Ask HN: Should I Learn Ruby?

Post by binspace » Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 4:28 AM UTC

binspace wrote: post #70

binspace wrote: post #63

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Yes, Sinatra is a Ruby web framework. Sinatra is more of a "micro-framework" and puts you closer to the http method. Basically, the api mimics http more closely, you literally use get, put, post, and delete methods to define your routes and actions. In Sinatra, you define your routes in the same place where you program your Resource's functionality, so less mapping is required. In Rails, you have a separate controlle…

Also, if you want rapid prototyping, you should look into a document store such as Mongo. Not having to write migrations (as you would with ActiveRecord + Mysql) is huge. Also, your models can be more flexible. You can add keys to your document as needed. With Mysql, you need to have a migration to add the column.

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 4:54 AM UTC

grasshoper wrote: post #80

binspace wrote: post #70

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Also, if you want rapid prototyping, you should look into a document store such as Mongo. Not having to write migrations (as you would with ActiveRecord + Mysql) is huge. Also, your models can be more flexible. You can add keys to your document as needed. With Mysql, you need to have a migration to add the column.

That's true and all, but Rails and Django were built to run on SQL dbs right out of the box. Getting them to work with MongoDB takes some work, and I don't think it's a diversion that someone just starting learning frameworks should try to deal with. As for migrations, I don't think he's gonna be dealing with anything too complicated schema-wise. Django South will write your migrations for you. Maybe Rails has someth…

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 5:38 AM UTC

acangiano wrote: post #14

zedshaw wrote: post #13

I'd say, learn Python or Ruby, doesn't matter, but try them both for a few days. One will click and the other won't. If you go the Python route, I've got a free book I'm working for beginners that might be too beginner for you: http://learnpythonthehardway.org/ But I reference two other books on that page which actually could be a good start for you. After that, check out the Django book: http://www.djangobook.com/en…

I generally agree with your comment, but I found this stament to be inaccurate: > (more popular than Rails actually) [citation needed]. The largest websites/web applications in the world are built in Rails much more frequently than in Django. And there is much more demand for Rails developers in the marketplace. I fail to see evidence that Django is actually used more than Rails is in the real world.

Post by Schmidt » Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 5:51 AM UTC

acangiano wrote: post #30

mrduncan wrote: post #20

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The largest websites/web applications in the world are built in Rails much more frequently than in Django. While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well. Let's just put it this way: Both frameworks power large sites, you pretty much can't go wrong with either.

> While we're calling each other out for citations, that's an awfully big statement to make without citations as well. I made the statement because I'm ready to back it up. Among the most popular 1000 sites on the web, you will find at least a dozen Rails sites [1]. There are extremely common names like Twitter, Hulu, Scribd, Justin.TV, White/Yellow Pages, Urban Dictionary, etc. How many Django sites do you see in th…

Post by andrewtj » Sun, Jul 11, 2010, 6:53 AM UTC

binspace wrote: post #60

andrewtj wrote: post #51

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You may want to reread his post. The penultimate sentence is a kicker.

Yeah it's a hoot, especially coming from the guy who will kill people not using statistics, which is a great read btw. http://www.zedshaw.com/essays/programmer_stats.html I'm sure it's just an off-the-cuff remark. I've made plenty in my day.