The latest version of Ruby on Rails has a new framework and API mode.

Rails 5.0 is being described by the developers as:

"without a doubt the best, most complete version of Rails yet."

The two headline improvements are a new framework for handling WebSockets, and support for API mode.

The new framework, Action Cable, provides an integrated way to manage connections, a channels layer for server-side processing, and a JavaScript layer for client-side interaction. The developers say it makes designing live features like chat, notifications, and presence a lot easier, adding that it's what’s powering the features of Basecamp 3, if you want to see it in action.

Action Cable provides access to your entire Active Record and PORO domain model in your WebSockets work. The developers have added a new ActionController::Renderer system that you can use to render your templates outside of controllers, so you can reuse server-side templates for WebSocket responses.

In development, Action Cable runs in-process with the rest of your app. Doing this has meant the default development server has been switched from Webrick to Puma. The developers say that in production, you may well want to run Action Cable servers in their own processes, whcih is how it is used at Basecamp at scale.

The API mode is designed to give you a slimmed down version of Rails for client-side JavaScript or native applications that just need the backend to speak JSON. The developers say that while there’s still more work to be done on this feature, they feel they're off to a great start.

 More Information

Ruby On Rails

Ruby On Rails Blog

Related Articles

Ruby 2.3 Released

Ruby And Rails Updated

Ruby 2.1 With Better Garbage Collection

To be informed about new articles on I Programmer, sign up for our weekly newsletter,subscribe to the RSS feed and follow us on, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linkedin. 

Comments

Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus

or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info