Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails is a web application framework written in Ruby, a dynamically typed programming language.
Ruby
Much of the power of Rails comes from the Ruby programming language. Ruby’s unique design makes it easy to create domain-specific languages and to do metaprogramming. Rails takes full advantage of this.
Full-stack MVC framework
Rails is an MVC (model, view, controller) framework where Rails provides all the layers and they work together seamlessly.
Convention over configuration
Convention over configuration means an end to verbose XML configuration files–in Rails, there aren’t any! Instead of XML sit-ups, a Rails application uses a few simple programming conventions that allow it to figure everything out through reflection and discovery. For example, Rails uses intelligent reflection to automatically map database tables to Ruby objects. Your application code and your running database already contain everything Rails needs to know.
DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself
Following the simple Rails programming conventions does more than just eliminate the need for configuration files. It also means that Rails can automatically handle myriad lower-level details without you having to tell it to do so. This means that you write fewer lines of code to implement your application. Keeping your code small means faster development and fewer bugs, which makes your code easier to understand, maintain, and enhance.
Zero turnaround time
The typical development cycle for testing a change to a web app has steps such as configure, compile, deploy, reset, and test. This is very time consuming. The Rails development environment has none of this. You simply make a change and see it work. Don’t make the mistake of dismissing this as a minor point. It’s hard to overstate how much this improves productivity and helps you maintain a creative flow without interruption.
