Renaissance of Ruby on Rails

by Steven Baker

The video titled "Renaissance of Ruby on Rails" features Steven Baker speaking at the Ruby Warsaw Community Conference Winter Edition 2024. The central theme of his talk addresses the resurgence of Ruby on Rails, a web application framework that has seen declining usage but is now experiencing a revival.

Key Points Discussed:

Historical Context: Baker explains that Ruby on Rails is approximately 20 years old and reflects on a period when new projects utilizing the framework were infrequent. This contributed to a sense of stagnation in its popularity.
Decline and Challenges: He discusses how the shift towards micro-services and complex deployment processes led organizations to move away from Rails, resulting in what he refers to as the "Dark Ages" for Ruby on Rails.
Return to Full-Stack Development: The latest release of Rails offers new capabilities, which Baker suggests can simplify the creation of highly interactive applications while leveraging the advantages of containerized deployments.
Positive Trends in Software Development: During his talk, he emphasizes that software development practices have improved, indicating that what was once complicated has the potential to become more straightforward and efficient.
Personal Anecdotes: Baker, known for his storytelling, shares personal anecdotes from his home in Nova Scotia, using humor and familiar cultural references to engage the audience, hinting at the idea that innovative cuisine (like donairs) can spring from simple changes, similar to how Ruby on Rails can evolve through updates and community involvement.

Conclusions and Takeaways:

The talk encourages developers and organizations to reconsider Ruby on Rails, seeing it as a viable option for modern web applications.
Baker posits that using the built-in capabilities of Rails can reconnect developers with a more user-friendly and flexible development environment.
The renaissance of Ruby on Rails is not just about returning to its roots, but also about enhancing the current capabilities to meet modern development needs and complexity without losing the essence of simplicity.

Through his engaging presentation, Steven Baker conveys an optimistic view about the future of Ruby on Rails and its community, suggesting a bright path forward rather than remaining in the shadows of past trends.

00:00:09.120 So now it's time for the real showman, Steven Baker. You have to listen to his stories about the Trailer Park Boys, but now there will be something more related to the program. Hopefully, maybe, I don't know. Good luck! The stage is yours.

00:00:17.000 Thanks, buddy. Oh yeah, I need this thing too. All right, thanks. Do I get a red light on this? Oh, look at this! Are there any cats in here?

00:00:24.080 All right, cool. So I don’t remember what I said I was going to talk about. I saw the sign today for the first time and I realized I forgot to tell them I changed my mind.

00:00:30.640 I can’t remember what I was going to talk about. I was going to discuss how Rails is like 20 years old and how there weren't many new projects getting started in Rails for a while.

00:00:37.440 But it's kind of coming back, and isn’t that awesome? While I was working out my thoughts on that, I realized that writing software has gotten so much better.

00:00:44.600 We messed it up badly, making things that should be easy hard. Why did we do this to ourselves? So, uh, this is me. If you want to talk to me or curse at me on Twitter, you can tell me you hate my beard.

00:00:55.199 I’ll show this again at the end. I'm a storyteller. I'm going to tell a story and then try to make it sound relevant.

00:01:08.320 I'm from a place in Canada called Nova Scotia. It's on the east coast, and it's a small drinking province with a minor fishing problem. It's known for a couple of things.

00:01:13.720 It's known for donairs, which is very similar to a food with a similar name that you know exists over here. Back in the '50s, a guy from Lebanon moved to Halifax and decided to bring his food with him.

00:01:20.560 The locals said it was terrible, so he thought, 'Well, I'm just going to make a special sauce that appeals to the local appetite.'