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 RUBY ON RAILS: A Simple Decision?
Jocelyn Amon2008
 
 
Terms of Reference
As part of the Bachelor of Information Technology course at Nelson MarlboroughInstitute of Technology, students are required to complete a third year project. Thisreport presents the findings of the research undertaken by Jocelyn Amon into theRuby on Rails technology and forms part of the overall project. Dr Clare Atkins hasbeen assigned as project supervisor.As an information technology research project, the focus is on researching an aspectof IT of interest to the researcher and, preferably, of interest to a wider audience.The project will provide an opportunity for the author to integrate many of the skillsacquired while studying at tertiary level and will impart an understanding of Rubyon Rails and its future in web development.The project report is required to be completed by 10 November 2008. Projectpresentation has been set for 21 November 2008.i
 
 
Abstract
The Ruby on Rails web application development framework was released to thegeneral public in 2004. Since then it has made a significant impact within the webdevelopment community and has been the catalyst for debate amongst developersmore conversant with the traditional development frameworks. The exponentialgrowth of websites devoted to Rails development and the recent proliferation of publications on the subject, confirm that this newer technology has captured theinterest of a large segment of the web developer community. Many of thesedevelopers and their management have an interest in knowing whether or not toadopt this new technology. This study describes the features that differentiates Rubyon Rails from previous web technologies and discusses the issues that requireconsideration in its adoption.Traditionally, information systems research has adopted a positivist epistemologyand therefore a quantitative approach is favoured in the selection and analysis of information. This paper argues that since information systems are a social construct,a greater emphasis on qualitative evaluation is justified. Therefore, while somesecondary quantitative data are presented, the majority of the findings are of aninterpretive nature and an analysis of the information contained in web forums,blogs and articles is presented and evaluated.A background outlining the relevancy of the study is given and the researchapproach used is discussed. An overview of the Ruby on Rails framework isfollowed with a discussion of the technology’s unique features and philosophy.Using a primarily interpretive approach, the researcher concludes that there isdemand for simpler and faster web development frameworks. Ruby on Rails meetsthe web development community’s requirements by simplifying and integratingfunctionality. The unique features and design philosophy built into Rails has raisedthe bar for web development tools and developer productivity. Competingtechnologies must now match these expectations and, in many cases, have alreadydone so by implementing a ‘Rails-like’ design. Developer enjoyment in their work ii
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