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Ruby on Rails

A full-stack Ruby framework that popularized convention over configuration and Active Record.

Official siteRepository

What it is

Rails follows "convention over configuration": name things by the rules and the framework wires models, tables, controllers and routes itself.

Inside you get the Active Record ORM, code generators, migrations, Action Cable for websockets, Active Job for background tasks and Hotwire for interactive UI without heavy JS.

Rails lets you launch products very fast. GitHub, Shopify and Basecamp run on it.

Use it when

  • A quick MVP or SaaS with a classic web interface.
  • The team values developer productivity and conventions.
  • You want the full stack in one framework.

Avoid it when

  • Services with strict single-node throughput requirements.
  • A team with no Ruby experience that needs to hire fast.

Key concepts

Convention over configuration
Names and file structure replace settings.
Active Record
The ORM pattern: a model with database access.
Migrations
Versioning the database schema in code.
Hotwire
Turbo and Stimulus: HTML-over-the-wire interactivity.

Example

A controller returning the latest posts.

Interview questions

  1. 1. What does "convention over configuration" mean?

    The framework assumes sensible defaults from class and file names. You configure only where you depart from the rules.

  2. 2. What is Active Record?

    A pattern where a model object matches a table row and can save and load itself. It has associations, validations and callbacks.

  3. 3. What are migrations for?

    They describe schema changes as code that you can apply or roll back in any environment.

Related technologies

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