What's with all the Rails hate? | Hacker News Reader

What's with all the Rails hate?

5 pointsjhacks4 comments

I am just curious. I've seen a few posts in the past few days really hating on Rails. It seems some think that it's over for Rails (and even MVC frameworks) and the future of the framework (and in some cases even Ruby?!) looks bleak.

Am I wrong to think that all this hate is (somewhat) unfounded and that Rails will be a fine choice for now and into the future? Sure, maybe Node will win out for some projects, but I feel as if Rails and MVC frameworks do have their own benefits.

What do you think?

For someone who is just starting to get going on a big project and went with Rails... I've now started to second guess myself. No one wants to rewrite code. But better sooner than later if it's inevitable. I feel as if everyone is going overboard. I could be wrong though.

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This just in: People in our industry can be highly over-opinionated, overly critical of things they disagree with, and completely hyperbolic when it comes to rhetoric.

If people actually think Rails VS Node is an apples to apples situation, then the real problem is that they see the world as full of hammers.

These are all different tools for different purposes. See them as such, use them as such. You wouldn't drill a screw into the wall with a level, you wouldn't hammer a nail in with a plunger, and you damn sure wouldn't try to tighten a nut with a chisel.

BTW, this overabundance of Node love is fairly new to this week. Last few weeks, we saw a deluge of "Node is the worst thing that ever happened" posts. Let that be a lesson. REST hate also seems to be a new topic this week (Although it's not really "REST" they're hating on, just how people are using it in a half-assed or improper implementation - but I digress).

Don't listen to the hype, and don't listen to the doom and gloom. Research, find out what will work for you, and run with it; But don't be afraid to change course when you have to. Theres no shame in admitting you made the wrong choice, so long as you can fix it down the road.

In our industry there's a lot of talk, but not much action.

Bare in mind people have been hating on PHP for years, yet it's still the most used language out there.

In the end it's about using the best tool for the job. If your project suits rails, then use rails. Who gives a shit if a vocal minority think the rails party is over.

I've been working with Rails since 2004 and am in the group that cheers both the negative and positive stories since, well, I think a lively atmosphere filled with debate is a healthy one.

And.. I'm no big Rails 3 fan but it's still a fine technology to use and even to begin a career on nowadays. Just like PHP is. Just like Java is. Rails is not going to get swapped out wholesale for anything else in the next several years but new things might start to find new niches, just as Rails did 7 years ago.

A lot of us who've used Rails for a long time can see the warts a little better and might be getting itchy feet in areas where we'd have shoehorned Rails. But that doesn't mean Rails sucks or is about to die.

Rails hate on HN? All I'm seeing is devout, unquestioning Rails worship.

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