Rails

Rails, or Ruby on Rails, is a server-side web application framework written in the Ruby programming language. It emphasizes convention over configuration, the Don’t Repeat Yourself principle, and the Model-View-Controller design pattern. Created by David Heinemeier Hansson in 2004 and released as open source, Rails provides a structured framework for developing database-backed web applications and services. It is distributed under the MIT license.

Rails includes a comprehensive set of components, such as ActiveRecord for object-relational mapping, ActionController and ActionView for handling requests and rendering responses, and various modules for mailers, jobs, and websockets. It also offers routing, migrations, testing facilities, and scaffolding to generate boilerplate code. The framework encourages developers to follow common conventions that streamline common tasks and enable rapid iteration.

Rails promotes developer productivity through the Rails way, including sensible defaults, built-in testing, and a large ecosystem of gems. It supports RESTful design, asset management, and toolchains for deployment, and it integrates well with databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. Apps can be deployed on multiple platforms and servers that run Ruby.

Over time, Rails has evolved with new features and performance improvements. While it is considered a full-stack framework suitable for monolithic applications, some teams also adapt Rails components into more modular architectures. The framework remains widely used, backed by an active community and ongoing maintenance for major releases.