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> so many Rails apps turn into an unmaintainable mess over years Does this happen more often for Rails than for other frameworks? There are many ways in which

> so many Rails apps turn into an unmaintainable mess over years Does this happen more often for Rails than for other frameworks? There are many ways in which a Rails project can get derailed. But they seem not different from regular tech debt and I could imagine equivalent problems in other environments. > AR (as an architecture and as how Rails implements it) is very unfit for a large category of applications If you plan to build an application belonging to a category where AR is not a good fit, why use Rails? I wouldn't claim that Rails is a good fit for all problems. Still, I'd say the structure and defaults of Rails are one of its strong benefits. Or do you mean "application" as in "usage" - i.e. that over time you might notice a problem that's hard to solve with AR? Could you give an example? I'd guess you could use a different approach for a single task, or even move from Rails to a different tool if that becomes a big issue.

berkes 3y ago
> Does this happen more often for Rails than for other frameworks? Yes. But there are many frameworks where this is even worse. Rails, however, is highly opinioated, and does not allow you to pick and choose your parts (this is a design decision). That has lot's of benefits, but the major downside is that it will never fit perfectly (or as close as one may get). Most often an "off the rack suite" is fine, but we all know that a tailor-made suit is just that much better/prettier/comfortable/durable. Same here: Rails will probably fit your project OK, but that's not good enough for many projects. AR is a another big contributor, as is the way Rails has its MVC set up. Tight coupling, no separation of concerns, etc. etc. As you say: > If you plan to build an application belonging to a category where AR is not a good fit, why use Rails? Which is my entire point. Yet it happens. Far too often. (I'm a freelance consultant who deals with these failing Rails projects on a monthly base. And occasionally a very pretty one)

berkes 3y ago

> Does this happen more often for Rails than for other frameworks? Yes. But there are many frameworks where this is even worse. Rails, however, is highly opinioated, and does not allow you to pick and choose your parts (this is a design decision). That has lot's of benefits, but the major downside is that it will never fit perfectly (or as close as one may get). Most often an "off the rack suite" is fine, but we all know that a tailor-made suit is just that much better/prettier/comfortable/durable. Same here: Rails will probably fit your project OK, but that's not good enough for many projects. AR is a another big contributor, as is the way Rails has its MVC set up. Tight coupling, no separation of concerns, etc. etc. As you say: > If you plan to build an application belonging to a category where AR is not a good fit, why use Rails? Which is my entire point. Yet it happens. Far too often. (I'm a freelance consultant who deals with these failing Rails projects on a monthly base. And occasionally a very pretty one)