IMO the asset pipeline is not worth the complexity. CDNs + caching do a good enough job of getting stuff to clients, so the complexity (and distinction between

IMO the asset pipeline is not worth the complexity. CDNs + caching do a good enough job of getting stuff to clients, so the complexity (and distinction between dev mode and production mode) isn't worth it. My problem with routing is that the default is an implicit semi-REST pattern, and that routing a lot of verbs to the same controller method is tedious. I prefer Sinatra's "ground up" model instead, although you can certainly write a rails router that way (and sinatra has the same verb problem.) But I concede that's a matter of taste.