Differences between Ruby on Rails versions? Which should I use?

Question

I first used Rails when it was not so well known about, in 2005. I did some experimental work with it but it has languished due to lack of time.

I'm now thinking of persuing the original idea again (with a new implementation) and when researching the latest Ruby and Ruby-on_Rails versions I see Ruby 1.9.2 and a Rails 3.0 beta.

I haven't managed to find a concise description of the differences between any of the Rails major versions. I have looked on the official Rails site and a few others as well. No joy. Maybe i'm looking in the wrong places or for the wrong thing?

My project isn't commercial in nature (it's a hobby thing) so the beta nature of Rails 3.0 doesn't put me off. I'd just like to know what the differences are. Can anyone explain please?

If it makes any odds to the answer, I'll be working on a Linux box and/or a Windows box.

Answer 1

You need to look at the individual framework change logs:

• ActionMailer CHANGELOG
• ActionPack CHANGELOG
• ActiveRecord CHANGELOG
• ActiveResource CHANGELOG
• ActiveSupport CHANGELOG
• Railties CHANGELOG

These are the release blog entries that I found on the official Riding Rails blog:

• Rails 3.0: Third beta release (April 2010)
• Rails 3.0: Second beta release (April 2010)
• Rails 3.0: Beta release (February 2010)
• Ruby on Rails 2.3.5 Released (November 2009)
• Ruby on Rails 2.3.4: Security fixes (September 2009)
• Rails 2.3.3: Touching, faster JSON, bug fixes (July 2009)
• Rails 2.3: Templates, Engines, Rack, Metal, much more! (March 2009)
• Rails 2.2: i18n, HTTP validators, thread safety, JRuby/1.9 compatibility, docs (November 2008)
• Rails 2.1.2: Security, other fixes (October 2008)
• Rails 2.1.1: Lots of bug fixes (September 2008)
• Rails 2.0: It's done! (December 2007)
• Ruby on Rails 1.2.6: Security and maintenance release (November 2007)
• Rails 1.2.5: Security and maintenance release (October 2007)
• Rails 1.2.4: Maintenance release (October 2007)
• Rails 1.2.3: Compatible with Ruby 1.8.6 (and other fixes) (March 2007)
• Rails 1.2.2: SQLite3, gems, singular resources (February 2007)

Happy reading!

Answer 2

As a rule of thumb use the latests stable release. Currently for Rails is 2.3.5. I wouldn't try to learn Rails with Rails 3.0 beta X and if you haven't touched Rails in a 5 years you are almost starting from zero.

Once Rails 3.0 comes out you can upgrade. For commercial projects I'm not picking it yet.

Regarding Ruby 1.8 vs 1.9, I don't have a strong opinion, you can use either. I've heard 1.9 is not that stable yet.

To find out which gem works with which version of Ruby and Rails you can check http://www.railsplugins.org/plugins and http://isitruby19.com/

Answer 3

With Rails 3 you will still probably miss a lot of plugins...