The Inaugural Rails Post

I've started doing some research on Ruby on Rails, and I must say, I'm impressed... so much so, that I decided to create a semi-major application in it to observe what the experience would be like. So, this is going to be my Rails Journal, so to speak.

What is the application I am building? Well, with the aim of not disclosing too much and getting myself in trouble, it's a client-server application that allows employees to interact with the HR department. The original version of the application was actually a web app, built using Coldfusion, and recently, my company was contracted to build a new version of the application using a development tool called Servoy. Unfortunately, the experience wasn't the most pleasant.

My aim is to attempt to rebuild that same application using Rails, as a way of determining whether Rails is suitable as a platform for our company's development projects moving forward. Thinking about it logically, I believe Rails is ready and capable, but I'd have a hard time convincing my boss to give it a try without something concrete to use as proof. And hence, HR on Rails was born (for lack of a better name for my project).

In a way, this project will actually be quite a good test as to the viability of Rails. I was not present for the building of the original system in Coldfusion, nor was I part of the current project when most of the ground-work was being done. By the time I joined the project, most of the infrastructure was already set up so that I don't have any experience in building the majority of the applcation. Thus, in Rails, I will have to come up with a base infrastructure myself. As well, since each member of the development team was solely responsible for a specific module, I don't have any experience in developing the functionality of any particular module beyond my own. So, I'll be getting the full Rails experience by being forced to create most of the application's functionality from scratch. At the same time, my familiarity with my own module will help serve as a launching point for creating functionality, once I get past infrastructure set-up.

So, I intend to write about my journey through Rails, as I bring HR on Rails from concept to reality. Hopefully, it will be a fun ride...