Is Ruby on Rails easy to learn? Is it worth it to learn Ruby on Rails in 2021 for beginners?
I recently was asked to answer this question on Quora. See if you agree (I'd like to see your comments).
Ruby on Rails is easy to learn, if you start with the right tutorial. I'm the author of the book, Learn Ruby on Rails, which I wrote specifically for beginners (it's free, by the way, so don't earn any money by recommending it).
In 2021, the Ruby language is enjoying a bit of resurgence (Ruby 3.0 is now out). It's been popular for fifteen years but for the last few years, many beginners started learning JavaScript so they could build web applications with frameworks like React. Use of Ruby on Rails remained steady but it didn't get as much attention. But it's still common to get hired for jobs where Rails provides the API or backend application. There’s a reason many companies stick with Rails: Ruby is a language developers love (in contrast to JavaScript, which some developers use only because they must). The conventions and best practices of Rails lead to well-engineered applications that are easier to maintain (in contrast to JavaScript, which can become wild and wooly unless expert developers introduce discipline). You must learn JavaScript for web development but there's a good chance you'll end up working with Ruby on Rails, out of personal choice or because it's in use on your job.
I recommend learning about Stackless web development before you tackle Ruby on Rails (see Build Websites the Stackless Way). Stackless is not yet well-known but it provides a solid foundation for simpler web development. Then learn JavaScript basics. After that, start with a good introduction to Ruby on Rails.
Here's the best installation guide when you install Ruby, so you don't get headaches: Install Ruby on a Mac. Then get started with Install Ruby on Rails.
We still teach Rails. We rotate between a NodeJS/ReactJS curriculum and a Rails/ReactJS curriculum in our immersive program. Students definitely find Ruby and Rails a lot more intuitive. Node just requires a lot more configuration and orchestration, and I think students really appreciate the convention over configuration perspective with that Rails brings. For me personally, I always feel at home with Rails, and I'm having a hard time understanding why it seems to be falling out of favor. Consulting both on Rails projects and Node projects, I find you can be so much more productive with Rails. We're proficient with both, and building with Rails just seems faster.
I definitely agree that learning the basics of at least html/css/Javascript is a good way to get started before moving to rails. Thats essentially what I did (although more roundabout lol). I avoided ruby/rails for the most part initially but decided to learn them towards the end of 2019. I'm really glad I did.