Choosing framework

[Mark Levison]

I'm helping a friend who is going to be creating a new web app a hand
navigating the technology maze. So far I've steered him in the direction
of Ruby because it seems that a small team can build a good web app
quickly in it. So far so good. I've read a most of the Pick Axe book and
it’s great as far as it goes.

But now I'm stuck how do I evaluate the various frameworks? Rails? Merb?
I like the agnostic approach of Merb and am concerned that Rails has
already chosen the UI library (the ORM tool, etc.) for me. But I know so
little at this stage I may be missing the boat. Where do I go to learn
more? The ideal would be I write small web app in each framework to get
sense of what works. But this is unpaid work and I have a family so that
option is right out.

I’ve found the following post at InfoQ:
http://www.infoq.com/news/2007/11/forgotten-ruby-web-frameworks - it at
least mentions other frameworks. But even that news item makes no real
attempt at comparison. Are there any good comparisons of the frameworks
out there?

Where would you start?
Mark Levison
Agile Software Development Coach
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/
One Year of Scrum: Lessons Learned
http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/10/one-year-of-scr.html
Aperture vs. Lightroom - best comparisons
http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/02/aperture_vs_lig.html
Customer Retention Department - Vonage Customer Service Sucks
http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/06/customer_retent.html

 

[Sam Smoot]

I'm helping a friend who is going to be creating a new web app a hand
navigating the technology maze. So far I've steered him in the direction
of Ruby because it seems that a small team can build a good web app
quickly in it. So far so good. I've read a most of the Pick Axe book and
it’s great as far as it goes.

But now I'm stuck how do I evaluate the various frameworks? Rails? Merb?
I like the agnostic approach of Merb and am concerned that Rails has
already chosen the UI library (the ORM tool, etc.) for me. But I know so
little at this stage I may be missing the boat. Where do I go to learn
more? The ideal would be I write small web app in each framework to get
sense of what works. But this is unpaid work and I have a family so that
option is right out.

I’ve found the following post at InfoQ:http://www.infoq.com/news/2007/11/forgotten-ruby-web-frameworks- it at
least mentions other frameworks. But even that news item makes no real
attempt at comparison. Are there any good comparisons of the frameworks
out there?

Where would you start?
Mark Levison
Agile Software Development Coach
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog:http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/
One Year of Scrum: Lessons Learnedhttp://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/10/one-year-of-scr.html
Aperture vs. Lightroom - best comparisonshttp://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/02/aperture_vs_lig.html
Customer Retention Department - Vonage Customer Service Suckshttp://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2007/06/customer_retent.html

Mark,

You'll find more tutorials and fewer issues on the Rails side of
things, so if it's a simple site, there will be less pain there.

On the other hand, I think the support you receive on IRC for Merb and
DataMapper is second-to-none, so issues that you do run into have a
good chance of being addressed quickly. If it were me, I'd go down
this path, but if you're more concerned with getting the job done and
out of the way as quickly as possible, and hackability/scalability/
performance isn't that important, then I'd probably stick with Rails
at this point.

 

[James Britt]

On the other hand, I think the support you receive on IRC for Merb and
DataMapper is second-to-none, so issues that you do run into have a
good chance of being addressed quickly. If it were me, I'd go down
this path, but if you're more concerned with getting the job done and
out of the way as quickly as possible, and hackability/scalability/
performance isn't that important, then I'd probably stick with Rails
at this point.

#ramaze is one of the most active channels I've been on, and have been
amazed by how fast I can get help. Very responsive and friendly
community, and Ramaze is a rockin' framework.


I don' think it would be that hard to try some simple apps in Merb,
Ramaze, Camping, etc to get a feel for their differences.

They all seem to play well with a variety of template systems and
ORMS; Sequel is popular in the Ramaze world, DataMapper may be the
more likely choice with Merb (and I'm still partial to Og)

James

 

[Mark Wilden]

But now I'm stuck how do I evaluate the various frameworks? Rails?
Merb?
I like the agnostic approach of Merb and am concerned that Rails has
already chosen the UI library (the ORM tool, etc.) for me. But I
know so
little at this stage I may be missing the boat. Where do I go to learn
more? The ideal would be I write small web app in each framework to
get
sense of what works. But this is unpaid work and I have a family so
that
option is right out.

I would just start with Rails. 1) If another framework is better, that
means a lot of people are wrong (which is possible). 2) There is the
most information and help available for Rails. 3) Knowing Rails means
knowing the one framework that most people have heard of, and to which
other frameworks are compared.

The important thing is to just dive in, and not worry too much about
picking the absolute best framework. Ruby/Rails are agile, and that
means doing the simplest thing that could possibly work.

///ark

 

[Phillip Gawlowski]

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Mark Levison wrote:
|
| But now I'm stuck how do I evaluate the various frameworks? Rails? Merb?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Test them, by building the same (or very similar)
application in all candidates.

Also, keep in mind that Rails has the most options (and tutorials and
general information) on deployment.

~From JRuby in an application server, to the classic mod_proxy + Mongrel,
to PAssenger/mod_rails

Most of those (except mod_rails) will work for Merb and other
frameworks, too, but getting the information might be trickier.

| I like the agnostic approach of Merb and am concerned that Rails has
| already chosen the UI library (the ORM tool, etc.) for me. But I know so
| little at this stage I may be missing the boat. Where do I go to learn
| more? The ideal would be I write small web app in each framework to get
| sense of what works. But this is unpaid work and I have a family so that
| option is right out.

Well, limit yourself to an hour or two to evaluate one framework, and
see how far you get with each. Mind you, you'll still be using up time
just by reading about the different frameworks.

Also: This isn't time you lost, but time invested: You know more, and
can thusly approach similar questions easier and with a bit of
expertise. Which, to me, counts more than just saying "I've read a
couple of articles and three books on the topic".

| I’ve found the following post at InfoQ:
| http://www.infoq.com/news/2007/11/forgotten-ruby-web-frameworks - it at
| least mentions other frameworks. But even that news item makes no real
| attempt at comparison. Are there any good comparisons of the frameworks
| out there?
|
| Where would you start?

Testing them, and getting some hands on experience with the frameworks.

- --
Phillip Gawlowski
Twitter: twitter.com/cynicalryan
Blog: http://justarubyist.blogspot.com

~ "I suppose the secret to happiness is learning to appreciate the
moment."
- -Calvin
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