Ruby on Rails: What is it and why should you use it?
Tags: ruby, rails, software, mobile
Published: 2022-02-11 08:41:49

_There are so many programming languages in the market but the recent trend is in favor of Ruby on Rails or RoR. Why do programmers favor this tool and what is it used for? In this article, you will learn everything about RoR to make an informed choice when it comes to selecting a proper programming language for your particular case._
**Let us bring the question right at the start of the article. Why should you use Ruby on Rails? Here is the answer.
Ruby on Rail is best on a number of occasions, like creating online stores, building stock market platforms and social networking sites.**
Let’s dive in to see the particulars of this tool.

## Why Is Ruby on Rails so Popular?
The quick answer to this question is that you will spend 5 times less money and 5 times less time if you use Ruby on Rails as against any other programming language. How is that?
Let’s take the time issue.
Since RoR offers most of the features, programmers do not need to spend time on building them. Besides, there are multiple packages that handle typical use cases so basically most of the work is done. And one more thing, if a programmer is stuck somewhere, this is a big community that is helpful in finding easy solutions. All of these taken together cut the time spent on developing an app when using Ruby on Rails.
How does Ruby on Rails save money?
Firstly, you will have no shortage of programmers that use this tool. Its code is so easy to read that it is a good choice even for newbies.
Secondly, what can be done by one programmer on Ruby on Rails may cost you money to hire several programmers to write code in other languages. One of the secrets of RoR is in its libraries called GEMS. You can download many kinds of gems free from GITHUB.  Taken the fact that there are over 3000 gems available on GITHUB, app development with Ruby on Rails becomes speedier and more cost-effective.

## What is Ruby on Rails Used For?
Naturally, like any other programming language, you can use Ruby on Rails to solve various problems. But there are certain occasions when Ruby on Rails is the best choice. Let’s see [what’s so unique about Ruby on Rails](https://addevice.medium.com/what-so-unique-about-ruby-and-rails-7fdaec213a0a).
**MVP development**
For example, if you want to enter the market quickly and make adjustments based on feedback, Ruby on Rails will work perfectly well because it is speedy and cost-effective. That is to say, RoR is the best choice for the development of a minimum viable product (MVP). This is also true about [How free apps that are designed to make money](https://addevice.io/blog/how-do-free-apps-make-money-best-strategies-for-2020/).
**Trading, news, and data analytics**
RoR is also the best choice for trading platforms. A good example is Bloomberg which is a financial service provider and is built on RoR. Bloomberg is a combination of a trading platform, data analytics, and services, breaking news delivered in their core revenue-generating product.
**Meeting platforms**
Good examples are Coachsurfing and Airbnb. Both are built with Ruby on Rails application.
If you take just the mere figure of 15M users of Coachsurfing and 150M users of Airbnb, you can have an idea of how productive this programming language can be. Therefore, RoR is considered the best for social media platforms.
**E-commerce**
Ruby on Rails is good for e-commerce platforms as it can serve website hosting, payment integration, content management system, store plugins, and extensions. One of the biggest e-commerce websites, Shopify, is built using Ruby on Rails. This platform generate over $40 billion and was built just in 2 months.
**New portals and digital publication platforms**
These work well with Ruby on Rails because of its ability to handle high traffic.
**Streaming and media platforms**
Take just the example of Netflix – the largest subscription video platform in the world. It has more than 200 million subscribers in more than 190 countries. This platform is scalable and runs smoothly. It operates on Ruby on Rails. Hulu and Twitch also use RoR.

## Pros and Cons of Ruby on Rails
Like any programming language, Ruby on Rails has its pros and cons. Let’s have a look at each.

**Pros of Ruby on Rails**
**Security** – Ruby on Rails has built-in mechanisms that prevent the following threats: cross-site scripting, SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, insecure direct object reference, or forceful browsing.
**Time efficiency and tooling** – Rails has got some fantastic tooling that helps programmers to develop more features in less time. This is partly due to the fact that all common patterns are taken care of.
**Gems** – Rails has got an exceptional library or a gem (3rd party module for just about anything you can think of). These libraries can be accessed publicly.
**Compatibility with front-end frameworks** - Today front-end frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular are very popular. It is pretty easy to work with Ruby on Rails and these programming languages due to the easy integration of RoR.
**Availability of programmers** - Ruby on Rails seems to be the language of choice for a number of popular online code schools, such as _Makers Academy_, _Steer_, and _CodeCademy_. This means there won’t be a shortage of programmers in the market.
**Supportive community** – It’s one of the most popular languages on the social coding site Github. You can find helpful tips from actual people on the site. In addition, almost all major cities have a Ruby community that runs regular meetups.

**Cons of Ruby on Rails**
**Slow Runtime speed and performance** – this argument has been raised by many programmers. While Ruby on Rails is rather scalable, it is not as speedy when compared to frameworks like Node.js and Django. However, the Ruby on Rails 6.0 version released in August 2019 seems to tackle these issues in terms of security, new features, and improved performance. For example, now RoR coders can use two databases to split the workflow between them.
**Customization** – Although Ruby on Rails is perfect for standard applications, it is more challenging when unique functionalities are at stake. Due to this, customization becomes problematic. It will take a much longer time to work with unique features if you are working with this programming language. Therefore, it is believed that Rails is not flexible enough.
**Wrong architecture may cause a rolling effect** - Since the components of Rails are tightly connected and dependent on each other, wrong decisions may cause serious problems that will have a rolling effect.
**Documentation** – Though Rails has a big community of supporters and a library of gems, it may be difficult to find good documentation for less-used gems.

### Final words
Despite some pitfalls, Ruby on Rails has its own say in the market. Due to its efficiency and scalability, it is favored by a lot of engineering groups, including those that work on large-scale projects. It’s best for standard applications, especially those that require fast delivery, for example, for MVP projects.
The key point here is to do smart [IT outsourcing](https://addevice.io/blog/it-outsourcing/) because the [team ](https://addevice.io/)that you hire will play a decisive role in your project success. These people are architects that plan, design and build your business. No matter what programming language you use, you are dependent on the competences.