RUBY ON RAILS OR JAVASCRIPT

Software development, be it backend, frontend, or android development has seen a rise in popularity during the past 15 years. Given the fact that various statistics show that the rise of software developers in the near future will grow immensely by 2030, the dilemma for new developers would be, what is the best language to learn? What should I choose between Ruby and JavaScript? Where should I Begin?

Hight-level definition

Ruby and JavaScript are two languages that are both on demand. They can both get you in the lucrative business of web development. However, just like any other language they both have their pros and cons.

So, what is JavaScript? and what is Ruby on Rails? For starters JavaScript is a scripting programming language. It allows you, the developer, to implement complex features on web pages. Every time you see a web page displaying timely content updates, animated 2D/3D graphics, interactive buttons, and interactive maps, then you can be sure that JavaScript is in use.

JavaScript, HTML (a markup language used to structure and give meaning to web content) and CSS (a language of style rules that we use to apply styling to HTML content.) are considered as the three layers build on top of one another to give your favorite website the good look and feel.

Ruby on Rails, better known as Ruby. Ruby is used to render HTML templates, update databases, maintain live pages via WebSocket, the list is endless. Simply put, it is an amazing language that builds amazing web apps on both the frontend and the backend. Ruby is fairly easy to use and understand, especially for upcoming developers who are still thorn between choosing a simple and easy language and a popular language.

JavaScript

This is a language that is constantly rated as one of the top scripting languages. This is mostly because it has amazing frameworks that simplify the work of developers, especially frontend developers. It allows you to add complex functionality to your web page. However, that’s not all you can do with JavaScript. Apart from being loved by web developers, the language can also be used to build Mobile and Desktop Applications. It is also one of the best languages to build almost any type of Web Game.

This simple JavaScript code, simply put, involves selecting a paragraph, that is the p in the first line, and attaching an event listener to enable the updateName() function code block, line (5-8), to run when it is clicked. The function asks the user for a new name, and then it inserts it in the paragraph, again with the ‘p’ tag.

In order to add JavaScript to your HTML, you use the <script> element. For external JavaScript, simply replace the current <script> element with  <script  type = "" src = ""  defer ></script>

Ruby on Rails

The major difference between Rails and other languages or frameworks used in development is speed and ease of use that the language gives. It makes it easy for developers to use it. Any changes that you make to your application are immediately applied. This means that the language is not time consuming when it comes to it being used for development. Rails is made up of several components. The components include:

o   Active record. This is an object-relational mapping layer

o   Action pack. This is a manager of the controller and view functions.

o   An Action mailer that handles emails

o   Action web service

o   Prototype to implement drag and drop of Ajax functionality.

Ruby on Rails runs on most, if not all, frameworks that support CGI. It also supports various databases including Oracle, and PostgreSQL. You can contribute towards Ruby On Rails improvement given the fact that the language was developed as an open-source project. You can find its distributions through rubyonrails.org

To sum it up, if you want to start a career in software development, I would suggest that you decide what it is you want. What do you want to do with the language? If you can answer that question then you can easily decide what language you want to learn first. Keep in mind “There is no end to learning something new”. That said, whatever language you choose, you can always come back and learn another language.