I'll start in the beginning of the next year (2010) a big new project with Rails. Can somebody give me advice which version of Rails I should use and why?
+5
A:
I would go with the latest version (2.3.5), since there don't seem to be any signs of an imminent production release of Rails 3.0, which was announced over a year ago. I'd also suggest trying to use Ruby 1.9.1 over 1.8.X, since the performance increases are substantial.
Kaleb Brasee
2009-12-13 14:25:21
The Rails team apparently still recommends 1.8.7, and I would tend to take their advice: http://rubyonrails.org/download Beyond that, gems + 1.9.1 can be trouble. Bookmark this site for help: http://isitruby19.com/
Telemachus
2009-12-13 14:35:48
Rails 2.3.5 is out now - http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2009/11/30/ruby-on-rails-2-3-5-released
NeilS
2009-12-13 14:39:31
@Telemachus: Bah! Fixing 1.9 compat issues in gems have been trivial so far for me. Patch, patch, patch! It's not so hard.
guns
2009-12-13 14:41:22
I'd also second the motion for 1.9. I found that one of my production projects ran on it immediately and another required only minor fixes, both with major gains in performance. Besides, it's likely you'll go to it eventually and if you find a problem with a gem now, you'll want to avoid that gem -- it's likely not getting much support.
Mark Westling
2009-12-13 15:03:43
@guns: I'm not really saying that fixing gems is hard, but it's not necessarily something that someone new to Ruby or Rails wants to have as an additional issue. That said, maybe it's not a bad way to learn how to deal with other libraries.
Telemachus
2009-12-13 15:13:36
I would advise stick with 1.8.7 if you lack the experience to deal with 1.9.1 gothcas. Judging by the question i.e. which version of Rails… I would say that is indicative of someone possessing inadequate experience for 1.9.1 right now.
Steve Graham
2009-12-13 16:58:22
+4
A:
The latest bit of news regarding the Rails 3 release date has been ~first-quarter 2010, so it's a good time to put your feet in.
The developer-facing API is said to be stable, so if your project doesn't rely on too many plugins, or if you're willing to put in work to make plugins Rails 3 compatible, I say it's safe to go with Rails 3. And if you're not already, go with Ruby 1.9.
Now, that is what I plan to do for my next project, but I'm also happy with fixing any problems that will arise. If you're still a little unfamiliar with Ruby, or don't have the time to roll up your sleeves and fix the things that need fixin, go the safer route: Rails 2.3.5 + ruby 1.8.7.
guns
2009-12-13 14:42:04
+2
A:
If this is going to be a production project I would definitely go with 2.3.x and 1.8.7 - they are proven, reliable and will work with the majority of gems and plugins available.
On the other hand if the project is more experimental then it may be worth looking at Rails 3, I would not however choose it for a commercial project unless you are experienced enough to deal with the potential compatibility and other issues that may be part of working with it early on.
paulthenerd
2009-12-13 14:52:08