DEV Community: Mamta Shanware

Ruby and Rails: Are They Still A Good Option?

Mamta Shanware — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 12:59:09 +0000

For people involved in web development, the web development framework Ruby on Rails (Rails or RoR) and the associated programming language Ruby are popular names.

Since their inception in 2005, Rails and Ruby have both come a long way. Over the years the language and the framework both have matured and became more stable. However, for the last few years, there has been a buzz of both losing their trendy status and dying slowly.

Are Ruby and Rails really losing their shine? This demands a reality check.

Let’s check some stats first:
• As on date, the number of GitHub contributors on Rails code stands at 3995
• Worldwide demand for Ruby on rails developers on LinkedIn jobs shows search result as more than 32k

• Indeed.com shows that Rails developer in the US can expect a salary of $123,792, higher than Django, python, Java, PHP developers’
• Biggest names still rely on Rails for a good part of their stack. Companies like Basecamp, GitHub, Shopify, Airbnb, Hulu and Zendesk all retain elements of Ruby On Rails
• Ruby and Rails’s latest releases make them better and easier for developers. Rails 6.0.2.2 and 5.2.4.2 have been released!

Let’s do a popularity check:
• Web application frameworks shows a downward trend for Ruby on Rails

Source: web framework popularity
• Google trends shows falling popularity of Ruby on Rails framework

Source: Google Trends
• Tiobe index for programming languages also shows a decline in Ruby’s popularity

Source: Tiobe index for Ruby

It’s evident from the data that Ruby and Rails are on a declining trend. However, the job market, community and salary statistics show the demand for Ruby on Rails developers is still good.
This is sort of contradictory, isn’t it?

Let’s dig deeper to see why that is so.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

If the data is showing a declining trend, there has to be a good reason for it.

Why is the popularity of Ruby on Rails is falling?
Let’s look at some common challenges faced by Ruby and Rails users and dissect them one by one.

Slow runtime speed

The slow runtime speed goes against the popularity of Ruby on Rails. Compared to other popular frameworks like Node.js, Golang or Django, it falls short on performance. However, runtime speed is not a big issue as long as your application does not attract huge traffic like big apps such as twitter.
In many cases, Rails cannot be blamed solely for the slow runtime speed. Bad server architecture, database design or poorly written code can also contribute to the issue. Recently, Rails 6.0.2.2 has been released with features that make Web application building easier and faster.
Many of Ruby language’s inherent performance issues were addressed after the release of Ruby 2.6.1. Also, with Ruby’s performance optimization, Ruby 3 is expected to be three times faster than the previous version.

Not scalable enough

Another issue responsible for putting a blot on the reputation of Ruby on Rails is scalability. The issue was highlighted when big names like twitter decided to scale back some part of their infrastructure from Rails to Scala. However, the framework cannot be blamed for the scalability issue entirely. Scalability depends on many factors of infrastructure like architecture, databases, caching, etc. Ruby on Rails can scale fine if these factors are built correctly for handling sudden surges in the traffic.

Rails works fine with most of the apps. Many startups use this framework for their development. It allows them to build a prototype and scale it up later as market demand grows.

Less room for flexibility

Rails framework is opinionated, allowing the developers very little flexibility while developing applications. The idea behind Rails controlling the reigns was to enable the developers to create applications faster while using best web development practices. However, it leaves no room for creativity for building unconventional applications.

Poor integration with AI/ML

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the hottest technologies that every modern app is integrating with. Unfortunately, Ruby does not have the necessary libraries for such integration. Here, Python and Java have the upper hand, which makes them more popular among web developers.

Too old to be cool?

Every new technology or framework that comes into the market seems cool initially. People want to try and test it. Everyone wants to learn, use and contribute to the newest technology in the market. As the users and community grow, the technology becomes trendy. But, once it matures, the excitement fades away. The same happened with Ruby on Rails.

Rails is a mature and stable framework providing the developers with a hassle-free environment where they can focus more on business needs and logic. But many developers and businesses are in a hurry to try out new frameworks and languages with the hope of getting better performance. However, shifting is not always worth the amount and time spent. A better option is to put experienced Rails developers on the task who know how to get the best out of its matured environment.

Ruby and Rails may not be as popular as they once used to be. But still, there are areas where they are hard to beat!

Fast development

Rails is way ahead of its competitors when it comes to development time. Rails guides the developers at every point resulting in nearly 40% faster development compared to those using other frameworks. It’s the best-suited framework for startups that quickly want to create an MVP before building a full-feature app.

Business logic implementation

Rails developers can easily implement complex business logic in their applications. If you want to create an API, Rails can make your job easier and faster with Rails API mode. With default ActiveRecord, a strong developer community and Webpacker support, Rails 6 allows you to quickly use frontend frameworks like React.

Huge Gems Library

Ruby has a huge community of developers that provides a massive library of gems. This allows you to concentrate on actual logic without bothering about necessary implementations. You can add many free features provided by Gems while developing apps. The massive library reduces the pain of developers. With ready to use gems, the time to market is also greatly reduced.

There’s still room for Ruby and Rails

With so many new frameworks available, Rails is still good for some type of projects:

 Regular applications that do not attract huge traffic can use the power of Ruby and Rails
 E-commerce applications can use ready to use gems to quickly add features and get their apps up and running in no time
 Custom database solutions can leverage the capability of Rails to integrate with DBMS like Postgres and use Active records to create quick and easy solutions
 Content centric websites can use SEO friendly tools built into Rails
 Businesses can create prototypes quickly using Rails and understand the market response of their products

To wrap it up!

With so many alternatives available, Ruby and Rails may not look like a good idea to use. However, Ruby and Rails have matured over the years. They have been successful in addressing the developer’s issues by adding many new features with every new release. An experienced developer may use the framework to its full potential and bring out the best for the project.
Hope Ruby and Rails get their lost glory back soon!

DevOps Resume Tips: An Essential Guide To Write An Impressive Resume

Mamta Shanware — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:21:26 +0000

With most companies adapting DevOps methodology, the DevOps job market is booming. DevOps market size is expected to touch $14969.6 million by 2026. If you are planning to start or shift your career in any of the DevOps roles, you are on the right track and your job search will not last long.

The first step towards landing a lucrative DevOps role is to write an impressive resume. Let’s look at some tips and tricks that will help you create a great DevOps resume that stands out and ensures many interview calls.

1 Choosing right format

The key to an eye-catching resume is its format. A right kind of format greatly increases the chances of getting an interview call. Most commonly used format for a DevOps role is the reverse chronological format where the focus is on presenting your work experience in reverse order, keeping the current job first. The major sections will be in this order - contact, summary, work experience, education, skills and additional.
For career changers, from some IT role to a DevOps role, using combination resume format is more suitable, where the focus is on skills. Here you can have sections like skill summary, work experience and education.

2 Resume Objective/summary?

A resume summary or objective should provide the hiring manager a sneak peek into your work experience and accomplishments. It should not just emphasise your passion towards work, role or company.
For example, a bad summary would be – “Seeking DevOps engineer position due to passion towards tech. A quick learner and problem solver”. However, a good summary would be – “A skilled DevOps engineer with networking and programming experience. Experience of setting up 10 servers as well as writing automation scripts. Was instrumental in cost cutting by 15% at so and so company.”

3 Rightly highlight your education

For a DevOps role, hiring managers would be more interested in your experience rather than your education. Still, your education may become relevant to hiring managers if clubbed correctly with accomplishments related to the job.
While providing information of your college, year and degree, you can mention accomplishments relating to the job you are seeking. For example, along with degree you can mention – excelled in programming and networking.

4 Include Skills and Competencies

This is the most important part of any DevOps resume. However, most people commit a mistake here by listing all the DevOps skills that they have ever heard of. Result? Hiring manager knows within a second that you have spoofed.
The key is to tailor your resume according to the skillset required for the job. Highlight those skills that you really know well and are also there in the job ad.

5 Have Certifications?

Although certifications are not as important as to have a hand-on experience, nevertheless they can come handy for an entry level DevOps position.
Few certifications which can be considered by hiring managers are – AWS, CCNA etc. So, for entry level jobs, don’t forget to highlight any relevant certifications if you have them.

6 Have hands-on experience?

Nothing can beat the solid hands-on experience in DevOps. However, you have to present it in a way that clicks. For example, in a DevOps puppet resume, if you just put – “Was in-charge of configuration management”, then it will not help you. Instead write – “Used Puppet, improved quality and slashed customer complaints by 25%” for a more effective resume.

7 Add a link

Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date and provide its link. This is because almost all the recruiters are there on the LinkedIn. Also, if possible, you can provide the link of any relevant past project or work that you have worked on. You can add a link to your work for example - GitHub, SlideShare etc. This will provide some credibility to your resume.

8 Include Open Source Contributions

In addition to above all, you can leverage your open source contributions to stand out from the crowd. You can tell about your contributions to any open source project.
In case you do not have a hands-on experience on any particular technology or tool that the job requirement mentioned. In such cases, you can tell about your open source contributions to any related technology or tool. For example – If the job requires you to have knowledge or experience of Jenkins. Let’s say you do not have a hands-on Jenkins experience. However, you know the principles of continuous integration testing through your work on projects using Buildbot or Travis CI. In such cases it will surely help if you provide information of your open source contributions.

9 Need a Cover Letter?

Its wise to add a cover letter to your resume. The reason is – it provides you an opportunity to become “The one’’ from “One in thousand candidates’’.
To best utilise this opportunity – personalise it by starting with manager’s name, show that you know why this position is needed in the company and how you can help in meeting company need. Bingo! You are sure to get the interview call.

10 A starter in DevOps?

If you have never held any DevOps position but have experience in IT or development, you can be considered for a DevOps position. For entry-level positions, you might have to think and work differently on your resume since you may not have enough technical skills to impress your hiring manager.
The key is to highlight any skills that you learned in your last position and that fit into DevOps philosophy. For example- instead of writing no DevOps experience at all, you can write - setup and managed 10 windows 2008 servers. Additionally, you can also mention any organisational goals that you helped to achieve in your last position like – Helped cutting company cost through vendor management. You can also tell about any scripting, relevant volunteer work or certifications that you have earned.