Top Qualities and Skills of a Ruby on Rails Developer

In the world of programming, certain skills and qualities are rarer and more in demand than others. This is the case for Ruby on Rails, which is currently in high demand. Whether you are new, or you’re already active in web development, Ruby on Rails can be an elusive topic to pin down. It’s often compared with languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but when you dig deeper, you’ll find that ROR is one of the most simple and easy to use web app framework, which can help develop highly interactive and engaging websites and web applications for your business.

Ruby on Rails is an open-source, interpreted, object-oriented server-side application framework, used in both, front-end and back-end web development. Used majorly for creating interactive and engaging web apps, ROR development services are high in demand among entrepreneurs. Some of the big giants like Airbnb, Hulu, Kickstarter, and Github, have used the components of ROR for their projects. ROR is one of the best web app frameworks available in the market. If you are a start-up then hiring a ROR developer might be a good option as it is a lucrative platform, which offers agile web development and ensures early entry into the market.

In this article, we will read about top qualities and skills of a Ruby on Rails developer, which you must look out for, before hiring for your project. But before that, let’s know more about ROR.

What is Ruby on Rails?

Nobody would be aware of the advantages of Ruby if it were not for Rails itself. Ruby and Rails come along and Ruby would be irrelevant without Rails. Ruby on Rails, also known as “RoR” is a framework for web development similar to Perl and Python. It gives you everything you need to build web applications quickly, a framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

Ruby on Rails is an open-source framework, which provides Ruby developers a timesaving alternative to develop code. It comes with a collection of code libraries, which offer a ready-made solution for repetitive tasks like developing tables, forms, or menus on the website. Since this framework runs on the web server, Ruby on Rails is categorized as a back-end or server-side web application development platform. Based on the Ruby programming language, Rails has revolutionized the web development world through its practical approach.

With Ruby on Rails, every function, which you want for app development is at your fingertips – you can extract what you require to proceed ahead. According to Similartech.com, currently, over 390,300 websites are using Ruby on Rails and there are 252,210 unique domains. One of the cool things about Ruby on Rails specifically is that you don’t need to have the whole framework to use one of its characteristics. Instead, you can import the modules that you need to your Ruby application without having to take on the whole framework. Generally, Ruby on Rails developers connect the web application with other web services by developing back end components and also support the app by supporting front end developers.

Here are some of the most famous brands that have been using this framework for their web development projects: 

• Github
• Shopify
• Ask.fm
• Kickstarter
• Scribd
• SoundCloud

Now that we have seen and understood what ROR actually is, let’s discuss some of the most important qualities and skills, which you must look at, before hiring a ROR developer for your project.

Qualities and Skills of a Ruby on Rails Developer

”All that glitter is not gold.” We all must have heard this saying at least once in our lifetime and this is very true actually. Finding a good developer that can really take your project up is a difficult task. There are a lot many ROR development companies available in the market, but choosing the right one that can offer professional IT services can be tough.

Here are some of the skills and qualities that you must look, while hiring a Ruby on Rails developer or a complete development team:

Project Understanding

A good hold of Object-Oriented Programming is an essential part of Ruby on Rails development because it assists a ROR developer to the codes’ virtual view. Once you know about the project requirement, you can gain the knowledge requirements in hiring the developer. So, when you just move-on with hiring Ruby on Rails developers, be sure that he should be well-versed with the root difference between composition and inheritance.

Ruby on Rails Skills

While planning to hire Ruby on Rails developer, be sure to count the following chief expertise:

MVC Architecture

MVC is a pattern for the architecture of a software application. Where M stands for Models to handle data and logics, V stands for views that handle graphical interface, and C stands for controller that handles the user interface and application.

Rails has an application directory called app with three subdirectories: models, views, and controllers. In Rails, the roles of the model, view, and controller are well-defined by the framework. For Ruby on Rails, each model represents a database table as a class that can communicate directly in code with other objects without needing to write any SQL. Hence, developers who are familiar with other frameworks using MVC patterns can find ease using Ruby on Rails.

Active Record

Though well-known as one of the components of Ruby on Rails, Active Record is actually a software pattern. It is this pattern that Active Record is based on and is the answer to how Rails gives us the ability to manipulate databases without SQL. The active record library can accomplish most of the tasks; hence, it is very rare to develop a query in SQL.

Front-End Development Skills

Front-end development is responsible for the way your website or web app looks to users. So designing your app or website in a way that it images with your users, by keeping all UI/UX elements in mind, needs both experience and expertise.

Here are a few skills in which a ROR developer should be good at:

JavaScript

This high-level programming language is always needed in web development. With the employment of JavaScript, the ROR developer will become capable of searching any of DOM, can also wrap the element in any hidden HTML, tackle the confirmation dialogues, and even more.

HTML

While performing with Ruby on Rails, HTML is required the most. In fact, ROR performs better with this. So, be sure your ideal candidate has excellent HTML skills. The candidate should also know the way of writing tags and using them.

Database Skills

Website or app development can’t take place in the absence of the database. When it comes to ROR, SQL and PostgreSQL/MySql are the key databases.

SQL

Every web developer needs expertise in SQL. Though in the case of ROR, SQL will be written by ActiveRecord, and the ROR developer is required to take care of no downfall take place and should acknowledge concisely and log well.

PostgreSQL/MySQL

One of the widely-known database engines is MySQL that will always rule the web development world. That’s why the ROR developer should hold command over this database engine. PostgreSQL is an upgraded version and its awareness is an extra advantage.

Tools Handling Skills

Website development is a complicated job. It wants tons of resources along with the apt use of tools required to attract a successful web app into being. To hire thebest ROR developers, make sure, they are well known with the below-mentioned tools:-

Git: It’s a must-have tool for the management of code and a de-facto standard for version control. Your candidate should remember the process of creating new branches in Git and push the codes in it.

Cl, Docker, and Heroku: These are the fundamental deployment tools that all the RoR developers are going to employ while the formation of a web app.

Pivotal/Asana/Trello: If you are a member of the ticket management app development and the project, then be sure that the ROR developer should learn the usage of Pivotal/Asana/Trello. These tools are particularly designed for ticket management site development and projects. The learning of these tools will assist you in leveraging your process of web development.

Testing and Validation Skills

Before any real-time release, it is always preferable to verify and test the end-product. Although you always have an option to hire a separate team for quality assurance services, yet it is always better to have an expert who knows the pattern of running the dummy commands, and recognizing the loopholes. As if the hired ROR developer doesn’t hold the caliber to test the end-product, the complete work will go in vain.

Passion for Programming

Rails are written in Ruby, the programming language which is also used alongside Rails. Hence, it is important for the developer to be keen for code generation and performing endless testing as it is not an easy task as it sounds.

Conclusion

There are various reasons to choose ROR for your web development project. ROR is one of the most simple to use web app frameworks, which is highly innovative and attractive solutions. Hiring ROR developers is not an easy task.  We hope a few of the above-mentioned points will help you in selecting the one who will fit well in the team.