Re-starting from 5: suggestions needed

I developed a couple of web applications using Rails 2 many years ago. Both still up and running. Wonderful !

In the meantime I’ve continued to practice Ruby (at a rather basic level) for a number tasks, including some enhancements of the above mentioned apps.

Now I have to start a new project from scratch and, based on my previous experience, Rails 5 seems to be an obvious choice.

I don’t think I will have big problems on the server side but I’m overwhelmed by the number of options for the front-end, both in terms of the possible different approaches and the myriad of tools available (js libraries, widgets, gems, etc.).

The project itself is quite simple: basically a CRUD application with complex data entry forms.

No specific versions or needs for mobile devices.

I’d start keeping it simple: html generated by the views, css, bootstrap, jquery. Perhaps a third party component for the tables (pagination, sorting, column resizing, etc.)

I’m only afraid that, nowadays, this is simplicistic and/or outdated approach. And, since I don’t have particular time constraints, I’d be glad to spend some time learning new things.

I’ve tried to read here and there but there are simply too options to chose from.

Any suggestions is most welcomed !

I always vote for simple first; why complicate things for no reason? If/when you find there's something you need client-side interactivity for, then choose.

Given the continual churn in the JS ecosystem, your viable options will be different from week to week anyway :grinning:

Thanks!

Rails is a pretty old and mature project - one of the great things about that is that you don’t have to flit from one tech to the next. There are good solid libraries that have been around for years and will probably be around for many more.

devise for authentication

simple_form (or similar) for forms

j_query

capistrano for deployment

I used to use active-scaffold to scaffold my admin pages. It seems to struggle keeping up, so now I’m using activeadmin

I’m using filterrific for sorting/filtering tables - (If there is a nice gem which handles column selection and resizing I’d love to know about it!)

the one new thing that looks interesting is the move to yarn/webpack. That might be a good place to start with ‘the new way’…

enjoy!

Excellent suggestions, thanks !

I begun the new project a few days ago: so far so good.

As for the tables, I’ve seen a number of js libraries (not gems) that can provide sorting, column selection, resizing, and even server side pagination.

Still have to decide which one I’ll try …

Try Datatables. I’ve used it on many projects. It allows you to paginate, search and sort ( even on hidden columns). Good doc and responsive community