6 Technical Tips to Make you the Hippest Ruby on Rails Programmer

The Ruby programming language is suited not only for professional programmers but also newbies. On the other hand, Rails is a web framework that adopts a model-view-control approach written in Ruby.
The salient advantage of Rails over other frameworks is that it is based in convention rather than configuration. Thus, if you follow the right conventions you can eliminate lengthy configuration processes of files that can be time consuming. However, these benefits come at cost. For starters, that cost manifests itself in the fact that one needs to understand internal Rails conventions and setups. To assist you in this journey to become a professional Rail on Ruby programmer here are some important tips.

1. Save Time with Plugins

One key feature of Rails is that it has a defined plugin structure that allows its users to install and run plugins in their application. Hence, there is no need to reinvent the wheel when creating features like forums or messaging systems; there is a wide pool of Rails plugins available that can be easily installed saving you the time and the hustle of coding from scratch.

2. Understand the Model-View-Control Concept

Rails heavily relies on its design framework, model-view-control, hence it is imperative for one to understand what it entails. The model contains the program body with the main functions and generally serves as the business logic of the system. A controller is responsible for transferring data between the model and view. The view forms the part where data is represented to the user. As a golden rule one should never include logic in the view panel.

3. Populate Your Database Using Fixtures

The folder fixtures/test usually contains a yaml representation for each of the models you have generated. Use these representations to define and configure static data for your database. Start by tasking to drop, and then create, transfer and lastly seed your database.

4. Use Modules for Repetitive Non-model Functionalities.

There are instances when you need to carry out some repetitive functions, but in different modules. Further, the things you are generating are not for a particular model. In such situations modules come in handy. Modules are typically loaded from /lib and they can be easily recreated to suit various functionalities.

5. Easy Data Loading

From time to time you’ll need to move data from production to development or vice versa. Yaml_db is a plugin that enables you to load or dumb data by issuing a Rake command. The data is then loaded in a yaml file located in db/data.yml. This offers a flexible option of loading data that grants the user the benefit of reading the data from the file.

6. Use Racks to Save Time

Typically, most programming projects involve developing more than one application specific code. Web services need to be queried, code snippets rewritten, and files moved requiring several coding micro-projects. Rake is a build tool scripted in Ruby that works easily with Rails projects. This is because Rail projects have several Rake tasks already defined. To confirm this, simply run the rake -T command.

Ruby on Rails offers numerous benefits especially in eliminating hurdles common when programming powerful web applications that previously took months to code. The framework, developed in 2003 by David Heinemeier, has expanded exponentially thanks to a healthy and vibrant Rails ecosystem that links developers further facilitating knowledge sharing. One thing for sure is that Rails is gaining acceptance by programmers as one of the best frameworks for designing web applications courtesy of its systematic, not forgetting easy, approach of developing.