Node JS vs Ruby on Rails

Updated May 11, 2023

Difference Between Node JS vs Ruby on Rails

Node JS is a cross-platform runtime library and environment that allows developers to create JavaScript applications that run outside the web browser. It is free and open-source and utilized for creating server-side JS applications. Node JS allows developers to execute their code on the server side. Ruby on Rails (Rails) is a server-side web application framework written in the Ruby language. Rails help with the rapid application development approach, assisting the developer with many built-in features so that developers can solely focus on application business logic. An open-source Rails framework is ideal for developing a database-backed web application.

Node JS

• Node JS provides a faster way to write scalable and light scripts. Developers can write real-time applications, and at the same time, it gives scope for mobile application development. One can efficiently utilize Node JS for front-end and back-end development using the same JavaScript.
• Server-side capabilities are provided extensively in Node JS; a developer can listen to and reply to an HTTP request on the computer, listen to the traffic network, and at the same time can access the database from a computer directly.
• Node JS uses an event-based model to address scalability and allow rich JavaScript libraries for JavaScript modules, which helps simplify the coding.
• Many frameworks are based on Node JS, such as Express JS, Partial JS, etc. Node JS is a clear-cut winner when building a fast and scalable server-side application. Node JS allows JavaScript to interact with I/O (input/output) devices through its APIs and connect with other external libraries in various languages.

Ruby on Rails

• Rails is an MVC (Model-View-Controller) based framework that provides structures for a database, web pages, and web services. Rails is a web application framework that promotes and supports web standards such as JSON and XML for data transfer purposes. It also facilitates other paradigms such as CoC (Convention over Configuration), DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), and the Active Record pattern.
• Rails are packed with features that make the developer more productive, like metaprogramming. Another framework utilizes extensive code generation from scratch, but Rails uses Metaprogramming techniques. Rails also use code generation but depend on metaprogramming for heavy tasks. An active record would save an object into the database. Fences also do not require much configuration; they prefer the conventional approach.
• Rails that emerge in the 2000s significantly impact web development through innovative features like seamless database table creations and migrations to enable rapid application development. Its influence on other frameworks is apparent.
• Rails also include tools that make everyday development tasks easier, like scaffolding which can automatically construct some of the models and views required for a website. Another tool is WEBrick, which is a Ruby web server that is distributed with Ruby. Together with Rails, these tools provide a primary development environment. Rails have extensive support for JavaScript libraries as well. Initially, it utilized lightweight SOAP for web services but was later replaced by REST web services.

Head to Head Comparison Between Node JS vs Ruby on Rails

Below is the top 8 difference between Node JS vs Ruby on Rails.

Key Difference Between Node JS and Ruby on Rails

Both Node JS vs Ruby on Rails are popular choices in the market.

1. Developers would find Node JS to be an ideal option for small-scale projects due to its focus on non-blocking I/O and event-based applications.
2. On the other hand, Rails is a web application framework that excels in creating database-backed web applications in the MVC pattern and is better suited for modern web programming that involves metaprogramming.
3. Rails was released in 2008 and are written in Ruby, a language that is easy to learn with a straightforward syntax, and it is licensed under MIT.
4. NodeJS is derived from event-driven model architecture, whereas Rails follows a model-view-controller pattern; the model represents the data handled in an Active Record.
5. NodeJS provides capabilities to create web servers, which will handle HTTP requests asynchronously, whereas Rails uses WEBrick, Apache, NGINX, and Cherokee.
6. NodeJS has a decent size community with many projects available with Github, whereas Rails has a huge and robust community of developers and a vast repository of Github.
7. Well-versed JavaScript programmers can learn the NodeJS concept efficiently, whereas Rails has a steep learning curve recommended for seasoned programmers.
8. NodeJS has an event-driven model based on the asynchronous call, whereas the philosophy for Rails revolves around convention over configuration principle.
9. The installation process for Rails is longer than that of NodeJS since some archive files must be installed on the system.
10. NodeJS has an interpreter to interpret and execute JavaScript code, whereas Rails has a built-in static compilation that uses CoffeeScript by default.

Node JS vs Ruby on Rails Comparison Table

Below is the topmost Comparison

Conclusion

At the same time, NodeJS can be inconsistent; its APIs keep on changing at frequent intervals. Any Express application structure is highly flexible and accessible, which can be a loose side for any application. Rails are very strict, so it’s hard to write the wrong code; there are a lot of callbacks in NodeJS, which is entirely event-driven model-based, which causes problems for developers who are not used to asynchronous programming.

These have their pros and cons, but both are beautiful technologies. Thus, every aspect of the project should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis rather than believing one is better than the rest of the situations. The developer’s ease of usage and skills would pave the way for project development promptly.

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