WHY RUBY ON RAILS?
Many platforms are available for Web development including Microsoft’s .NET, Java 2 Enterprise Edition, and PHP. Why, then, is there so much interest in a new platform using a relatively unfamiliar language? By its design, Ruby on Rails (RoR) lets you develop Web applications very quickly. It does this by adhering to conventions rather than forcing you to make all of your configuration decisions upfront. As a result, RoR lets you develop running applications in a surprisingly short length of time. Once you install Ruby and its various required packages, you can create a minimal Web application by running less than a half-dozen commands and editing one file (database.yml). RoR includes code generators or libraries that address many of the most common Web development tasks. The Ruby language has the object-oriented capabilities of a language like Java, yet you can also use it to create simple scripts. The language’s range of capabilities increases your ability to create applications with
