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=='''How Rails supports Agile Methodologies'''== | |||
* ''Generators help you setup a wireframe fast'' | |||
**The command “rails generate” uses templates to create models, controllers, views, databases, etc which helps to setup a test application. | |||
**The scaffolding can be easily done to deploy any basic web -application, and developers can extend them to implement their functionalities. This overcomes the initial hurdle. | |||
*''Ready Setup for Multi-environment'' | |||
**Rails application provides development, production and testing environments with built-in configurations setup and thus is a huge time saver for an application which is required to be deployed in multiple environments. | |||
**The built-in rails web-server has the development environment as the default environment. | |||
**Simple deployment allows developers to have face-face client meetings and thus make instantaneous changes based on the client requirements. | |||
*''Test-Driven Development'' | |||
**Built in mocking and stubbing frameworks are available which assists “how to write code”. This follows a red, green and refactor which is an important aspect of agile development. | |||
**RSpec is one of the famous testing framework tools used with rails. | |||
**Other testing tools can also be swapped in. | |||
*''Dependency Management'' | |||
**Rails acts more than a web framework by providing the necessary utility and support tools and adding dependencies to individual projects in a jiffy using the “bundler”. | |||
**This bundler installs all the relevant gem files and also can be updated when more dependencies are added. No need to search for packages or jars. | |||
*''Responding to Change'' | |||
**Rails helps you to keep easy track of database changes with the help of Migration Objects. It gives the flexibility to rollback and update. | |||
** It also allows you to maintain various versions of database for the multi-environment. On running rake db::migrate, the desired database is migrated and deployed with the working rails server. | |||
**New technologies such as Coffeescript can also be easily embedded by installing the relevant gems thus adapting to the changing technology. | |||
*''Assets Pipeline'' | |||
** The assets pipeline is a new feature embedded in rails ( which is now extracted into sprockets-rails gem), concatenates and compresses javascript and css files. | |||
** This renders a web page with reduced number of requests from the browser as files are grouped and whitespaces are trimmed. | |||
** Precompiled files can also be attached. | |||
*''Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)'' | |||
**Repeated code is written in helpers and libraries, making a single destination and thus updations become simpler by updating at just one place. | |||
** Partials are a way of rendering repeated HTML code. Rails understand a file which starts with an underscore, say, _partial.html as a partial to be included in the shared html file which renders it. | |||
=References= | =References= | ||
<references/> | <references/> |
Revision as of 01:58, 7 October 2013
This article focuses on how Rails enables ‘’’agile development practices’ and the characteristics of Rails that support specific agile methodologies.
Agile development
What is it?
Agile development is a methodology where requirements and solutions are developed based on iterative and incremental development<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_and_incremental_development</ref> through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Using agile development methodology, a high quality software can be developed by programmers in a minimal amount of time.
Some of the process under agile development includes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, a time-boxed iterative approach, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. It is a conceptual framework that promotes foreseen interactions throughout the development cycle.
How Rails supports Agile Methodologies
- Generators help you setup a wireframe fast
- The command “rails generate” uses templates to create models, controllers, views, databases, etc which helps to setup a test application.
- The scaffolding can be easily done to deploy any basic web -application, and developers can extend them to implement their functionalities. This overcomes the initial hurdle.
- Ready Setup for Multi-environment
- Rails application provides development, production and testing environments with built-in configurations setup and thus is a huge time saver for an application which is required to be deployed in multiple environments.
- The built-in rails web-server has the development environment as the default environment.
- Simple deployment allows developers to have face-face client meetings and thus make instantaneous changes based on the client requirements.
- Test-Driven Development
- Built in mocking and stubbing frameworks are available which assists “how to write code”. This follows a red, green and refactor which is an important aspect of agile development.
- RSpec is one of the famous testing framework tools used with rails.
- Other testing tools can also be swapped in.
- Dependency Management
- Rails acts more than a web framework by providing the necessary utility and support tools and adding dependencies to individual projects in a jiffy using the “bundler”.
- This bundler installs all the relevant gem files and also can be updated when more dependencies are added. No need to search for packages or jars.
- Responding to Change
- Rails helps you to keep easy track of database changes with the help of Migration Objects. It gives the flexibility to rollback and update.
- It also allows you to maintain various versions of database for the multi-environment. On running rake db::migrate, the desired database is migrated and deployed with the working rails server.
- New technologies such as Coffeescript can also be easily embedded by installing the relevant gems thus adapting to the changing technology.
- Assets Pipeline
- The assets pipeline is a new feature embedded in rails ( which is now extracted into sprockets-rails gem), concatenates and compresses javascript and css files.
- This renders a web page with reduced number of requests from the browser as files are grouped and whitespaces are trimmed.
- Precompiled files can also be attached.
- Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)
- Repeated code is written in helpers and libraries, making a single destination and thus updations become simpler by updating at just one place.
- Partials are a way of rendering repeated HTML code. Rails understand a file which starts with an underscore, say, _partial.html as a partial to be included in the shared html file which renders it.
References
<references/>