What Are the Most Common Applications of Ruby?

Updated April 17, 2023

What Is Ruby? 

Ruby is a popular programming language that is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and productivity. Thanks to its intuitive and consistent syntax, Ruby was designed to be easy to read and write. Because of this, Ruby is considered an excellent choice for software developers who want to build elegant, readable, and maintainable code.

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Why Use Ruby?

All Ruby developers agree on one thing – it’s one of the easiest programming languages you can learn. Its soft learning curve makes Ruby perfect for people trying to work some ideas out and see if they might work as a full-fledged application. That, combined with the fact that Ruby is a general-purpose scripting language, makes it a great choice for all kinds of applications.

Source: Ruby on Rails

In fact, Ruby is so powerful that you could say it can be compared to Python, Perl, or Java in how many applications you can develop with it. In other words, Ruby developers can create all kinds of tools, from web applications and servers to database solutions and custom software for industries of any kind.

Additionally, and thanks to the years it’s been around, Ruby encompasses a wide community of users that keep the programming language evolving. This, in turn, makes Ruby more powerful with each new development. Thus, anyone using Ruby for a project will find a lot of ready-made solutions to avoid starting the work from scratch while also having support from an experienced community.

This doesn’t mean that Ruby programming t will be the perfect fit for everything. It, like other programming languages, works best with certain common uses and projects. 

What is Ruby Used For? 

Ruby is popular because it’s extremely versatile. It can be used for a wide range of applications, including web development, data analysis, automation, and game development, web scraping DevOps, and more.

Throughout its very rich history, Ruby has been used to develop software for end-users and companies, servicing fields as varied as business, science, engineering, technology, and commerce. Developers are hired for offshore Ruby development projects that need digital solutions that are quick to implement.

Some examples of projects where Ruby shines the brightest include:

• Web applications
• E-commerce
• Content management
• Custom database solutions
• Prototyping

1. Web Applications

Thanks to Ruby and its numerous gems or libraries, Ruby as a programming language is a good choice to create all kinds of web apps. 

Ruby is easy to use, codes extremely fast, and offers reliable features that have already been tried and tested.

As long as your web app isn’t expecting millions of simultaneous users, Ruby is great for this, especially if you’re a startup on a budget.

Additional Reading: ‘13 Examples of Progressive Web Apps’

2. E-Commerce

Did you know that Shopify uses Ruby on Rails for its infrastructure?

Source: Shopify

This happens for a reason: Ruby has lots of gems developed precisely for e-commerce.

In other words, if you’re building an online shop and want to have it up and running in the least possible time, then contact your Ruby development outsourcing company because the language has it all – help desks, payment gateways, email campaign platforms, and more.

Uses of Ruby in the e-commerce world are essentially seamless. 

3. Content Management

If you’re planning to create a content-centric website, then Ruby has your back.

Thanks to its numerous libraries, you can build a site with ready-to-use features not just for creating content but also for sharing and distributing it among your audience.

Additionally, there are several SEO features for you to power up your content with the best practices for ranking on search engines.

Read this: '4 Creative Content Examples for Your Website'

4. Custom Database Solutions

Ruby on Rails works excellently with custom database solutions. That’s because this framework uses ActiveRecord, which allows for easy database management without needing SQL.

It also integrates itself with database management systems that gives you the possibility to manage complex databases.

5. Prototyping

As we said above, Ruby is perfect to create test versions before working on a fully-fledged application.

Since it’s so easy to use, you can create a basic structure in no time to check if your design is feasible.

It also allows you to work on an early sketch that you can show to the rest of the team for them to see what you want the final software to look like.

Ruby Offers Flexibility, Speed, and Efficiency for All Kinds of Projects

Since Ruby is a scripted server-side language, it can be used to help applications through different operations, even when the apps were created with other languages. Ruby developers use the language to create command-line utilities, helpers, and Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts. Its advantages are noticeable to development teams. 
 
Finally, it’s worth noting that Ruby, as an object-oriented language with a scripting syntax, is perfect to create backend scripts that are flexible enough to work with solutions coded in any language. 

All of that makes it perfect for certain project types, even against all the critics that say Ruby is dead.

What is Ruby used for? The possibilities are truly endless. 

Start a partnership with a Ruby on Rails Developer today!
 

Additional Reading:

• What is No-Code and Should You Be Using It?
• Top 6 Ways to Outsource App Development
• 2022 Mobile App Security Trends