Picking a programming language for app development can be a real challenge nowadays since there’s an endless choice of software to choose from. Different programming languages have different advantages and disadvantages, especially when it comes to app development, which requires certain specific features. App development specialists can pick from one of the 3-4 more popular programing languages but all these have different approaches to solving problems. As a general rule, you should go with a language that provides good tools for scalability, optimisation and maintainability.
Ruby for App development
Ruby is a favourite programming language for app development and web development – It can be used in many different areas such as writing scripts, apps, games, research, prototyping and administration. HP, NASA, Cisco and many other companies use Ruby for their tech needs. Apart from that, Ruby also works on Apache, nginx and there are even web servers written in Ruby.
Ruby was first created in 1995 by combining different languages such as Smalltalk, Lisp and Perl into one well balanced highly reliable programming language. One interesting aspect is that the program code is stored in plain text, which can be an asset.
Ruby’s a clean app development programming language
Ruby’s praised for its cleanliness and the following of certain principles which make app development easier:
There’s no need to repeat code – by simply writing it and putting it in the right place, Ruby spares developers from unnecessary work.
Conventions over configuration – with Ruby, there are plenty of methods already written and available for use but in certain cases they can be rewritten to fit a different purpose. This makes writing code much easier and clearer.
Objects
With Ruby, everything is focused on the object. This is called object-oriented programming meaning that each piece of code can have its own actions and properties. Here is an example of code in which an action is applied to a number:
10.256.round
# we will get a round number 10
In most languages primitive data types such as numbers are not objects – Ruby allows developers to define object variables and methods for all data types which in turn simplifies Ruby’s use since the rules applied to objects can be applied to the entire Ruby.
Ruby is flexible
Ruby’s owes much of its popularity due to its flexibility – it allows users to modify, override or delete basic parts as needed. Ruby’s main focus is freedom for the programmer – this is one of the reasons why it’s such a great app development language.
Ruby supports only single inheritance and offers the concept of modules where modules are collections of methods. Classes can mix in a module and receive all its methods. Eg: Any class may mix in enumerable module which in turn adds a number of methods that are used to create cycles:
class Collection
include Enumerable
end
Portability
Although it was developed on Linux/GNU, Ruby offers high portability – you can work on Windows XP/7, Mac OS X, UNIX and others. Another benefit is that you can work with the jQuery JavaScript framework, MVC, TDD, design demplates and ORM (ActiveRecord).
Community support
Community support is one of the most important strengths of Ruby. You can publish your own modules in the open access section of Ruby’s website or ask for help with your project. Thanks to Ruby’s community, thousands of solutions and code bits are available for users just one click away. This is a treasure trove for programmers building app development projects. Other useful things include authentication and authorization systems, test data, share buttons for social networks, e-mail sending systems and many others are waiting to be implemented. If you need to modify it, you can do it with ease and share it with the community.
Conclusions
All programming languages have strengths and weaknesses but Ruby is our top favourite due to its ease of use and versatility, especially when app development projects are involved.
