NIVT

To begin with, Ruby is a scripting language, in the recent tradition of Perl, Python, and Tcl. It allows for a rapid development cycle and the rapid prototyping of applications. It is usually interpreted, requiring no compilation step.

Ruby is an open source, interpreted, object-oriented programming language created by Yukihiro Matsumoto, who chose the gemstone's name to suggest "a jewel of a language." Ruby is designed to be simple, complete, extensible, and portable. Developed mostly on Linux, Ruby works across most platforms, such as most UNIX -based platforms, DOS, Windows, Macintosh, BeOS, and OS/2, for example. According to proponents, Ruby's simple syntax (partially inspired by Ada and Eiffel), makes it readable by anyone who is familiar with any modern programming language.

Ruby supports multiple programming paradigms, including functional, object oriented, imperative and reflective. It also has a dynamic type system and automatic memory management; it is therefore similar in varying respects to Python, Perl, Lisp, Dylan, Pike, and CLU.

The Ruby language has additional features which indicate that in some areas it is more advanced than Java or C. Its strength lies in something known as 'Meta-Programming'. This is the ability to write computer programs that write or manipulate other programs. These abilities mean that Ruby could have important applications in the field of artificial intelligence. Reflection, or the ability of a program to reason about itself, is important for artificial intelligence research and Ruby does this very well.

Ruby is a very intuitive and clean programming language. This makes learning Ruby a less challenging task than learning some other languages. Ruby is also a great general purpose language. It can be used to write scripts in the same way you might use Perl and it can be used to create full scale, standalone GUI based applications. Ruby's usefulness doesn't end there however. Ruby is also great for serving web pages, generating dynamic web page content and excels at database access tasks.

As a newer solution that is designed to help increase the speed with which web sites can be created, Ruby on Rails has both its supporters and detractors. Here is some background on how Ruby on Rails works, and what people have to say about the application.

The principle difference between Ruby on Rails and other frameworks for development lies in the speed and ease of use that developers working within the environment enjoy. Changes made to applications are immediately applied, avoiding the time consuming steps normally associated with the web development cycle. According to David Geary, a Java expert, the Ruby-based framework is five to 10 times faster than comparable Java-based frameworks. In a blog posting, Geary predicted that Rails would be widely adopted in the near future.

Known popularly as ROR or Rails for short, Ruby on Rails is a web application framework option that seeks to use logical steps to help create workable code for the creation of web sites. As an open source project that is written in Ruby program language, Ruby on Rails uses the Model-View-controller design pattern as the foundation for how the framework functions. Ruby programming language has the advantage of being relatively easy for anyone to learn and also follows a logic sequence that many people find easy to follow.

It has been just over a year since the public debut of Ruby on Rails on July 25, 2004. In this short time, Rails has progressed from an already impressive version 0.5 to an awe-inspiring, soon-to-be-released version 1.0 that managed to retain its ease of use and high productivity while adding a mind-boggling array of new features. This article introduces the components of the upcoming Ruby on Rails 1.0 and shows you what the fuss is all about.

There are two basic principles that govern the way that Ruby on Rails works. The first is often referred to as DRY, or Don’t Repeat Yourself. The idea is to keep the language as simplistic as possible, so the code remains simple as well.

The second principle is COC or Convention over Configuration. What this means is that the programmer can rely on defaults on the naming of the classes and tables.

Rails is made up of several components, beyond Ruby itself, including:

• Active record, an object-relational mapping layer
• Action pack, a manager of controller and view functions
• Action mailer, a handler of email
• Action web services
• Prototype, an implementer of drag and drop and Ajax functionality

Since its public release in 1995, Ruby has drawn devoted coders worldwide. In 2006, Ruby achieved mass acceptance. With active user groups formed in the world’s major cities and Ruby-related conferences filled to capacity.

Supporters of Ruby on Rails hail the solution as a great way to maximize time spent on developing web pages, as it makes the mechanics of the process simpler. Ruby on Rails is also viewed as allowing more energy to be directed at the creative end of the process, providing more time to look for creative ways to have the web site stand out among so many.

At the same time, detractors of Ruby on Rails say that the solutions stifle the creativity of the programmer, as it creates a cookie-cutter predilection in the process. Dismissed as nothing more than a rigid software option that does not really save much in the way of time, opponents sometimes refer to Ruby on Rails as opinionated software.