Note: This post is an extension of my previous post about developing with PHP frameworks.

Recently I created a new web app using Ruby on Rails. By trade I’m a PHP and JavaScript developer so this foray into RoR broke new ground for me.

I went with Rails over a PHP framework mostly because I wanted to try something new. I wanted to try something different and with its popularity Rails was a great pick.

In brief I found my experience developing with Ruby on Rails to be both frustrating and effortless.

Frustrating: because I was new to RoR I didn’t know all of its tricks and how to do things the Rails Way. As a result I felt like I was coding at a slower pace than I usually do. Really that’s the performance hit anyone experiences when trying something new.

Effortless: once I learned some Railisms and began to get the swing of how Rails works coding went smoothly. Using Rails’ ActiveRecord was magic once I understood how and why I should use it. Also Rails’ form helpers made form handling a joy to work with. Again: this was after I picked up some understanding of how these things worked. Before understanding I was close to pulling out my hair.

So what follows is a run through of my thoughts and experiences while I used Ruby on Rails to create Dates & Pairs.

Disclaimer: I am in no way a Rails or Ruby expert so if something written is incorrect please let me know and I will update the post to reflect the correct information. Continue reading →