What are the types of projects people do with rails?

So I’m still kinda new at this, and I was wondering about the types of
projects people do with rails. It seems that in almost every book,
the app that gets built is some kind of store. Nothing wrong with
that but some variety is good. One thing you almost seem to need is a
database. Do people every do apps/websites with rails with no
database? I guess I don’t really see the point of doing such a small
project with rails.

Share your opinions/experiences! :slight_smile:

Yes, I’ve heard of a number of people doing things like that. If you
search for something like “Rails static sites”, then you should find
some presentations/articles on the subject (there was a lightning talk
at the Ruby Hoedown about it actually which you can see here:
Site not found · DreamHost).

–Jeremy

On 8/19/07, nemesis256 [email protected] wrote:


http://www.jeremymcanally.com/

My free Ruby e-book:
http://www.humblelittlerubybook.com/book/

My blogs:

http://www.rubyinpractice.com/

Any one else? I want more than one opinion.

ALL applications use some form of database.

http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/RealWorldUsage

Doing static pages in RoR is just overkill.
Most real apps needs some form of data store (it may simply be a flat
file - but still a data store)
RoR is based on MVC (Model View Controller) - so it is best used when
there is a datasource (the model)

For me - I built a social network engine:

I use it to create scientific sample management applications as well
as specific LIMS (Lab Information Management System) for various
labs. I’ve used it for many things, including very large database
projects (millions of rows) and it scales well.

Hi,

Any one else? I want more than one opinion.

I don’t know if this will help you or not, but…

Rails is a framework for developing web-based, database-driven
applications.
Your intial question belies an interest in something that Rails doesn’t
intend to offer. If you’re looking for a new swiss-army-knife, Rails
ain’t it. And ain’t ever going to be it. The thing I like most about
Rails
is it’s clearly stated intent. If you’re interested in developing a
web-based, database-driven web site, you’d be doing yourself a favor to
take
the time to give Rails a look. If you’re interested in developing
something
else, you’d be doing yourself and us a favor …

Best regards,
Bill

Parts of rails can still be used outside of it to great benefit. I
use ActiveRecord in several projects that aren’t web-based.
ActiveRecord is simply a gem, and can still be used as such without
using the rest of rails.

I use Rails for webapplications that use a database.

Now I’m working on a social news site: http://koolontheweb.com/

In my opinion, you should not use Rails to build static sites. Try
pure HTML or Why’s Camping framework if you are interested in using
Ruby to dynamically generate static pages without a database.

I am a recovering Microsoft developer that has switched over mosst of
my new development to Ruby on Rails. For me it’s quicker and more
powerful especially for building Web 2.0 style applications that
include tagging and social networking features. So far, I have built
the following commercial RoR applications:

http://www.sigly.com
http://www.vouchor.com
http://www.chugd.com

and of course http://www.rubyology.com and other commercial
applications that cannot yet be disclosed. RoR has a strong and
helpful user communittee and activerecord simply rocks!

Cheers,
Chris Matthieu
Rubyology.com

I use Ruby On Rails for an online User profile page for a travel
company. As you can imagine, the user profiles are stored in a database.

http://npower.polkmajestic.com/enroll/traveler_form

Shandy,
Polk Majestic Travel Group

Very true - I use Rails without a SQL database quite often. I’ve used
it with rrdtool “databases”, where the “output” is basically a graph;
using Rails’ interface to Scriptaculous lets me do stuff that I
probably wouldn’t even attempt otherwise.

It’s not in Rails traditional “sweet spot”, but it’s definitely easier
with Rails than with any other toolset I know.