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My relationship with Ruby on Rails is a bit complicated. It's a love-hate scenario, full of fun and magic. If I had to describe my relationship with Rails in one word, it would be 'empowered.' You can do so much with it, despite being a relatively small framework in the grand scheme of things. At Shopify, one of the key problems we're trying to solve is scaling Rails to handle massive demands. We're addressing challenges like how to make Rails more approachable for new developers and ensuring that it works seamlessly with Elixir teams.
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Our focus spans from security to speed optimizations and higher enhancements. We constantly think about the future of Rails and how to keep it aligned with the needs of its user base. The framework evolves and improves continuously; for example, Rails 7 is one of the most exciting releases we've seen. It's impressive that after nearly two decades since its inception, it still manages to innovate and excite. Investing in the Ruby and Rails community is crucial for us. We aim to ensure that the language and framework remain as top options for newcomers, enabling them to flourish within the community while also supporting Shopify's growing needs.
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This investment goes beyond addressing our interests; it’s about fostering features that everyone needs to scale and effectively utilize Ruby on Rails in the future. Personally, programming in Ruby brings me joy, and using Rails enhances that experience. I want developers around the world to feel the same passion and happiness I do when developing Rails applications. I truly belong to this community, where countless talented individuals share their expertise and inspire me.
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Hello everyone! Welcome to day two of RailsConf 2022. I'm Mike Dalessio from Shopify. As my employer, my perspective might be a bit one-sided, but I'm excited to engage in an open discussion about what it's like to work at Shopify. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to talk openly about my experiences, both the positives and the challenges.
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Shopify and Rails have grown together since both were young, emerging in 2004. Our CEO, Toby, was one of the original Rails contributors and a Rails Core member, reflecting how tightly intertwined our product is with Rails. The developers' joy and experience are fundamental to our engineering culture at Shopify, encapsulating concepts like 'Omakase menus' and 'majestic monoliths.'
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At Shopify, our product vision is quite straightforward: we want to provide entrepreneurs everything they need to operate their businesses online and allow them to concentrate on their strengths. This involves not only facilitating storefront experiences and payment gateways but also introducing services like merchant financing and drop shipping through our warehouses. We strive to empower merchants to achieve one or two-day shipping, competing with giants like Amazon.
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This week at RailsConf, we’re showcasing two local Portland merchants: Aloop, which offers earplugs designed to help quiet the noise of the world, and Smith Tea, which has a tasting room in Portland. If you're interested, please stop by the Shopify booth to learn more and check out some samples.
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Returning to Rails, we've successfully scaled from small to large merchants like Sephora, Budweiser, and Red Bull—all powered by Rails. The success of Shopify owes a lot to Rails, and we want to give back as much as we can. We aim to be a company that lasts 100 years, so I think about the technology stack for Shopify in 2122. Will Rails still be relevant? It would be amazing if it is, and my aspiration is for my team to contribute significantly to that future.
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Looking ahead, we need to position Ruby and Rails as tools for the next hundred years. This means not only continuing to enhance Rails for modern projects but also ensuring production performance, enabling seamless scalability, and developing robust application architecture. We are focused on easing upgrades, creating excellent development environments, avoiding code anti-patterns, and thoughtfully integrating types into our codebases.
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Our efforts include improving tooling and maintaining robust and open-source solutions. We are enhancing VS Code to be the best Ruby editor, integrating Rails support into Sorbet, and finding ways to automate Rails upgrades. Additionally, we’re committed to enhancing Ruby performance through projects like YJIT and partnerships with Oracle, along with a half a million dollars in funding for computer science researchers. Lastly, we're actively focused on the security of the Ruby ecosystem, collaborating upstream with Bundler and RubyGems.org, and preparing to announce a long-term partnership with Ruby Central to ensure the sustainability of the open-source supply chain.
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The video you just watched features my team at Shopify, comprising both renowned experts and emerging talents who will shape the next generation of Ruby and Rails professionals. Together, we aim to ensure a long-lasting tooling and ecosystem.
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Thank you for your attention! I hope I've shed some light on our motivations at Shopify clearly. We’re not a gigantic, intimidating entity—just a group dedicated to making Ruby and Rails last as long as possible. I'm available for conversations about working at Shopify, but my greatest hope is that you find joy and value in using our software and that we collaborate on ensuring that Ruby on Rails continues as a timeless and robust toolkit.
