Autor: 06.02.2024
Is It Still Worth Learning Ruby?
The Ruby language is renowned for its elegant and clear syntax. At one point, it was an incredibly trendy language, especially when combined with the Ruby on Rails framework, enabling easy development of web applications. Many popular services were built on Ruby; however, its popularity seems to be waning. In this article, we will address the important question: Is it still worth learning the Ruby language?
Where Ruby is used
The primary application of the Ruby language is in the creation of web applications. It gained incredible popularity in the past, thanks to the Ruby on Rails framework. This combination allowed for easy and rapid application development, used for prototyping and quickly adding new features. Thanks to Ruby on Rails, thousands of startups had the opportunity to establish themselves in the market.
Ruby also finds applications in other areas. The language is still used for task automation and software testing. Overall, it has a reasonably good ecosystem of tools, translating into a variety of potential applications.
Is Ruby still relevant in 2023?
It appears that Ruby's peak popularity is behind us. Certainly, it is not as popular as languages like JavaScript or Python. However, let's rely on real data. Look at the results of the 2023 survey from the popular site StackOverflow:
The 6.23% result indicates the percentage of respondents using Ruby. Is that a lot or a little? Surprisingly, not bad! Compared to other languages with average popularity, such as R or Dart, Ruby performs quite well. It's essential to remember that a considerable number of web projects are still based on Ruby on Rails. As long as these projects are active, there will be a demand for developers familiar with this tool.
Main advantages of Ruby
Ruby still offers certain advantages:
- Simple and readable syntax,
- Ruby on Rails framework, which is the strength of the entire Ruby ecosystem,
- Large community and good documentation,
- Decent ecosystem of tools for application development,
- As mentioned earlier, the fundamental advantage is the speed and ease of building web applications. These qualities were at the core of Ruby's success.
Many programmers speak highly of this language and enjoy programming in it. Ruby generally has a reputation as a "pleasant" language, one that you want to write code in.
Main disadvantages of Ruby
To balance things out, let's also look at the downsides of Ruby:
- Difficulty in writing applications other than web-based ones - lack of support and tools for such applications,
- Performance can be a problem, especially with large projects,
- Relatively low popularity and an uncertain future.
The facts are that Ruby has been surpassed in recent years by other technologies (such as JavaScript, which has long allowed for both back-end and front-end applications). Its relative popularity stems from the fact that a considerable number of Ruby-based projects need to be developed and maintained continuously.
Job market outlook for Ruby Developers
The fundamental issue is that employers seek Ruby/Ruby on Rails developers with significant experience. The results reflect what was mentioned earlier. Programmers familiar with this language are needed for the development and maintenance of existing applications. In this context, not much can be achieved without adequate experience in writing Ruby code. Therefore, the demand for Junior Ruby developers is relatively low.
On the other hand, familiarity with Ruby can lead to a well-paying professional career. A skilled programmer with significant experience can practically dictate employment terms. If you are trying to do something in Ruby, it's worth continuing. However, if you are looking for a language to start learning programming, there are better alternatives. This is how we could summarize our entire discussion.
Conclusion
Like any other language, Ruby has its strengths and weaknesses. A significant advantage is undoubtedly the opportunity to stand out in the job market and the chance for a specialized career, provided you have the right experience in this language. On the other hand, if you are starting learning from scratch, it might be worth considering other, more popular languages.
