Research has shown that the growth of any business depends upon the technology it uses.
Technology that can smoothly handle all logical operations is quite preferable to choose. Therefore choosing the right framework or language is indeed a difficult task for any startup, when various options are around. The backend is responsible for creating the “backbone” of software applications. It is used to build and maintain the server-side logic, and powers those components which enable the user-facing side of a website.
The two most popular web development technologies, Ruby On Rails, and Node.js have become debatable options and many start-ups are getting confused about what to choose for the next project. So, here we will guide you on Ruby On Rails vs Node.js and will help you to find the best.
So, let’s begin
Background of Ruby on Rails and Node js
Let’s get some technical overview
What is Ruby on Rails?
Ruby on Rails also known as “ROR” or “Rails”, is a server-side web development framework, written in Ruby, which was developed in 2004. It is based on MVC architecture. Java does in dozen lines, Ruby does in 5-10 lines.
Rails help in the management of routine, internal logic, data computing, and other tasks. Even it is best suited for database-backed MVC web applications and metaprogramming. This framework is the best option for beginners, who readily want to develop and deploy functioning full-stack websites and web applications.
Use cases of Ruby on Rails
- Web applications
- eCommerce applications
- MVPs
- Cloud applications with complex databases
- Social networking sites
What is Node js?
Node.js is not a language, it’s an open-source server-side runtime environment of Javascript that works on Chrome V8 Engine. It is single-threaded and cross-platform, mostly used for backend development. It let the users to convert the client-side code into server-side code.
It is best known for its features of high performance and scalability. Nodejs when used with Express, Socket.io, and Meteor.js, enhances the capability of an application. This technology is best for building single-page applications, websites, and backend API services.
Use Cases of Node.js
- Real-time software and streaming apps
- Microservices
- IoT-based apps
- Backend and Servers
- Complex single-page applications
- API Development
Pros and Cons of Ruby on Rails
Where is it better to use Ruby on Rails?
ROR is a backend framework for web applications and is famous for its efficiency and scalability. You can get rich functionality with just fewer lines of code. So let’s look out at its advantages and how they are beneficial to scale applications.
Full-Stack Web Application
Ruby on Rail is a well-structured framework for developing web applications. It follows MVC architecture i.e. Model, View, Controller. That means to create a user-response app, you need to define a view, controller, and route. Though beginning with MVC is time-consuming,
giving time, in the beginning, is worth getting efficient code at the end, which is easy to read and maintain.
Shorter Development Time
ROR has large support over configuration. It’s the well-developed architecture of modules, and efficient package management systems that allow the developers to make development faster.
Content Management Systems
Rails have recently entered the content management systems and it offers various advantages. Its high abstraction layers allow the developers to quickly write rich functionality codes. It helps you to easily map databases and tables as separate objects.
Fast Coding
Ruby on Rails allows us to implement bill-in features and write code fast. It offers multiple command-line code builders, which helps the developers to avoid writing code from scratch. Its open-source libraries and ready-to-use code can help to implement more than half functionality.
Budget-friendly
As lesser time is spent at the development stage, you get access to ROR developers, which lets you easily save some cost on the project. Moreover, its open-source nature could save some licensing amounts.
Challenges with Ruby on Rails
While this language can let you higher productivity, but still you will face some issues while working with it.
Slow Performance Speed
Even Experienced ROR developers will state that this framework is slow as compared to Node js. Though its speed improves in every version, still it can’t beat Node js. Performance delays because of various reasons:
- Ruby on Rail is an interpreted language, which means code does not compile into machine versions, therefore it becomes hard for the hardware to read and process quickly.
- Node offers just-in-time compilation, which converts the JS code into bytecode rather than machine language, which in turn skips the additional conversion step and increases the web application performance. While on the other hand, ROR has recently introduced JIT-which is far away from perfect and slows down code processing.
No flexibility
Difficulty might arise when you move ahead with the ROR web development process. Because it doesn’t provide that many customizations for modules and dependencies when required.
No Static Typing
No static typing is one of the major drawbacks of Ruby on Rails. Typescript is the must-needed factor for code reliability, communication between teams, and document development. It even allows you to use special features to enhance the application’s compatibility with other platforms. But all these features are not possible with ROR.
Companies that are using Ruby on Rails
GitHub
GitHub is one of the most popular companies for private and public software facilities. It contains more than 6.1 million repositories with 22 million users worldwide. They have used ROR over the years to increase the performance, documentation, and speed
Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management tool, which lets people manage their work together and communicate with each other. It was the first app, which was developed using Ruby on Rails. The fact is they have only spent 15% of their budget on ROR and acquired huge profits from it.
Crunchbase
Crunchbase is considered a Wikipedia for startups. It is a go-to-website if you want to invest in a project or want to know, who stands behind innovative companies. Cruchbase’s backend was created using ROR, for page caching, and since then it has evolved.
Airbnb
Airbnb is an app that connects travelers and property agents worldwide. Currently, it is serving over 191+ countries and has 261 million active users. With ROR’s high-speed development capabilities, they were able to reduce the TTM.
Bloomberg
Bloomberg delivers business and market news to the users. They have used ROR to deliver intuitive interfaces to its incredible traffic of 100 million users per month. Moreover, it acquired a banging $10 billion in 2018.
Pros and Cons of Nodejs
Where is it better to use Node js?
Node js is not an overall perfect tool for the backend, as Javascript is still its primary language, which is sometimes not acceptable in certain server-side web applications. Node.js somewhere performs remarkably but sometimes it’s not up to the mark. So let’s discuss it’s some advantages and disadvantages of Node.js.
Not opinionated
Node js is unopinionated which means, you are free to work without strong opinions. It gives developers to code in their own way from scratch without any restrictions.
Server Side Development
Node JS provides effective communication between the server and the browser. It handles multiple requests cumulatively, with its long polling technique. Node doesn’t wait for any process to complete, to begin its new task.
Therefore these characteristics make it best suitable for real-time apps, online gaming, and messaging apps.
Fast Processing
Implementation of the V8 engine in Node js has given lots of benefits to this development framework. Furthermore, its asynchronous model process requests without any delays and enables the process to be non-blocking.
REST API Development
REST is very much needed in the software development company, to provide quick output to the user, whenever he is looking for something. Therefore Node’s fast processing capabilities and efficiency in handling multiple requests, make it the perfect option for REST API development.
Challenges while working with Node js
It’s difficult to handle security issues
It contained a lot of NPM packages, so no doubt it saves both time and potentiality. But still, it is not beyond danger, because Node has recently begun its scanning modules for security issues. However many of its current NPM packages have tough – cookies, js.dom, which may be associated with security threats.
Not Suitable for CPU-Intensive Tasks
Node js is not capable of CPU-bound operations, which is one of the major drawbacks of Node right now. It works well only for I/O operations
API is not Stable
Node faces a lot of API instability issues. It’s incompatible with API changes on regular basis, which leads to heavy code changes. It is also the major pitfall of Node.js
Companies that are using Nodejs
Netflix
Netflix is the most popular video streaming platform, which is a favorite among our youngsters. It is best known for its web series, and movies and right now has become the number one OTT platform. It has used Node.js for the main backend process, which has led the app to achieve bigger scalability.
NASA
NASA the top space research organization in the world has revealed that Nodejs effortlessly migrate their legacy database to cloud databases. It creates a single database for any query and reduced their access time by 40%.
LinkedIn is a networking site, used to connect professionals. It is best if you are looking for any work in your field. LinkedIn switched from ROR to Node js in 2011, to optimize mobile apps. After implementing Node js, it is said to have been 20 times faster than its predecessor
Uber
Uber is a Pseudo taxi service that provides cab services, to reach anywhere fast. This company has scaled a lot since its release. This company has used Nodejs for building its fully extensive platform. Uber used Nodejs mainly for three reasons ease of error checking, faster processing speed, and continuous development.
PayPal
PayPal is a trustworthy online platform for making any virtual payment. It used Node js for its user-facing content. PayPal developers team states that Node js empowers them to build both the server-side and client-side with one language Javascript.
Ruby On Rails vs Node.js – Head-To-Head Comparison
Let’s understand more in detail, so below is the comparison chart for Ruby On Rails vs Node.js from different aspects.
| Parameters | Ruby on Rails | Node js |
| Usage | Backend development | Backend development |
| Language | It’s a server-side web development technology and it is written in Langauge Ruby | Node js is not a language, but it’s a framework of Javascript. So JS is its primary language |
| Architecture | ROR is basically a framework, and it is specially designed for the web development process, which eliminates various configuration issues | Nodejs has many support functions, but its main language is Javascript which is not meant for the backend process. Therefore there are certain limitations in modern architectural design |
| Development Speed | Ruby on Rails is one of the easiest languages to learn and use. Various tools and processes make development faster. | Due to JS build, Node gets all the benefits of Javascript, but still, it is lagging behind the full-stack development process, that’s why it’s not able to cope up the problem with a solution. |
| Performance | As compared to Node js, ROR does not provide high performance and speed as it doesn’t have any asynchronous features with it. | On the other hand, Node has gotten fame for its remarkable performance. Its JS V8 engine and asynchronous mode make the performance 20 times faster. |
| Scalability | Ruby is incapable is achieving scalability. That’s why many big companies like LinkedIn, PayPal, and Uber have switched to Nodejs. | Because of its cluster modules, Nodejs is more scalable than Ruby |
Ruby On Rails vs NodeJS – Compatibility with Microservices
Microservices is an architectural pattern, which divides the software into independent service, which is communicated over well-defined APIs. It is much needed for complex apps, So let’s find out the microservice compatibility of both of them
Is ROR compatible with Microservices?
Ruby On Rail is more focused on Monolithic architecture, but that doesn’t make it imperfect for microservices. In recent research, Airbnb has stated that they initially begin with a monolithic architecture, but with time system grew more prominent and became more complex, so they had to switch to a Microservices architecture. As of now, they are able to deploy 3500 microservices per week. So Ruby on Rail is perfectly suitable for Microservices with needs and deployments.
Is Node js compatible with Microservices?
Node js and microservices have the greatest bonding. Developers majorly use Nodejs for microservices. Both of them build smaller parts of codes and service modules. Moreover is best for developing scalable apps and handling multiple requests at a time. Therefore, it is a perfect choice for microservices.
Ruby On Rails vs Node JS – Hiring Developers
How convenient is it to hire a Ruby On Rail developer?
As it is the oldest technology, it has gathered large community support, which can let you easily get a rich talent pool to hire ruby on rails developers. The average hourly rates of ROR developers range from $35 to $40 per hour. But it’s not mandatory, it totally depends upon the project scope and requirements. So finding Rail’s developer is not much of a tricky task, you can get the right person easily.
How convenient is it to hire a Nodejs developer?
The vast community of Node JS makes it easier to hire node.js developers for your project. The average rate of hiring NodeJS developers ranges from $50 to $ 70 per hour. But before finalizing. Just consider the developer experience with Node and its portfolio.
Ruby On Rails vs Node.js – The Conclusion
Now, we have come to an end and provided our best guide on the two famous technologies Ruby On Rails vs Node js as per our best research. Both these technologies are good for development but neither totally perfect too. Indeed both have some features which could help your business reach its peak and even some businesses are already popular in the market and earning a lot of profit. So it’s not appropriate to consider the best among them. It totally depends on you and your project scope.
we are giving you some highlights, which could make your task easier,
When Should you Choose Node js?
Nodejs shines for scalability and performance. Its ability to handle multiple requests at a time makes it a good choice for real-time apps, video conferencing apps, collaborating apps as well as messaging apps. It is not preferable for applications, with heavy images and graphics.
When Should you Choose Ruby on Rails?
While Ruby on Rails is best for CPU-intensive apps and faster development. As Node is not good for heavy images and graphics, ROR can provide the best performance to an application having high images and graphics. Even it allows you to create a prototype within a second.
So choose ROR, if you are having CPU-intensive apps and if you are building something which requires continuous I/O requests, then you should go for Nodejs.
So, Hope this article has given you true guidance, but still if you are stuck somewhere and need furthermore consultancy, then you are welcome to the UPSQODE team, we will be happy to guide you more.