rails/rails: Mature Ruby on Rails Framework

MVC Architecture and Core Modules of Rails

Rails adopts the MVC architecture: the Model represents business logic and data structures, such as accounts, products, or posts. Rails models typically inherit from ActiveRecord::Base, which maps database rows to objects enriched with business logic.

The View layer renders templates, often HTML embedded with Ruby code (ERB files). Rails uses Action View to generate the user-facing pages or email bodies.

The Controller handles incoming HTTP requests and generates responses in various formats like HTML, JSON, XML, or PDF. Controllers derive from ActionController::Base, load models, render views, and routing is managed by Action Dispatch. Action Controller and Action Dispatch are bundled in Action Pack.

Extensive Subsystems and Libraries for Versatile Applications

Beyond the MVC core, Rails offers multiple standalone modules: Action Mailer to generate/send emails, Action Mailbox to receive emails in-app, Active Job for background job processing with various queuing backends.

Also included are Action Cable for WebSocket integration, Active Storage for cloud and local file attachments, Action Text for rich text content, and Active Support which includes utility classes and standard library extensions. Many of these can be used independently outside Rails.

Installation and Getting Started

Users can install Rails via command line, quickly create new applications with commands like `rails new myapp`, start a local server, and access the default page through a browser. The official Rails resources include beginner tutorials, development guides, and API documentation to support learning and contribution.