Can somebody explain to me the hype behind using Ruby on Rails to create web apps?

rubyonrails-talk
1

Hi all,

I'm looking to build an online marketplace that's similar to oDesk and Elance where users can post jobs and have freelancers bid on them.

The current dilemma I'm in- which programming language do I go for? My decision lies between PHP and Ruby. It might help you to know that I already have the front-end of the web application already developed in HTML5/CSS3/Bootstrap.

It seems that most web applications these days are being powered by Ruby on Rails. I've been advised multiple times again and again: "Go with Ruby on Rails. It's the new and best way to develop web applications."

What I'm wondering is- is there any real siginficant advantage to developing my web application using the Ruby on Rails framework as opposed to good ol' PHP?

Facebook, Pinterest, Flippa, 99Designs.com, Udemy, oDesk, and many other huge companies were all developed using PHP, right? And there seems to be more PHP developers available so if I were to hire a PHP developer to help me build this, I'd have access to a large pool of readily available talent.

On the other hand, I keep hearing that Ruby on Rails is the way to go for web applications. Maybe it depends on the type of web application being built? In my case- do you think a freelance marketplace platform be better off built under PHP or Ruby? It might help you to know that I already have the front-end of the web application already developed in HTML5/CSS3/Bootstrap.

What are your thoughts on this?

2

As a developer i have no doubt that ruby on rails is better than PHP. I already worked with PHP and now only use Ruby on Rails, the development is faster and easer.

But you need to look in the market, hire a php developer is easy and cheap than hire a RoR developer.