Forum: Ruby The great Ruby web framework multi-app challenge

I've been thinking a lot about multi-app web projects, and how none of
the Ruby web application frameworks I know offers a clean solution to
build a site that conveniently integrates multiple apps (e.g. a core
site and a forum).

Integrating a rails app with beast (a rails forum engine) for example is
just as cumbersome as integrating a rails app with a php forum engine.
This shouldn't be like that, when Ruby can offer so much more elegance.

I would like to get some insights from the community and stimulate a
productive discussion of multi-app capabilities for ruby web frameworks.
I wrote a longer blog post detailing what I think sucks about current
multi-app integration (exemplified by my works using rails), and how to
fix some of it.

There are currently a lot of promising, growing ruby web frameworks, and
right now seems like a good time to put this out there for
consideration.

Here is the link to my full post:

http://ducktyped.com/2008/1/4/the-great-ruby-web-framework-multi-app-challenge

Thanks,
Ben

On Jan 3, 2008, at 6:44 PM, Ben (ducktyped) wrote:

> I've been thinking a lot about multi-app web projects, and how none of
> the Ruby web application frameworks I know offers a clean solution to
> build a site that conveniently integrates multiple apps (e.g. a core
> site and a forum).

Camping has some support for this built-in.  Like most things Camping
it's simple stuff, but still kind of neat.

James Edward Gray II

On Fri, 4 Jan 2008, Ben (ducktyped) wrote:

> productive discussion of multi-app capabilities for ruby web frameworks.
> I wrote a longer blog post detailing what I think sucks about current
> multi-app integration (exemplified by my works using rails), and how to
> fix some of it.

(*shrug*)  I do it in IOWA all the time.  Core site.  Forum.  Tools for
managing site information.  Reports.  Dynamically generated tables.
Multiple different apps for the customer's customers.  Whatever.


Kirk Haines

On Jan 3, 2008 6:31 PM, <khaines@enigo.com> wrote:

>
> Kirk Haines
>

I tend to do it with Rack. Either a bare metal app, Mongrel hosted, A
Camping app, or the like. If there's an adapter then rack can pipe to 
it. No
restrictions on the toolchain.

I think part of the problem is the MVC approach taken by Rails.
While it does allow for a relatively clean abstraction, it is
"controller-driven".
This works well enough when all the logic is handled by *a single 
controller*.
Wicket (Java) and Lift (Scala), on the other hand, follow a
view-driven approach.
I'm just diving into Lift, but the approach seems promising: It may
work better for me. Or it may not.
At the very least, it's another approach to the same problem.

> (*shrug*)  I do it in IOWA all the time.  Core site.  Forum.  Tools for
> managing site information.  Reports.  Dynamically generated tables.
> Multiple different apps for the customer's customers.  Whatever.
> 
> 
> Kirk Haines

Kirk,

I also saw your twitter message ("Multiple apps in 1 Rails instance is a 
problem? Maybe I should write an IOWA demo that does multiple apps + 
multiple domains in 1 instance.")

I think that's a great idea (it could even be the start of IOWA's home 
at swiftcore). Throwing in some ajax might help its marketing as well.

Ben