According to the report from Hired, Ruby on Rails was the most demanding skill in 2022.

The most in-demand skill was Ruby on Rails, with engineers skilled in this framework and scripting language receiving 1.64x more interview requests compared to the marketplace average.

Ruby first appeared in 1995, four years after the appearance of Python. It was designed by Yukihiro Matsumoto. It was designed with a similar purpose: to be simple, high-level, and dynamically typed.

Ruby succeeded with that and these days it can offer plenty of impressive qualities. Let's find out about them.

Simplicity

Ruby syntax is similar to Python syntax. Sometimes it is even more readable. When Python uses spaces for defining logical blocks, Ruby has dedicated constructions.

For example, let's look at the simple function in Ruby.

def calculate(a, b)
  if a > 0 && b > 0
    a + b
  end
end

We can see the biggest difference in Python syntax: the reserved word end that is used for wrapping up the construction. This is a logical step that contributes to code readability. Especially to everybody who is learning to program for the first time.

Ruby has small differences from Python code. If you know already Python, you can surely say that you know Ruby.

The syntax is self-explaining and logical. Dynamic typing simplifies understanding the code at the beginning. The language was designed to be readable in order to help developers stay productive. And beginners receive a gradual learning curve.

Wide Application

Ruby became popular mostly because of the framework Ruby on Rails. That is a web framework for rapid development. It empowers faster build and ship a web application. A few big enterprises such as GitHub or Shopify prove that Ruby on Rails can scale well.

But Rails is not a single framework. Sometimes you need a simple application and there is no need to use the entire power of Rails.

You can consider Sinatra or Hanami. Both claim simplicity and are lightweight. They are around for some time and are successfully being used by companies. So you will have good support and documentation.

On top of that, Ruby is good for scripts. It works with files and directories efficiently and has many helpful methods. It helps with the automation of many processes. As an example, check out Fastlane - a tool for automating build distribution for iOS and Android.

Universal

The best part of Ruby is that it is universal. It fits well in object-oriented concepts. It has classes, inheritance, and encapsulation. That allows building applications following domain-driven design.

At the same time, Ruby follows the functional programming paradigm too. The language has many built-in functions helping with everyday tasks.

data = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
data.map { |item| item * 3 }
    .filter { |item| item % 2 == 0 }

The piece above demonstrates the widely used functions map and filter. There are plenty available, you can find them in the official documentation.

Another great feature of Ruby is extensibility.

It is possible to define modules with certain functionality. Later we can include those modules in our classes and expand functionality. Many open-source libraries employed this trait.

For example, the library CanCanCan brings authorization capabilities to the classes. Including it allows checking and restricting permissions to users and keeping your code clean.

When talking about third-party libraries, it's worth mentioning the strong community. Rubygem is a central repository for all Ruby libraries. You will find there any library for your needs and receive support from the maintainers.

Nowadays we hear a lot about Python. My friend said once "I am afraid when I open my fridge I see Python there". And indeed that programming language took the leading position along with Javascript.

But there is another awesome programming language that didn't receive as much attention as Python.

Ruby has impressive functionality and is worth it to use more. Start learning Ruby and you will not regret it.

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