How Ruby on Rails Compares with PHP

As the two primary web coding languages, many beginning and advanced developers debate the merits of Ruby on Rails versus PHP. Like any great rivalry, the languages have developed and evolved, answering gaps, criticism and needs over time to become more mature. With each subsequent release, the languages raise the bar a bit further.

Importantly, there is no single answer on which framework you should use, although there is a learning curve when switching from one to another. Most commonly, clients ask developers which language is ideal for rapid deployment of an application. If you are faced with this question and want to offer some insight to your client it’s important to understand the key differences between the frameworks.

To start, it’s important to understand how the languages began, as well as how they have evolved over time. Ruby is a much older language and has a firmer foundation in Object Oriented programming. For that reason, the language standards of inheritance, closures and dependencies are much more straightforward. Chances are you could show an intelligent person who doesn’t know Ruby the code and they’d have a pretty solid sense of what you’re working with – perhaps akin to how a French speaker can understand the basic structure of Spanish.

When it comes to PHP, however, the language really was only adapted for object oriented purposes since its roots are in simple publishing. As PHP has evolved, however, it has built up libraries and frameworks which offer more stable use and application over time. Still, Ruby has a standard set of components out of the box while you have to find a suitable PHP framework that works well. If you’re just walking into a new idea and looking for a quicker way to deploy your application then Ruby on Rails can now provide the ability to code, deploy and scale in less time. Rather than focusing on the differences, however, insight into the primary advantages of each language can help quality programmers determine how to code their next app:

Benefits of PHP

The foremost benefit of PHP is the extensive developer community which means you can find partners, programmers and support for your projects more easily. Nearly every web host supports PHP, which means you will find it easier to install, deploy and update your application without worrying about requirements. Extensive documentation and support through Zend makes it easier to learn the language, as well as using common development platforms such as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP.) The language is built upon arrays so if you have a background in C-languages, then you’ll feel quite comfortable deploying in PHP.

Benefits of Ruby on Rails

Rails is built from the ground up as an object oriented language, and it has a structure that makes it highly attractive to experienced coders. The classes are much more straightforward and allow for cleaner code. The common expressions and shared libraries make it easier to use common components for your CRUD and other modules. In fact, with Ruby on Rails you can focus on what makes your app unique since most common aspects are ready to go out of the box.