What Ruby IDE do you prefer?

Question

I've been using Eclipse with RDT (not RadRails) a lot lately, and I'm quite happy with it, but I'm wondering if you guys know any decent alternatives. I know NetBeans also supports Ruby these days, but I'm not sure what it has to offer over Eclipse.

Please, list any features you think are brilliant or useful when suggesting an IDE, makes it easier to compare.

Also, I said Ruby, not Rails. While Rails support is a plus, I prefer things to be none Rails-centric. It should also be available on Linux and optionally Solaris.

Answer 1

I have used Komodo and it's pretty good. I use textmate now.

Answer 2

Have you tried Aptana? It's based on Eclipse and they have a sweet Rails plugin.

Answer 3

Aptana more or less is RadRails, or it's based on it. I've used it, and it's really good, but it does have some problems. For instance, it breaks the basic search dialog on my system (giving a raw java exception to the end user), and it clutters the interface with add like notices and upgrade bars and news feeds and...

But all in all it's pretty good, especially its editors (ERB, HTML/XML, ...) are top notch.

Answer 4

The latest Netbeans IDE (6.1) has a pretty solid Ruby support.

You can check it out here.

Answer 5

On MacOSX, TextMate is a godsend.

Answer 6

+1 for TextMate on OSX.

See also answers to this question. I recommend trying NetBeans if you're on Windows.

Answer 7

NetBeans has some really solid Ruby support.

Answer 8

I prefer TextMate on OS X. But Netbeans (multi-platform) is coming along quite nicely. Plus it comes with its IDE fully functional debugger.

Answer 9

I'd recommend NetBeans 6.1 too. Very nice IDE and makes working with Ruby a pleasure.

Answer 10

Netbeans is good becasue you can use it on Windows and OSX.

Answer 11

I started out with RadRails then moved to Aptana when they took it over, wasn't too bad. Got a macbook and have been using Textmate, never going back.

Answer 12

Textmate on osx

Answer 13

For very simple Linux support if you like TextMate, try just gedit loaded with the right plugins. Easy to set up and really customizable, I use it for just about everything. There's also a lot of talk about emacs plugins if you're already using that normally.

Gedit: How to set up like TextMate

Answer 14

e-texteditor is great (textmate compatible sort-of-clone for windows)

Answer 15

Redcar has been getting some attention lately, as well. Still early in its life, but it shows promise.

Answer 16

Vim / GVim is a great IDE for Ruby / Rails. Check out this site for more information on getting it setup: http://biodegradablegeek.com/2007/12/using-vim-as-a-complete-ruby-on-rails-ide/

Answer 17

RubyMine from JetBrains. (Also available as a plugin to IntelliJ IDEA)

Answer 18

I was really into NetBeans for a while but last year I switched to Vim. It was far from painless, but I like that better now. Vim isn't exactly an IDE but the cool thing about it to me is that it's all keyboard and it lets you do everything without messing with the mouse.

Answer 19

Once I found Geany (Ubuntu), I switched from TextMate (OSX) and never looked back. Geany is a lean, clean, speedy IDE that can be used either as a text editor or a light-weight IDE. It supports not only text editing features (syntax highlighting, code folding, auto-completion, auto-closing, symbol lists, code navigation, directory tree, multi-tabbed open files etc.) but also normal IDE features such as simple project management, compile-build-run within the main window. Unlike TextMate, it has a Terminal screen within its own window; you do not have to go back and force between your editor window and terminal window. Unlike TextMate, it supports international languages. Unlike TextMate, it supports multi-platforms, Unlike TextMate, it is open-source and free. Geany is now my favorite C/Ruby/XML development tool.

Answer 20

Ruby in Steel: http://www.sapphiresteel.com/Products/Ruby-In-Steel/Ruby-In-Steel-Developer-Overview

A Visual Studio based Ruby IDE. Fast Debugger. Intellisense.

Answer 21

In last 3 months, I have tried RadRails, Netbeans and RubyMine and finally settled on RubyMine not so much for features but for responsiveness and stability reasons.

In terms of features, RubyMine has slightly better code completion, debugging and code navigation, but only ruby beginners(like myself) need them most. Relying on code completion and code navigation is anti-ruby/rails, as ruby/rails names are supposed to be natural and each line of code needs to be in its convention determined location.