Description
Rails is a web-application framework that includes everything needed to
create database-backed web applications according to the
Model-View-Controller (MVC)
pattern.
Understanding the MVC pattern is key to understanding Rails. MVC divides your
application into three layers, each with a specific responsibility.
The Model layer represents your domain model (such as Account, Product,
Person, Post, etc.) and encapsulates the business logic that is specific to
your application. In Rails, database-backed model classes are derived from
ActiveRecord::Base. Active Record allows you to present the data from
database rows as objects and embellish these data objects with business logic
methods. You can read more about Active Record in its README.
Although most Rails models are backed by a database, models can also be ordinary
Ruby classes, or Ruby classes that implement a set of interfaces as provided by
the Active Model module. You can read more about Active Model in its README.
The Controller layer is responsible for handling incoming HTTP requests and
providing a suitable response. Usually this means returning HTML, but Rails controllers
can also generate XML, JSON, PDFs, mobile-specific views, and more. Controllers load and
manipulate models, and render view templates in order to generate the appropriate HTTP response.
In Rails, incoming requests are routed by Action Dispatch to an appropriate controller, and
controller classes are derived from ActionController::Base. Action Dispatch and Action Controller
are bundled together in Action Pack. You can read more about Action Pack in its
README.
The View layer is composed of "templates" that are responsible for providing
appropriate representations of your application's resources. Templates can
come in a variety of formats, but most view templates are HTML with embedded
Ruby code (ERB files). Views are typically rendered to generate a controller response,
or to generate the body of an email. In Rails, View generation is handled by Action View.
You can read more about Action View in its README.
Ruby on Rails alternatives and similar gems
Based on the "Web Frameworks" category.
Alternatively, view Ruby on Rails alternatives based on common mentions on social networks and blogs.
-
Sinatra
Classy web-development dressed in a DSL (official / canonical repo) -
ReactOnRails
Integration of React + Webpack + Rails + rails/webpacker including server-side rendering of React, enabling a better developer experience and faster client performance. -
Padrino
Padrino is a full-stack ruby framework built upon Sinatra. -
Volt
A Ruby web framework where your Ruby runs on both server and client -
Ramaze
Ramaze is a simple, light and modular open-source web application framework written in Ruby. -
NYNY (New York, New York)
a (ridiculously) small and powerful web framework. -
Scorched
Light-weight, DRY as a desert, web framework for Ruby. -
Plezi
Plezi - the Ruby framework for realtime web-apps, websockets and RESTful HTTP -
Nancy
Minimal Ruby microframework for web development inspired in Sinatra and Cuba. -
Glimmer DSL for Web
Glimmer DSL for Web (Ruby in the Browser Web Frontend Framework) -
Glimmer DSL for Opal
Glimmer DSL for Opal (Pure-Ruby Web GUI and Auto-Webifier of Desktop Apps) -
data_type_validator
Simple DSL for datatype validation for basic data types. Inspired from GRPC DSL
WorkOS - The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS
* Code Quality Rankings and insights are calculated and provided by Lumnify.
They vary from L1 to L5 with "L5" being the highest.
Do you think we are missing an alternative of Ruby on Rails or a related project?
README
Welcome to Rails
What's Rails?
Rails is a web-application framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.
Understanding the MVC pattern is key to understanding Rails. MVC divides your application into three layers: Model, View, and Controller, each with a specific responsibility.
Model layer
The Model layer represents the domain model (such as Account, Product,
Person, Post, etc.) and encapsulates the business logic specific to
your application. In Rails, database-backed model classes are derived from
ActiveRecord::Base
. [Active Record](activerecord/README.rdoc) allows you to present the data from
database rows as objects and embellish these data objects with business logic
methods.
Although most Rails models are backed by a database, models can also be ordinary
Ruby classes, or Ruby classes that implement a set of interfaces as provided by
the [Active Model](activemodel/README.rdoc) module.
View layer
The View layer is composed of "templates" that are responsible for providing appropriate representations of your application's resources. Templates can come in a variety of formats, but most view templates are HTML with embedded Ruby code (ERB files). Views are typically rendered to generate a controller response or to generate the body of an email. In Rails, View generation is handled by [Action View](actionview/README.rdoc).
Controller layer
The Controller layer is responsible for handling incoming HTTP requests and
providing a suitable response. Usually, this means returning HTML, but Rails controllers
can also generate XML, JSON, PDFs, mobile-specific views, and more. Controllers load and
manipulate models, and render view templates in order to generate the appropriate HTTP response.
In Rails, incoming requests are routed by Action Dispatch to an appropriate controller, and
controller classes are derived from ActionController::Base
. Action Dispatch and Action Controller
are bundled together in [Action Pack](actionpack/README.rdoc).
Frameworks and libraries
[Active Record](activerecord/README.rdoc), [Active Model](activemodel/README.rdoc), [Action Pack](actionpack/README.rdoc), and [Action View](actionview/README.rdoc) can each be used independently outside Rails.
In addition to that, Rails also comes with:
- [Action Mailer](actionmailer/README.rdoc), a library to generate and send emails
- [Action Mailbox](actionmailbox/README.md), a library to receive emails within a Rails application
- [Active Job](activejob/README.md), a framework for declaring jobs and making them run on a variety of queuing backends
- [Action Cable](actioncable/README.md), a framework to integrate WebSockets with a Rails application
- [Active Storage](activestorage/README.md), a library to attach cloud and local files to Rails applications
- [Action Text](actiontext/README.md), a library to handle rich text content
- [Active Support](activesupport/README.rdoc), a collection of utility classes and standard library extensions that are useful for Rails, and may also be used independently outside Rails
Getting Started
Install Rails at the command prompt if you haven't yet:
$ gem install rails
At the command prompt, create a new Rails application:
$ rails new myapp
where "myapp" is the application name.
Change directory to
myapp
and start the web server:$ cd myapp $ bin/rails server
Run with --help
or -h
for options.
Go to
http://localhost:3000
and you'll see the Rails bootscreen with your Rails and Ruby versions.Follow the guidelines to start developing your application. You may find the following resources handy:
Contributing
We encourage you to contribute to Ruby on Rails! Please check out the Contributing to Ruby on Rails guide for guidelines about how to proceed. Join us!
Trying to report a possible security vulnerability in Rails? Please check out our security policy for guidelines about how to proceed.
Everyone interacting in Rails and its sub-projects' codebases, issue trackers, chat rooms, and mailing lists is expected to follow the Rails code of conduct.
License
Ruby on Rails is released under the MIT License.
*Note that all licence references and agreements mentioned in the Ruby on Rails README section above
are relevant to that project's source code only.