, and large numbers of trained developers. It’s a proven, reliable tool that will be a part of our toolkit for a long time to come. New frameworks have dethroned Rails from the ‘new and exciting’ position, but Rails has dethroned PHP from the ‘familiar and reliable’ position. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to use Rails on a new project or business today. Rails is a full stack framework and a web application framework, providing comprehensive tools for both front-end and back-end development, including HTML rendering, database management, email handling, live updates, background jobs, cloud storage, and security features.

Uku Taht, Founder at Plausible

People have been saying Ruby is dead or certainly on its way out for several years now, but most such claims are made about prior evolutions of Ruby rather than the version we are working with today – which is far from dying and is in fact evolving. Ruby

Looking at the new release and plans from the end of 2018 onwards, Ruby is essentially going from strength to strength and expanding and improving with every new iteration to meet the growing needs and expectations of its users.

John Moss, CEO at English Blinds

Ruby is definitely not dead. If we consider it together with Ruby on Rails, then this platform has grown enough to be a stable, mature and rich solution for web development. Every year so much happens in the ecosystem, new version releases, conferences, lots of new learning resources. It all proves that Ruby is a vital solution for web building. Rails offers educational resources of the same high quality as other leading tutorials, supporting both beginners and those who are not only seasoned developers, making it accessible for a wide range of learners.

When I see “Ruby is dead”, I think some might say that because there’s not so much buzz around it anymore, other technologies just became more trendy on the market. But if we check, for example, the TIOBE Index – it clearly indicates that Ruby is not dead and it is still gaining popularity.

Kamil Paszkowski, RoR Team Leader at Netguru

I don’t think that saying “dead” for a language or framework is possible at all – there are tons of different businesses which require different types of software and have different needs, and that every piece of code written can be used somewhere.

For sure that applies to Ruby and Rails – it’s still very popular, has a very active community, constant updates and new version releases. Ruby is still a very viable choice for fast prototyping, and not-so-complex web applications.

Jacek Jakubik, RoR Tech Lead at Netguru

The only applications we still use Ruby on are applications built at the peak of the Web 2.0 era. Performance and scaling are two of the biggest concerns.

While Ruby can be scaled, doing so is considerably more expensive than scaling other languages, and the options are much more limited. The lack of flexibility also hurts. Ruby on Rails apps need to be built in a very specific way. Sometimes the ‘rails way’ isn’t the best way.

Jeremiah Lutz, Senior Developer at Manufacturing Marketing Pros

I wouldn’t say that Ruby on Rails is dead at all. The simple proof; GitHub runs on Ruby on Rails. Aside from Github however, RR is still relevant and is used by a considerable number of startups, especially in Vancouver.

These days it is used as a base for prototyping, scalable apps, and content management systems. This is despite Node eating into Ruby’s popularity. It’s also hugely popular in other countries like Japan, which shouldn’t come as a big surprise considering that’s where Yukihiro Matsumoto (the chief designer of Ruby programming language) is from. Rails is often used to build rails applications and web pages, and it supports writing ruby scripts to automate tasks or solve specific problems within these projects.

Timothy Orbasido, Full-stack Developer at Numinix

The short answer is, no, Ruby on Rails is not a dead language.

The truth is that Ruby just got a recent minor update to 2.7 with a 1.7x increase in performance and is expecting a major update added to Ruby 3 in 2020. Ruby on Rails is not dead, it’s evolving. I’m excited to see where it’ll go next and what to expect in the newest update.

Jason David, CEO of Software Portal

As a developer for many years, I believe that RoR is way passed its prime.

Granted it’s one of the originals in the world of development and gave us years of rock-solid performance, I think it’s becoming outdated due to AI. Ruby on Rails just doesn’t have the functionality required by today’s applications that are more demanding, especially in regards to AI.

You simply cannot build artificial intelligence projects on an RoR framework, so it’s only a matter of time before Ruby on Rails becomes obsolete.

Raj Vardhman, Co-Founder at Go Remotely

The “Is Ruby On Rails a dead programming language” question get’s asked every year, similar to SEO is dead, this is a whole load of baloney.

Twitter departing from Ruby didn’t help the PR for Ruby but when you have such progressive sites like Github and Shopify using it, it shows it is here to stay. Ruby on Rails is a very mature programme, and this stands in its favor. There are massive reasons that Ruby will continue to excel.

Sean Clancy, SEO Director at Edge

In my opinion Ruby on Rails is not dead and probably will never be. It’s not well suited for all business domains, but it works really good for fast prototyping. My thoughts are based on the market. There were, are and will be many businesses that need to validate the idea before even asking for money from investors.

Radek Piątek, Senior RoR Developer and Team Lead at Netguru

The reason why Rails might not be considered trendy has a lot to do with its own success.

The framework has solutions for many generic problems, and there are community libraries for many more, so there isn’t really that much to add to it at this point. Its rich feature set has become a benchmark for other competing frameworks. It also means that when you develop with Rails the framework is not your focus – you only need to work on functionality that is specific to your application. Learning Rails helps individuals become a productive professional web developer and a web developer who interacts with software developers daily, as it requires understanding a broad set of skills and tools.

Another reason that Rails developers are in high demand is because there’s a lot of knowledge you need to pick up to become one, since it’s been evolving for a while now – companies might choose Node.js over Rails simply because there are more JS devs available, and the barrier for entry might seem smaller.

Krzysztof Urban, Tech Lead at Netguru

That wraps it up! It’s very interesting to see so many opinions – it seems there are common pro’s and con’s to using Ruby on Rails which we have rounded up below.

Rails is also an accessible entry point for those new to computer programming, not just only seasoned developers, and project managers can benefit from understanding Rails and its development tools, such as the command line and Git, to better collaborate with software teams.

What is Ruby on Rails?

Rails framework, is a powerful open source web framework designed to streamline web application development. Built on the Ruby programming language, Rails empowers web developers to create custom web applications efficiently, thanks to its own web server and integrated development environment. This means you can focus on building features and writing code, rather than getting bogged down in server configuration or setup.

One of the standout qualities of Rails is its commitment to professional grade web development. The framework encourages good software development practices, such as test-driven development and integration tests, making it easier for software developers to maintain high-quality code as projects grow. Whether you’re building a simple site with static pages or developing dynamic web applications and real time web apps, Rails provides all the necessary software and tools to get started quickly—even with a fresh new Rails project.

Rails is particularly well-suited for those looking to develop larger software systems or scale up their web services. Its automatic code generator and robust conventions help you create user interfaces, site layouts, and complex web applications with less effort. The framework’s focus on productivity means that even a minimal hello app can be up and running in minutes, while more advanced users can leverage its features to build industrial strength web applications.

For those new to web development, the Rails tutorial teaches the very beginner basics and guides you through building a working example site, covering everything from setting up your development environment to deploying your first app. More experienced developers will appreciate the ability to develop custom web applications and integrate with other web services, all while following best practices that support the development of larger software systems.

The Rails community is another incredible resource, offering a wealth of online courses, sample apps, and educational materials. Whether you’re looking to learn web development from scratch or deepen your expertise as a professional software developer, Rails provides access to a supportive network and up-to-date resources. By mastering the Rails framework, you’ll be well-equipped to tackle modern web application development challenges and contribute to the ongoing evolution of web technologies.

The pro's of Ruby on Rails for web development

• Ruby on Rails is highly mature, offers tons of resources and clean code

• Ruby on Rails is a full stack framework and web application framework, providing end-to-end tools for both front-end and back-end development.

• Rails has a wealth of educational resources of the same high quality as other leading frameworks, making it accessible and effective for learners.

• It’s still a number one pick for developing MVPs and web applications

• Its lack of ‘hype’ may be a result of it’s own popularity and maturity

The con's of the Rails framework

• There might not be as much 'buzz' around it as other other stacks

• Great for taking an app to market but may be hard to scale

• Not best suited to Machine Learning projects which are popular currently

Here are some resources to help you answer these concerns for yourself – we put together a great article about the business direction of Ruby on Rails to help you plan for the future.

If you are wondering how Ruby on Rails can be used in machine learning check out this cool guide – you can also learn more about hosting and scaling RoR as your app gets bigger.

As always we would love to hear your view – drop me a message on LinkedInor contact our team of 96 RoR developers today.