Updated May 6, 2023
Differences Between Ruby vs Node
Node.js is a cross-platform, fast, and lean JavaScript runtime environment built on a JavaScript engine. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O by which we can achieve low latency and high throughput, making it lightweight and efficient. For both servers and desktop apps, Node.js will be beneficial. Ruby is an object-oriented, open-source programming language emphasizing simplicity, portability, extensibility, and productivity. Its simple syntax makes it easy to read and write if we are familiar with other programming languages like Python.
What is Node?
Node.js is written in c/c++, JavaScript, and its package ecosystem, NPM (node package manager), consisting of many open-source libraries in the package. Node.js was introduced in 2009 by Ryan Dahl for Linux and macOS. Node has many built-in modules in which we can use the command line. Node is well suitable to handle asynchronous JS code to perform many activities.
What is Ruby?
Ruby is an open-source programming language, an object-oriented language. Ruby was initially developed on Linux but is now cross-platform, compatible with operating systems such as UNIX, Windows, DOS, and Mac OS. Yukihiro Matsumoto created Ruby, which was first released in 1995. As it is open-source, we can modify and edit it according to our needs and use. Ruby is similar to Small Talk and Perl as it is object-oriented, like Small Talk, and convenient as Perl, making it easier to maintain.
Head-to-Head Comparison Between Ruby and Node (Infographics)
Below are the top 7 comparisons between Ruby and Node:
Key differences between Ruby and Node
Below is the list of points that explains the key differences between Ruby and Node:
- Node.js will provide faster server-side solutions due to its event-based programming and non-blocking I/O usage of a single CPU compared to Ruby.
- Node.js has less learning curve than Ruby, and it is easy to learn for those from a different programming background, whereas Ruby has more learning resources and online communities.
- Ruby needs a definite file/folder structure, whereas Node.js is very flexible; we can put the entire code in a single file or multiple files or directories.
- Node.js has no rules on filenames; we can name files as we need, whereas Ruby has strict regulations on filenames; if we change the filename, then the application will crash.
- Ruby supports multi-threading in its operations, making it better suited for CPU-intensive applications. In contrast, Node.js is single-threaded and better suited for heavy I/O applications rather than CPU-intensive ones.
- Ruby does not have callbacks, meaning that all instructions are executed sequentially. On the other hand, Node.js has callbacks and operates asynchronously.
- In Ruby, code maintenance is easy as it has rules while developing and is easily transferable between developers, whereas Node.js code maintenance is tricky or complicated as it doesn’t have any rules for developers.
- Node.js is inconsistent as API will change frequently and improves over time, whereas Ruby is consistent as it will have fewer changes.
- Ruby serves primarily for back-end development, whereas Node.js can function as a programming language for both front-end and back-end development.
- Node.js package ecosystem NPM (node package manager) has an extensive collection of libraries, whereas Ruby doesn’t have as much as Node.js.
Ruby and Node Comparison Table
Following is the comparison table between Ruby and Node.js.
| Basis of comparison | Ruby | Node |
| Framework Type | Ruby is an opinionated framework and expects to do things in a certain way which is a disadvantage while debugging web applications. | Node.js is a non-opinionated framework as it provides more control, but there are no standard rules to follow while developing. To work in a team, we need specific rules to follow while coding, which Node.js doesn’t have. |
| Development Time | Ruby can develop a complete CRUD application with the database connection and migration with few commands via the command line. | Node.js will take time as we need to write code, find modules that will be required, and integrate with other modules. Though Node.js gives the flexibility of choosing different components, integrating them takes more time. |
| Performance | Ruby is very slow in performance which is a bottleneck for it. Sometimes debugging the Ruby application is time-consuming and difficult due to its abstract nature. | Node.js is often faster than Ruby due to its JavaScript engine, despite its issues. |
| Learning Curve | Ruby is easy to learn as it has numerous tutorials and courses are there for learning online. It has the most active developer community, which we can understand easily if we are stuck anywhere while knowing. | Node.js’ learning curve is less than Ruby, but developers from different programming backgrounds, such as C/C++, also can learn quickly. It is easy for front-end developers to learn as we write in JavaScript. |
| CPU Intensive Tasks | Ruby is well suited for CPU-intensive tasks such as image processing, data processing, and rapid application development. | Node.js will cause a hung of web applications when handling CPU-intensive tasks as it uses a single thread. It will take a long time and prevent other tasks from running. |
| Scalability | Ruby is not as scalable as Node.js, so many companies migrated from Ruby to Node.js due to scalability, such as the New York Times, LinkedIn, Uber, and PayPal. | Node.js is more scalable than Ruby as it has clusters with abstractions that can spawn processes based on a workload of a web application with a minimum number of CPUs. |
| Talent Finding | Very few people possess knowledge of both Ruby and its associated framework. Due to this, they have huge demand and need to give high pay as they are hard to get | Node.js has more people with good knowledge of the framework and programming language. We can get both front-end and back-end developers from a single person without needing to pay as high as Ruby. |
Conclusion Ruby vs Node.js
Finally, It’s an overview of the comparison between Ruby vs Node.js. After reading this Ruby vs Node.js article, I hope you will better understand these frameworks and programming languages. As both Ruby vs Node.js can achieve the same results, but Ruby is suitable for cases where we need to develop CPU-intensive applications or need to move quickly for CURD operations, and Node.js is ideal for cases where we need to build applications having heavy I/O operations from the application, single-page applications, real-time applications, etc.
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