Should I Learn Node.js Or Ruby On Rails

Ruby On Rails has existed for more than a decade now. It is a framework of choice of Twitter, Airbnb, etc. And now many developers boldly claim that Ruby is dead and that everyone should stick to Node.js . That is, quite bluntly, not much younger than RoR.

Besides, it is not a framework. It is a web-server applied science that is used with JavaScript frameworks, like Express , Meteor, Sails, and databases similar MongoDB . However, such giants as LinkedIn, Hapi, and PayPal gradually decided to migrate from RoR to Node.js. If y'all're interested in learning more about top Node.js frameworks, please check the all-time Node.js frameworks.

So why the Ruby on Rails vs. Node.js confrontation is one of the most pop topics in web development? Why, if at first sight, these technologies are so unlike? Why are they even compared? And which one is the all-time? Allow's endeavour to effigy this out.

Ruby vs Node.js

Which one is the right solution: Ruby-red on Rails or Node.js?

Beginning of all, allow'southward analyze that information technology's non about which tool is ameliorate, and which i is worse. Both Cerise on Rails and Node.js are the most popular server-side technologies. And both of them have their pros and cons.

frameworks popularity

The thing is that each technology is better for specific purposes. And that's precisely the goal nosotros're pursuing – to compare Node.js vs. RoR and understand when to choose which tool.

Then, to figure out all the benefits and downsides, nosotros've analyzed:

the popularity of the engineering over the past few years;
scalability;
what brands apply the engineering science;
how piece of cake information technology is to adopt it;
performance;

Having these criteria in mind, permit's begin our Ruby on Track vs. Node.js 2020 comparison.

Name of video

Ruby On Rail: an overview

RoR framework

Let's begin with RoR because this technology came earlier. It'due south a server-side framework written in Ruby, which is a multi-purpose and quite a dynamic linguistic communication. When Reddish on Track was released in 2005, it revolutionized the spider web development procedure offering a new arroyo.

Information technology introduced a new software pattern paradigm that placed convention over configuration. Also, that eased the work for developers in many ways. For case, at present they didn't have to work on the boilerplate lawmaking. Thus, developers could finally focus on the features and the logic of the futurity app rather than cumbersome coding.

Today Ruby on Rail is used by:

GitHub
Dribble
Hulu
Couchsurfing
Basecamp
Airbnb

And past over a half of one thousand thousand other websites . So fifty-fifty though the interest in this technology, comparing Ruby vs. Node, decreases , it is still quite popular and useful. If you lot go through job ads on Linkedin or Indeed, it'due south axiomatic that RoR developers are in very high demand. At Jelvix, we use this framework frequently plenty to note all the pros and cons information technology has. So let'southward begin with good things.

RoR statistics

What are the pros?

One of the most prominent advantages of Ruby on Track is that it is straightforward to learn. It is a well-known "schoolkids' framework." If yous proceed the Internet, you can find many success stories. People say that they just "woke up in the morning, decided to make their website/spider web app, then tried to learn RoR, and they got information technology right."

That is why RoR is a frequent choice for freelancers. If yous nevertheless don't know what you need to practise inside this framework, you tin exist assisted by RoR developers community for sure. It is rather large and experienced because this technology has existed for so long.

Nonetheless, as practice shows, you can solve this problem on your own. There are many branches with both typical and quite specific questions, which can ascend during the Ruby on Track usage. Whichever project yous are considering, if it is built on RoR, it ever has a standard construction and syntax.

Another reason to stick to Ruby on Rails is that it is an excellent choice for novice web developers. Yous can go a truly secure solution and not participate in the cocky-provision of its security mechanisms.

Ruby on Rails advantages

For example, RoR uses XSS filters by default. Likewise, at that place is a built-in authenticity_token tool that is used against CSRF attacks. It's too keen for preventing SQL injections and many other useful things. So when it comes to safety, in the battle Reddish on Rail vs. Node.js, the first fighter wins. If nosotros talk most Node.js, you accept to rely only on the security of the called framework.

Also, Ruby on Rail is great for developing on a tight budget and having a tight borderline. Since the community is and so big, it doesn't take long to find a good RoR developer. Moreover, only the lazy one does non know almost the Cherry gems' being.

Name of video

Ruby-red gems are free plugins, the lawmaking of which is placed on Github. The only disadvantage of gems is the inability to filter them co-ordinate to their mission. Of course, you can figure out on your ain which of them you should choose in a particular situation.

Information technology'due south proficient that the precious stone names kind of "speak for themselves." Even so, the searching process can be quite c, so yous tin also cheque our article on Ruby gems .

Overall, it is quick and straightforward to build an app on Ruby on Rails. This technology is very mature, which ways all the bug that could occur accept already occurred and got fixed. Also, talented RoR developers know how to use all the advantages of this framework to save time and focus on the quality of the final production.

Check out the list of the most popular and useful Ruby Gems.

What are the cons?

Ruby on Track won't be an fantabulous fit for inexperienced specialists, especially if they desire to build complex apps. Then this technology can bring many struggles in terms of maintenance, safe, and reliability of the application. RoR can be an fantabulous instrument for beginners if they are going to build blogs or simple APIs.

The fact that RoR is non the right tool for new devs is not the only disadvantage of this framework. It is ho-hum, much slower than Node.js. However, this consequence becomes visible simply if you piece of work with enormous projects with massive traffic. But if we're talking not about a behemothic app with an endless number of users and requests, and then Ruby on Rail might be not the real villain here.

The server architecture and databases also thing a lot. If the infrastructure is well-congenital, even big-scale products written on RoR can be rather swift. Take Airbnb of GitHub as an example – there are no issues with the performance.

The reason behind poorly executed RoR-based apps is that this framework does a lot instead of the programmer. Thus, beginner devs usually make mistakes in creating code. That's why we've said earlier that Cherry on Rails is non the all-time choice for fresh specialists. If the code is low-quality, the app performs poorly.

RoR doesn't practise well when it comes to scalability, either. This framework supports the dynamic AJAX interface. That's something similar to the asynchronous code that besides tin be implemented in this manner . Notwithstanding, it is not even close to beingness every bit flexible as Node.js. Fifty-fifty though nosotros should non arraign the framework for any bug with scalability, information technology is not like shooting fish in a barrel to calibration.

The perfect example is Twitter. Of course, taking this platform every bit a reference, we should consider the huge traffic it has. At some indicate, Twitter switched to Scala from Cherry-red on Track. Perhaps, information technology was merely the event that ignited the debates virtually the scalability struggle RoR brings.

Let's list the scaling options Cherry-red on Rails has:

horizontal scalability;
lawmaking optimization;
service-oriented architecture.

Final but not least, RoR is ancient. When new frameworks are born and bring innovations to development, they shine brightly. Just when the excitement calms downward, the previously fascinating technology becomes mundane and old. Yet, it doesn't mean that Cerise on Runway becomes any worse.

You should call back of maturity every bit of experience, stability, and refinement of the code. While it is interesting to chase the trends, old technologies are oftentimes quite able to compete with new ones. Since Carmine on Track is still widely used, information technology means that this framework can survive the competition.

Node.js: overview

Node.js framework

Node.js was released in 2009, which is non much afterward than RoR. The tiptop of the interest in this tool was reached in 2017. Even though this trend goes down, information technology is still way more popular when it comes to matching Node.js vs. Cherry on Runway.

Node.js usage

Here are some of the companies that use this technology:

eBay
PayPal
Walmart
LinkedIn
Uber
Microsoft
New York Times

Let'south call up in one case comparing Node.js vs. Scarlet on Rails, that the first one is not a framework. It is a runtime environment that allows devs to build server-side apps with JavaScript. And even though many engineers make fun of JS and are skeptical about putting RoR and Node.js in the same line, we will be audacious enough to do that.

Based on our ain experience at Jelvix, it would make sense to compare Node.js vs. RoR. Besides, we've already compared RoR with Python . While Ruby on Rails is a framework and, no doubt, has its forcefulness, there are many situations where it falls back. Node.js, on the other hand, can offering the non-blocking I/O epitome that is fantabulous for creating data-intensive and existent-time apps. That's something RoR can't provide. So let's spring straight to pros.

Node.js advantages

Is Node.js faster than Ruby on Rails?

Node.js is based on one of the fastest engines – Google's V8 . This and the ability to write high-speed asynchronous lawmaking are considered as truly killer-features. Matching Node.js vs. RoR, we can see that the first technology wins.

Yes, RoR supports the dynamic AJAX interface and allows devs to implement something similar to the asynchronous code. Simply unfortunately, even these features are not able to ensure the Node.js speed (the following diagram demonstrates this fact):

Avg runtime on the programming language

Furthermore, information technology's said that Node.js shows the performance upwardly to 20 times greater than the "old man" RoR. Thus, in the Node.js vs. Ruby-red performance battle, the first one takes the victory. So if you lot're creating some streaming service like YouTube, stick to Node.js. Also, it is scalable enough to grow forth with your app every bit it gets improved.

RoR has its Gems that we've discussed talking about this framework. And they're frankly excellent. But with Node.js, spider web developers become much better capabilities. This web engineering science has an incredibly advanced tool – NPM . It's a package manager that includes different modules that can solve hundreds of tasks – from the most piddling to the particular ones.

These modules are optimized so they could be easily integrated with third-political party solutions. Thus, one time you learn this tool, you get an ability to create merely a skeleton and unique functions in all your web apps or websites. So other possibilities can be implemented using NPM in no time.

Name of video

Nosotros positioned Node.js solely every bit a technology for creating spider web applications. Although it also tin can be used for both mobile and desktop development. With RoR, you lot don't get such multi purposeness. Besides, Node.js provides piece of cake-to-utilize and flexible tools for APIs creating.

From our experience, the trio of Limited.js, MongoDB, and Node.js perfectly suits such purposes. Thus, the efforts you fabricated to create the new awarding interface, in most cases, can have a positive outcome after just a few hours.

Comparing Node.js vs. Ruby-red, we tin can see that the second tool does non give you such flexibility. Moreover, RoR-based projects are much slower. In the end, this framework is not too good for creating software with circuitous business logic or interactive functionality. That'southward why in this case matching Node.js vs. Cherry on Rail, nosotros would pick the get-go pick.

Then what well-nigh adopting and learning Node.js? You should realize that information technology is not simple. So, when you lot decide to work with information technology and program to learn but JavaScript, you lot tin can be disappointed. Moreover, a Node.js programmer needs to primary the work with JS frameworks and understand how to brand queries in databases. On the other hand, this web engineering science is a neat start to become a full-stack developer.

Withal, if you already know JS, learning Node.js is a walk in a park. And if y'all have some experience with C++ or Java, it tin exist even more comfy for you.

What are the cons?

Now permit's talk about all the disadvantages nosotros at Jelvix noted working with Node.js. Commencement of all, this tool is uncommonly inconsistent. As far as its API is concerned, it changes continually, making this technology not quite stable to work with. Of form, it can go improved in the future. For at present, we have to work with this inconvenience.

If you're edifice a CPU intensive application, you should choose Cherry on Rails, considering Node.js is not the solution here. It can result in pregnant operation issues if your awarding has to process images or render graphics. These processes need multiple CPUs. Merely because Node.js has a single-threaded processing mechanism, information technology tin bring you to the enormous resources demand.

Finally, fifty-fifty though this technology exists for a decade now, in comparison with others, Node.js is still quite young. And while it catches up with the needs of the dev community quickly, many details require significant improvements. However, we recall nosotros don't need to wait long for information technology. This tool is popular amidst developers because information technology is quite futuristic and rewarding.

which is better framework

So which 1 is ameliorate: Crimson on Rails or Node.js?

Let's sum it up. Who won – Reddish on Runway or Node.js? Based on the feedback, Node.js is an incredibly progressive engineering that is beingness constantly improved and updated.

For the basic knowledge of it, y'all need to learn only JavaScript. If you want to work with commercial projects, be fix to master much more material. But, the consequence is worth it because nowadays, this technology is frequently called for scalable project development.

Also, existence experienced with Node.js means having the possibility to become a loftier-paying chore. Today, the demand for Cherry on Rail specialists is much lower than for Node.js developers.

ruby and node frameworks

On the other hand, Ruby on Rail is an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-learn framework. It is a perfect choice for small Information technology companies and suits both frontend and backend evolution.

To make it easier to perform a last comparison of Node.js vs. Ruby on Rails, we've created a detailed infographic :

ruby vs node inforgraphic

Conclusion

As you can encounter, these technologies are somewhat equal. Therefore, nosotros can make only i determination – your choice between Node.js and Crimson on Rail should be based on the goals and requirements of your project. Of course, the more experience you take with these tools, the meliorate conclusion you tin make.

So if you lot want to launch your own projection, it is better to entrust its implementation to professionals . In item, our guys are always ready for a new collaboration and will be happy to discuss the details of your website or web-based app. We are waiting for you!