is it time to try merb?

Question

With Merb 1.0 rapidly approaching, I would like to know what Merb/Rails users recommend?

Is it time to try Merb? What was downside for you when you switched to Merb from Rails?

Answer 1

Everyone, including many from the Merb Core team have been recommended to wait for 1.0. But if you're at all curious, grab the latest Gem and start toying. Just don't expect to put it into production and hold off on any production work till 1.0 is out.

Answer 2

The biggest downside was figuring out what's different between Merb and Rails. The biggest upside is that when I ask for help on the Merb IRC or mailing lists, I get help, not insulted -- unlike Rails.

Answer 3

The spam filtering service Defensio has been running on Merb for a few months now. Merb seems to be working very well for them :-)

Disclaimer (even if I'm not trying to sell you anything): I've worked on Defensio in the past.

Answer 4

I think it's safe to now use Merb, as they've pretty much frozen the API. I recently rebuilt my weblog using Merb (and version 0.9.7 or so) and it works like a champ. I will have to make some adjustments for bringing it up to the 1.0 API, but I don't anticipate much work. I say go for it. Merb is nice.

Answer 5

I've been waiting for the 1.0 release so that the API is frozen. It's a little tough keeping up with the Merb changes (I can only speak for myself though, and this was during the pre-merb-core/more days up till the 0.9.x releases) and figuring out why stuff breaks.

If all things go according to schedule, Merb 1.0 will be released soon at MerbCamp (Oct 11-12). So if I were completely new to Merb, I'd wait until then.

Answer 6

Yes.

Downsides:

• Lack of documentation, although this is getting better (not really a problem for some, as the code is very well documented).
• Rails plugins, Merb uses Gems, and not all have been ported (the most used ones have)
• Doing a straight port of a Rails app, will not utilize some of the cool features in Merb (plus syntax differs in places)

But, the Advantages:

• Faster & Thread-safe (added advantage if using DM or Sequel as they are thread-safe too)
• Modular (can pick what you need along with your fav ORM, JS Lib, Templating Lang)
• Less Magic
• Good for green field projects or exposing your API
• Merb has a stable API (1.0 comes out in a few weeks)

Overall, if you're comfortable with Rails switching to Merb isn't hard at all. I personally prefer Merb over Rails, as it adopts more Ruby conventions.

Answer 7

About a month has passed and now that Merb has reached 1.0, yes, it is finally time to try Merb and feel comfortable about it if you're the more conservative sort :)