We use Java as the foundation for our product framework at work. While we’ve always been pleased with Java compared to the P’s in LAMP (PHP and Perl), I’ve often wondered, “Is there an easier way? Do we really need all these pieces and parts that make up our stack? Can we build sites faster and with more predictable results?” While I think Java is a fantastic language, I think it tries to be all things to all people. We don’t need to write embedded systems. We don’t need to tie together disparate systems with middleware. We don’t need massive EJB deployments. We need to build feature-rich, dependable, scalable, and beautiful web sites. And we need to build them yesterday quickly.
Enter Ruby on Rails. I’ve been using Ruby on Rails outside of work for about a year now. The first thing I will say is that it’s FUN. At my age I don’t want to futz around with bits and bytes, memory allocation, and the like. Ruby on Rails seems to let me focus on building cool stuff and not on wrestling with the framework to bend it to my will.
The second thing I’ll say is it’s easy to get up and running and to deploy changes to your applications. We have a very intensive build and deploy process surrounding Java and our sites. Nothing makes me more frustrated than spending 30 seconds to fix a typo and having to go through a 15 minute deployment process. With Ruby on Rails, that pain point goes away since I can make changes to my code or my templates and simply refresh my browser to see those changes.
The last thing I’ll say is that I’ve been using Java for a long time and part of my infatuation with Ruby on Rails may simply be due to the fact that it’s new and exciting. Regardless, we’re going to continue to explore the Ruby on Rails framework for our next major iteration of our product. I think at the very least that it’s a good exercise, and we may just find that we need to take the plunge and move away from Java for our future web development efforts.
