Ruby on Rails vs. Python and Django

If you’ve done any research on choosing a programming language to learn, it’s likely that you’ve come across the Ruby and Python programming languages. Along with other standouts like Javascript, they are some of the most popular first languages around. 

They are also exceptionally powerful and used across many technologies in many domains, so they’re a great investment if you’re thinking about a career in technology. In this Career Karma article, we’re going to discuss Ruby and Python in the context of their two most popular frameworks: Rails and Django. 

Ruby on Rails

Ruby was built from the beginning as a language for web development. This isn’t the only thing you can do with the language, but it’s far and away the most common. 

The Rails framework makes writing Ruby code less tedious and more enjoyable by automating away a lot of repetition. Rails standardizes the configuration of application files, which saves time in getting set up and makes moving between projects easier. It also encourages what’s called ‘RESTful’ design. To simplify a bit, applications with a RESTful architecture are easier to expose as APIs, which makes working with them and integrating them into other applications easier. 

Django

Django is a Python framework targeted specifically at back end web applications written in Python. As with Rails, its goal is to make programmers more efficient by removing the need to reinvent solutions and rewrite code that already exists elsewhere.  

Django has other advantages. It comes out-of-the-box with everything you need to solve standard back end development problems and helps developers prevent common security breaches like SQL injection. 

Django is well known for having a responsive community and excellent documentation. As someone who’s had to struggle with poorly-documented languages with no communities to speak of, this is something you shouldn’t underestimate. 

Which Is Right for Me? 

Ultimately, it comes down to what you’re aiming to accomplish. Rails is suitable for basically any front end or back end web development task you could imagine, and it’s extremely popular. Django is more specialized for back end development, but it’s used widely and has a huge community. 

If you want to be a front end specialist, I’d argue for Ruby on Rails. If you’re more interested in branching out into areas besides web development, you’re probably better off learning the Python/Django stack.