Ruby on Rails is a popular choice of framework for developing web applications, especially among startups and small businesses. So, if you have chosen RoR for your upcoming application, great but what about the RoR developer? Afterall, an application is only as good as the code, and by extension the web developer.
When hiring a developer you have to consider several soft and hard skills to ensure you are making the best choice for your project. Good communication, technical creativity, solution-driven attitude and a good knowledge of relevant tech trends are a few of the soft skills that add value to application planning and development process. These are a little tricky to identify and the assessment may depend on the interviewer’s skills and patience.
With respect to the tech skills, however, the requirements are pretty much straightforward and easy to assess. As a company that has launched several successful RoR applications, we owe a major part of our success to our creative and talented RoR developers. We had a chat with the team and they helped us list out the must-have tech skills to create amazing webs apps. Check out the list below:
Ruby
Syntax
Straightforward syntax and semantics are what makes Ruby a favourite among the developers. A good developer will be familiar with the basic elements of the language such as loops, modules, classes, conditional statements and so on.
OOP programming
RoR is an object-oriented language so the developer will need to be knowledgeable in OOP terminologies such as abstraction, polymorphism, encapsulation and inheritance. The programmer also needs to be adept at object-oriented programming concepts such as objects, classes, modules, attributes and methods.
Ruby on Rails
MVC paradigm
MVC paradigm is the structure for UI programming in Ruby on Rails framework.The developer will need to have a proper understanding of the different layers of MVC paradigm in order to structure the app appropriately.
ERB & Haml
A good working knowledge of templating systems such as ERB or the more popular alternative Haml is powerful for executing Ruby code, calculations or reference the values of variables.
ActiveRecord
A good Ruby on Rails developer will have an understanding of the use of Active Record in Rails, its place in the MVC paradigm and the basic knowledge of concepts such as models, migrations, associations and validation.
RSpec
RSpec is the most popular choice for testing specific features of applications built on Ruby on Rails. So, the developer’s unit-test writing skills will be an advantage.
API & JSON
A familiarity with the API concept and JSON format comes in handy when RoR is used as an API provider.
REST & HTTP
The REST architectural style & HTTP protocol is used to build interfaces that work smoothly on almost all devices and OSs. So, a good knowledge of the verbs and common statuses is very important.
App configuration
Although this is a given, the developer should be good at configuring new apps from the scratch. This skill comes with experience.
Front-End Skills
HTML5
Although not a programming language, HyperText Markup is an essential skill for web and mobile application development. So, a basic knowledge of HTML5, the current highest standard of HyperText Markup Language, is required in front-end web developers.
JavaScript
JavaScript is another essential web development language and every developer worth his salt will have a good knowledge of JS library, jQuery and a functional familiarity with top frameworks such as Spring MVC, JSF, Struts, Hibernate and GWT. A good working knowledge of
ECMAScript 6 also will get you far.
CSS
A skilled front-end developer will know to set Cascading Style Sheets using JavaScript and have a good knowledge of the SCSS/SASS concepts.
Databases
SQL
Although ActiveRecord writes the SQL, every developer should have the basic knowledge of its functions to read and understand the logs.
MySQL & PostgreSQL
MySQL & PostgreSQL are two of the most commonly used open-source database management systems. A good understanding of their setup, features and tools can make the development process quicker and easier.
NoSQL
A good understanding of NoSQL database is a lifesaver when working with a large set of distributed data.
Version control, deployment and project management tools
Git
Git is a popular choice for version control that lets you maintain a complete code repository as a local copy. A basic knowledge of working with Git branches and files and commits makes code management a lot easier.
Other tools
A familiarity with top deployment tools such as Jenkins, CI, Vagrant, Prometheus, Capistrano, Docker and Heroku and project management software such Asana, Pivotal, Trello, Basecamp, Github and AceProject is also essential.
When you are investing in building a new web or mobile application for your business, make sure you are delegating the work to capable minds. At RailsCarma, we build amazing products with Ruby on Rails, SaaS and Spree and the credit of their success goes to our experienced and talented development team. Talk to one of our experts today to build a smart and interactive business app.