Introduction
In the bustling world of web development, there are few frameworks that have made as significant an impact as Ruby on Rails. From its humble beginnings in the late 1990s to its current status as a cornerstone of modern web development, the evolution of Ruby on Rails has been a remarkable journey of innovation and collaboration. In this article, we will delve into the intriguing origin story of Ruby on Rails, explore its growth and development over the years, and highlight the key moments that have shaped this iconic framework.
The ‘Meet Cute’
Every great story has a “meet cute,” and the story of Ruby on Rails is no exception. It all began in 1999 (or perhaps 2000) when Jason Fried, the co-founder of 37signals, a web design company based in Chicago, found himself in a programming predicament while working on a project using PHP. In a stroke of fate, a young student from Denmark named David Heinemeier Hansson happened upon Jason’s cry for help and offered his assistance.
David had been following 37signals for some time and saw this as an opportunity to lend a hand. After reviewing Jason’s codebase, David boldly declared that the existing code “sucks” and proposed starting over from scratch. Little did they know that this serendipitous encounter would mark the beginning of a perfect partnership.
DHH Comes Up with Rails
David Heinemeier Hansson, affectionately known as DHH, had his first brush with programming at the tender age of six. His journey in programming began in 1999 when he was working on a gaming website using PHP. Over time, his comfort with programming grew, and in 2000, he found himself advising Jason Fried on various projects.
The duo finally met in person in Chicago, where David was still a student in Copenhagen. Rather than asking for monetary compensation, all David requested was laptops and equipment. With their project communication happening primarily through email, they realized the need for a project management tool. Consequently, Jason hired David to develop the backend code for what would become Basecamp, a comprehensive project management software.
In 2003, while reading about Ruby, DHH was captivated by its unique syntax and elegance. He pitched the idea of using Ruby to Jason and began working on Basecamp using this new language. Ruby “clicked” for David, combining the immediacy of PHP with the power of a sophisticated object-oriented programming language. Little did he know that his work on Basecamp would lead to the birth of something even greater.
The Release of Ruby on Rails – Poking Java Developers
The release of Ruby on Rails in 2004 marked a pivotal moment in the framework’s history. While the reception within the Ruby community was positive, the same could not be said for the wider programming world. DHH took on the role of a passionate advocate, making bold and controversial comparisons between Java implementations and Rails.
This approach garnered both a devoted following and a fair share of critics. However, DHH’s charisma and passion for Rails caught the attention of developers like Jamis Buck, who became inspired by the framework’s potential. The Rails community began to take shape, with a core team forming around DHH and contributors who sent him patches for Rails.
The Core Team and the Merb Merge
As Rails gained momentum, a core team emerged, consisting of early contributors like Jamis Buck, Jeremy Daer, and Tobias Lütke. Tobias, in particular, was drawn to Rails as he explored building a company from scratch. Rails inspired him, providing a fresh perspective and ultimately guiding him towards entrepreneurship.
The question of whether Rails should be an open source framework or a paid product arose within the core team. However, DHH firmly believed in the importance of open source, and this ethos became an integral part of Ruby on Rails.
In the early days, one of the major criticisms aimed at Rails was its scalability. Detractors claimed that Rails couldn’t handle large-scale applications. However, Tobias Lütke’s e-commerce giant, Shopify, proved them wrong. Built on Ruby on Rails, Shopify’s platform accounts for a significant portion of the global e-commerce software market, demonstrating the scalability of the framework.
Key Moments in Rails Development
Rails 1.0, released in 2004, marked a significant milestone, but it was only the beginning of a journey towards maturity. Subsequent releases, such as Rails 1.2 and Rails 2.0, introduced essential features like cookie-based sessions and named scopes. By Rails 2.3, the framework had matured to a point where developers had all the tools they needed to build applications of varying scales.
However, every story has its twists and turns. In the case of Ruby on Rails, the emergence of Merb, a young and promising Ruby framework, posed a challenge. Rather than resisting this new contender, DHH and the Rails core team saw an opportunity for collaboration. The Merb and Rails core teams merged, creating a unique and unified framework that combined the best of both worlds.