Django vs Rails

Difference Between Django vs Rails

Django is a free, open-source, high-performance web framework written in the popular, simple, flexible and comparatively easy-to-learn Python programming language.  It adopts an MVC (Model View Controller) design pattern.  Django seeks to simplify the development of high-end web applications. Ruby on Rails, commonly known by Rails, is also a web framework implemented in Ruby.  Rails offer a perfect blend of features of object-oriented programming and dynamically typed syntax.

Let us study much more about Django and Ruby on Rails in detail:

• The Django web framework was originally authored by Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison in 2005, which is being maintained by DSF (Django Software Foundation). Since its release, thousands of programmers, beginners, and advanced users alike have used it, owing to its user-friendliness.
• Django lays emphasis on the reusability of code and pluggability of its components, compact coding practices, minimal coupling, and rapid development. It also offers a CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete) interface for simpler and dynamic maneuverability.
• Ruby on Rails, commonly known by Rails, is also a web framework implemented in Ruby. Rails, authored by David Heinemeier Hansson, was initially released in 2005.
• Like Django, It follows an MVC (Model View Controller) framework, which facilitates the use of XML or JSON for data exchange and HTML, CSS and JavaScript for a user interface, consistent with web standards.
• Both Django vs Ruby on Rails are widely used for developing web apps and prototypes because of their standard libraries, persistence support and feature-packed frameworks—Python’s Django framework and Ruby’s Ruby on Rails.
• These are interpreted scripting languages, unlike Java, C++ and other compiled languages. However, compiled languages tend to run comparatively faster. Ruby on Rails is somewhat more popular as a web development tool than Django-Python.

Head to Head Comparison Between Django and Rails (Infographics)

Below is the top 8 difference between Django and Rails:

Key Differences Between Django and Rails

Let us discuss some of the major Differences Between Django and Ruby on Rails:

• Python is the base language of Django, hence follows all the coding conventions and stick to the standard Pythonic way of programming. On the other hand, Rails inherits its basic traits from Ruby; thus, its coding philosophy is in alignment with its parent language.
• The Rails philosophy rests on the two pillars- DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), which states, “Every piece of knowledge must have a single, unambiguous, authoritative representation within a system.” By not writing the same information over and over again, a code is more maintainable, more extensible, and less buggy, and CoC (Convention Over Configuration), which emphasizes the best way to do many things in a web application, and defaults to this set of conventions, rather than specify endless configurations. The Django philosophies include- DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), which says every distinct concept and/or piece of data should live in one and only one place. Redundancy is bad. Normalization is good. Explicit is better than implicit, listed in PEP 20, which means Django should not do too much “magic.” Magic should not happen unless there is a really good reason for it. And, loose coupling and tight cohesion, which states various layers of the framework, should not “know” about each other unless absolutely necessary.
• Each Django vs Rails implements a similar internal design principle in consonance with MVC (Model View Controller). In this architecture, each database table usually maps with their respective classes and controller, a server-side component, renders views upon receiving an HTTP client request.
• ORM (Object Relational Mapping), though similar, varies for Django vs Rails. Rails have a generic ORM enabling the code to work on all supported databases backend. Model definitions are organized through these important files- Model file contains business logic and validation rules, Migration files contain definitions of incremental changes to the database structure, and Schema file contains a reference to the current database structure. Django has an equivalent implementation with certain code-level differences- The model file contains business logic, database structure, and validation rules. Migration files are generated automatically as a model file is updated and contains incremental database changes.
• The client request is routed differently in Django vs Rails. Django mandates each endpoint to be explicitly defined in the code itself. While Rails, by default, routes URLs to controller methods. This behavior can be modified in the configuration file.
• At the front end, web pages’ behaviour can be controlled by integrating front-end technologies, including JavaScript. Rails have a built-in static compilation pipeline that uses CoffeeScript by default. Django serves static files by default while throwing open third-party applications add compilation and compression options.
• The performance of a web framework is one of the primary reasons for its popularity among business users. On this count, Rails fairs somewhat better in comparison to Django. Though, both Django vs Rails are equally used by the developer community to solve their business use cases. As it is evident, Bitbucket uses Django while Github Rails, both offering comparable overall performances.
• Rapid development and prompt delivery of working software are complex issues faced by most development projects. Thanks to Rails’ gems (libraries), applications can be developed quickly. To get the gems into action, an experienced team of developers well-versed in Rails’ nuances is desired. Rails scores some extra points over Django here.
• Longevity and durability are other considerations while choosing technology over another. In the age of big data and IoTs, more and more devices are getting connected to the network every day, adding to the data sources. The big data phenomena and their handling require heavy scientific analysis and the deployment of ML (Machine Learning) algorithms. Python (Django) code will have an advantage over Ruby (Rails) in the foreseeable years ahead.

Comparison between Django and Rails

Below is the topmost comparison between Django and Rails.

Basis of Comparison Between Django vs Rails	Django	Rails
Origin	A web framework with its origin in Python	Originates from Ruby as a robust web framework
Use cases	Suitable for development of websites with heavy data load and servers with high traffic volume	Appropriate for implementing complex and high-traffic websites and applications rapidly
Architecture	Follows MVC design pattern	Based on the MVC model with the well-layered structure
Performance	Offers very robust performance	Parity or even exceeds in performance with Django
Motivation	Enforces uniformity in the implementation of a task, at the same time, sticking to simplicity	Offers freedom and flexibility to get tasks resolved in many different ways
Distinctive features	Easy to learn, conservative, code readability, speedy and efficient implementation	Expressive, Efficient, elegant and powerful
Preferred by developers	It gives more prominence to stability in comparison with the change, conservative code and lesser updates.	Lays emphasis on creative coding, frequent updates, freedom and flexibility, and readable code
Major implementation	YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, Reddit, BitTorrent	Basecamp, Hulu, Twitter (originally), Github, Airbnb

 Conclusion

In a nutshell, Django vs Rails is a modern, robust, object-oriented and server-side web framework offering adequate flexibility and tools to develop high-end websites. Each of the frameworks has a large community base owing to their unique characteristics to be adopted by the developer fraternity.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to the top differences between Django vs Rails. Here we have discussed Django vs Rails head to head comparison, key differences, and infographics and comparison table. You may also have a look at the following Django vs Rails articles to learn more  –

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