Discover the OOP roots of Ruby on Rails in this in-depth exploration. Is Ruby on Rails object-oriented or not? Find out now.

1. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 1/11
IsRubyonRailsObjectOriented?AComprehensiveExploration
MitulPatel IsRubyonRailsObjectOriented October17,2023
Inthevastrealmofprogramminglanguagesandwebdevelopmentframeworks,RubyonRailshascarveda
nicheforitself.
Whilemanydeveloperspraiseitsefficiencyandversatility,onequestionloomslarge–IsRubyonRailstruly
object-oriented?
Inthiscomprehensiveexploration,wewilldelveintothefundamentalsofRubyonRailstouncoveritsobject-
orientednature.
Let’sStart!
BeforewecandissectRubyonRails,let’sestablishasolidunderstandingofObject-OrientedProgramming.
TheOOPparadigmforprogrammingisbasedontheideaofobjects,whichareinstancesofclasses.
Developersidentifiedthatasapplicationsbecomelargeinsizeandcomplexitylevel,theygeneratedifficulties
tomaintain.Asmallchangeinanapplicationcaneasilydeveloperrorsintheentireprogramdueto
dependencies.
Developersneededasolutionfordatathatcouldbeupdatedandmanipulatedwithoutaffectingthewhole
codingoftheprogram.
Thesolutionofdevelopinginterdependenceofdataistosectionoffareasofcode.AndObject-Oriented
Programminghelpsinthat.
OOPpromotestheorganizationofcodeintodiscrete,reusablecomponents,makingiteasiertodevelopand
maintaincomplexsoftwaresystems.
DefiningObject-OrientedProgramming
0
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2. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
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Let’sknowallthekeyprinciplesonwhichObject-OrientedProgrammingLanguagesworks!
TodetermineifRubyonRailsalignswithOOPprinciples,weneedtograspthekeytenetsofthisprogramming
paradigm:
OOPencouragesencapsulation,wheredataandmethodsthatmanipulatethedataarebundledtogetherinto
classes.Thishelpsinhidinginternalcomplexitiesandensurescleaninterfaces.
Insimpletermswecansay,Encapsulationismeanttohidefunctionalitypartsandmakeitdisabledtotherest
ofthecodebase.It’satypeofdataprotection,duetothefactthatdatacan’tbeupdatedormanipulated
withoutaclearpurpose.
Itiswhatestablishesthelimitsofyourapplicationandenablesyourcodetogrowmoresophisticated.Like
manyotherOOlanguages,Rubyachievesthisgoalbygeneratingobjectsandmakinginterfaces(i.e.,methods)
availableforinteractingwiththem.
Anotheradvantageofdevelopingobjectsisthattheypermitdeveloperstothinkonanewabstractionlevel.
Objectscanbegivenmethodsthatdefinethebehaviourtheprogrammerisattemptingtoconveyandare
representedasreal-worldnouns.
InheritanceisavitalOOPconcept.Itallowsnewclassestobecreatedbasedonexistingclasses,promoting
codereuseandhierarchy.
InRuby,aclassinheritsthebehavioursofanotherclass,knownasthesuperclass,usingtheideaof
inheritance.Asaresult,Rubyprogrammersnowhavetheflexibilitytocreatefundamentalclasseswithhigh
levelsofreuseandsmallersubclassesformoreintricate,granularbehaviours.
Polymorphismenablesthesamemethodorfunctiontoexhibitdifferentbehaviourbasedonthecontextin
whichitisused.Thisfostersflexibilityandextensibilityincode.
KeyPrinciplesofOOP(Object-Oriented
Programming)
1.Encapsulation
2.Inheritance
3.Polymorphism
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3. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 3/11
ForExample,Aslongastheargumenthasamovemethodthatiscompatible,wecanprovideanykindof
argumenttoamethodthatinvokesthemovemethodonitsargument.It’spossiblethattheobjectcould
symbolizeaperson,acat,ajellyfish,orevenavehiclelikeacarortrain.Inotherwords,itenablesobjectsof
varioustypestoreacttothesamemethodcall.
Theprefix“poly”means“many,”andthesuffix“morph”means“forms.”OOPallowsusthefreedomtouse
previouslycreatedcodeforbrand-newuses.
Abstractionisaboutsimplifyingcomplexrealitybymodellingclassesbasedontheiressentialfeatures.It
reducescomplexityandfocusesonthenecessarydetails.
Anopen-sourcewebapplicationframeworkcreatedintheRubyprogramminglanguageisknownasRailsor
RubyonRails.CreatedbyDavidHeinemeierHanssonin2004,Railshasgainedimmensepopularityforitsease
ofuseandrapiddevelopmentcapabilities.
Railsisafull-stackframeworkandaccessibleinseveraloperatingsystemslikeWindows,MacOSX,andLinux.
YoucaninstallRubyonRailslikeaprowithproperguidanceandafewsimplestepsinyoursystem.AsRailsis
anopensourceframework,youcanaccessallitsfeatures.
Thisframeworkfollowsthemodel-view-controller(MVC)architectureandithasalargecommunityofcore
featuresforfrontendandbackendrequirements.
RubyonRailsisknownasdevelopers’choicebecauseitisbuiltonasetofpredefinedpatternsandlibraries
whichquicklyimplementvariousfunctionalitylikeemailsendingordatareadingfromSQLdatabases.
Forinstance,ActiveRecordisimplementedbyRailsasanobject–relationalmapper(ORM)patternthatallows
programmerstointeractwithdatabasesbyusingRubyobjects.
ActiveRecordinRubyonRailsisacorepartofMVCarchitecture,andit’sresponsibleformanagingModel
behaviour.Forexample,RubyonRailsActiveRecordworksonfouroperations:Create,Read,Update,and
Delete.
OnemoreRailsfunctionalityisknownasapppreloaderusuallycalledSpring.Itassuresthatprogrammerscan
performmodificationsandnecessaryupdatestotheappandcanseethechangeswithoutstarting
backgroundprocesses.
4.Abstraction
RubyonRails:AnOverview
WhatisRubyonRails?
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4. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 4/11
DevelopersalsoextendtheframeworkwithRubygems(managedbyBundler)inRubyonRailsweb
development.AGemfilefile,whichspecifiesthedownloadsourceandtheparticularRubygemsforthe
application,canbeusedtosetupBundler.
Rubyisaflexibleprogramminglanguageutilizedinnumerousbranchesofthesoftwareindustry.Themost
notableRubyusecasesarelistedbelow.
Ruby’spopularityasaprogramminglanguageislargelyduetotheRubyonRailsframework,whichtransformed
webdevelopment.BeforetheRailsframeworkappearedin2005,programmerswastedtoomuchtime
developingboilerplatecodethatwasthesameeverywhere.
Duetoitsinclusionofallthetoolsadeveloperneedstocreateascalablewebsite,theRailsframeworkaltered
this.Youcanprovideastraightforwardcommandtocreateboilerplatecode,adatabasemodel,orasuitablefile
structure.
Thesekindsofautomationsfreedevelopersfromperformingtime-consuming,low-valuetaskssotheycan
concentratemoreonwritingthelogicofawebapp.
Thewebsiteemploysserver-sidecodetocreatetheHTMLcontentitservestoyourbrowserwhenyouvisita
regularwebpage.ThisindicatesthattheURLyouvisithasnoHTMLfilesattached.
Typically,servingwebfilestoclientsusingthisformofHTMLproductionisnotthefastestmethod.Useastatic
websitegeneratorlikeRuby-basedJekyll,oneofthemostwell-likedstaticsitegenerators,asitismore
efficient.
Allofthewebpagesarecreatedsimultaneouslybyastaticwebsitegeneratorusingcode.Whenyouaccess
thewebsite,youwillreceiveastaticHTMLfileasaresultofthosepageslivingonaserver.
Websitesarenoweffective,safe,andsimpletolaunchbecauseofthis.Astaticwebsitegeneratorisperfectfor
websiteswithrarelychangingcontent.
Rubyisawell-likedprogramminglanguageforwebsitedeployment,automation,andDevOps.
Thinkaboutthewell-knownHerokuwebappdeploymentplatform.Becauseitenablestesting,deploying,and
stagingwebappswithoutDevOpsengineers,thisplatformhasgrowninpopularity.Herokuusedtoexclusively
supportRubyasaprogramminglanguage.
Rubyisalsousedtocreatethewell-knownvirtualmachinemanagementprogramVagrant.Developerscanrun
softwaredesignedforoneoperatingsystemonanotherusingVagrant.AdevelopermightconvertaLinux-only
serviceintoaMac-compatibleformat,forinstance.
IfyouwanttoHireRubyonRailsDevelopersforbetteroutcomesofyourRailsproject,thenyoushould
considerRORBitsasyourRORdevelopmentpartner.
WebserversarefrequentlybuiltusingthepopularprogramminglanguageRuby.Rubyissupportedbythewell-
knownwebapplicationserversPassengerandPuma.ThesewebapplicationservershandleHTTPrequests,
controlworkflowsandresources,andenabletroubleshootingandmonitoring.
WhatIsTheMajorUseOfRubyonRails?
WebDevelopment
StaticSiteGeneration
DevopsandAutomation
WebServices
DataProcessing
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5. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 5/11
Becauseofitsaccessiblesyntax,Rubyisafantasticlanguagefordataprocessing.Otherstrongbuilt-in
featuresofRubyincludeselect,reduce,andmap.Thesefeaturesmakeitsimpletoprocess,clean,andfilter
data.
RubyincludespackageslikeVesselthatmakeitsimpletoparsewebdata.YoumayeasilycreateRubyprograms
usingVesselthatcrawlanddownloadwebpages.
YoumaythenuseNokogiri,awell-likedRubylibrary,toparsethescrapedHTMLinformation.Withthehelpof
thislibrary,youcanexecutedataanalysis,suchascreatingamachinelearningmodelbasedoncrawleddata,
orpreparethecollecteddataintonewHTMLorXMLobjects.
BeforewediveintoRails,it’simportanttonotethatRuby,theunderlyingprogramminglanguage,isconsidered
apureobject-orientedlanguage.InRuby,everythingisanobject,anditadheresstrictlytoOOPprinciples.
Now,thecriticalquestionarises:DoesRubyonRails,whichisbuiltontheRubylanguage,maintainthesame
levelofobject-orientedpurity?
RubyonRailsadherestotheModel-View-Controller(MVC)architecture,aclassicOOPpattern.Models
representdata,viewshandlethepresentation,andcontrollersmanageuserinteractions.Thisclearseparation
ofconcernsalignswithOOP’sprinciplesofabstractionandencapsulation.
RailsemploysActiveRecord,anObject-RelationalMapping(ORM)system.Itallowsdeveloperstointeractwith
databasesusingobjectsinsteadofSQLqueries.Thisapproachencapsulatesdatabaselogicwithinobjects,
makingitaprimeexampleofencapsulationinaction.
Railsisenrichedwithanextensivelibraryofgemsandmodules.Theseareself-contained,reusablecodeunits
thatembodyOOP’scoreideaofcodereusability.Byaddinggems,developerscanextendthefunctionalityof
theirapplicationswithease.
ToaccessallthefeaturesandbenefitsofRubyonRailsframeworkinyourRailsapplication,youcanconnect
withanyleadingRubyonRailsDevelopmentCompanylikeRORBits.Theywillgiveyoufullassistanceasper
yourneeds.
Now,wewillseekeyfactorsofObject-OrientedProgrammingLanguagewithRubyProgramming.
WebScraping
Ruby–APureObject-OrientedLanguage
DoesRailsFollowSuit?
1.MVCArchitecture
2.ActiveRecord
3.GemsandModules
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6. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 6/11
InRubyProgrammingLanguage,Classesaredefinedasthe‘class’keyword.Checkoutanexamplementioned
below:
classDog
defbark
puts‘Woof!’
end
end
fido=Dog.new
fido.bark #Outputs:‘Woof!’
Intheaboveexample, ‘Dog’ isdefinedastheclass,and ‘fido’ isanobjectofthatclass.The ‘Dog’ classhasa
methodcalled ‘bark’.When‘fido.bark’iscalled,itperformsthe ‘bark’ methodandoutputs ‘Woof!’.
Rubyusesinstancevariablesandmethodstoaccomplishencapsulation.Instancevariablescanonlybe
accessedfromwithintheclassandarespecifiedwiththe ‘@’ sign.HereisanillustrationofRuby
encapsulation:
classDog
definitialize(name)
@name=name
end
ClassesandObjectsinRuby
EncapsulationinRuby
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7. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 7/11
defget_name
@name
end
end
fido=Dog.new(‘Fido’)
putsfido.get_name #Outputs:‘Fido’
Inthisexample, ‘@name’ isaninstancevariableoftheclass ‘Dog’,andtheinstancevariableisencapsulated
withintheclass.Byusingthe ‘get_name’ method,itcanbeaccessed.
The‘<’symbolisusedbyRubytodenoteinheritance.Here,seeanexampletounderstandbetter:
classAnimal
definitialize(name)
@name=name
end
defmove
puts“#{@name}ismoving.”
end
end
classDog<Animal
defbark
puts‘Woof!’
end
end
fido=Dog.new(‘Fido’)
fido.move #
Outputs:‘Fidoismoving.’
fido.bark #Outputs:‘Woof!’
Theclass ‘Animal’ inheritstheclass ‘Dog’ thatmeans ‘Dog’ classhasalltheaccessibilitytomethods
definedwithintheclass ‘Animal’.
Rubyusesinheritanceandthe ‘ducktyping’ principle(ifitquackslikeaduck,it’saduck)toachieve
polymorphism.Here’sanillustration:
classAnimal
definitialize(name)
InheritanceinRuby
PolymorphisminRuby
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8. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 8/11
@name=name
end
defspeak
“#{@name}says“
end
end
classDog<Animal
defspeak
super+‘Woof!’
end
end
classCat<Animal
defspeak
super+‘Meow!’
end
end
fido=Dog.new(‘Fido’)
whiskers=Cat.new(‘Whiskers’)
putsfido.speak #Outputs:‘FidosaysWoof!’
putswhiskers.speak #Outputs:‘WhiskerssaysMeow!’
Inthisscenario,class ‘Animal’ hastwosubclasses ‘Dod’ and ‘Cat’ andtheybothareredefiningthemethod
‘speak’.Thisactioniscalledpolymorphism.
Rubyusesmodulestoimplementabstraction,whichresembleclassesbutcannotundergoinstantiation.They
grouprelatedmethodsthatcanbepresentinvariousclasses.Here’sanillustrationtounderstandeasily:
moduleMovable
defmove
puts“#{@name}ismoving.”
end
end
classAnimal
includeMovable
definitialize(name)
@name=name
AbstractioninRuby
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9. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 9/11
end
end
fido=Animal.new(‘Fido’)
fido.move #Outputs:‘Fidoismoving.’
Inthisinstance,the ‘move’ method,whichispartofthe ‘Animal’ class,ispresentinthe ‘Movable’ module.
Atlast,letusclarifyforyouthefactofOOPwithRubyonRailsframework.
WhileRubyonRailsalignscloselywithobject-orientedprinciples,it’simportanttonotethatitalsoincorporates
proceduralandfunctionalelements.
Thisblendofparadigmsprovidesdeveloperswithflexibilityandallowsthemtochoosethemostsuitable
approachforaparticulartask.
Herearesomepointstoconsiderwhendiscussingtheobject-orientednatureofRubyonRails:
RubyisObject-Oriented:Ruby,thelanguageusedtodevelopRails,isindeedafullyobject-orientedlanguage.
InRuby,everythingisanobject,includingnumbersandclasses,whichareinstancesoftheClassclass.
RailsArchitecture:RubyonRailsisbuiltusingtheprinciplesofobject-orientedprogramming(OOP).Itheavily
reliesonOOPconceptslikeclasses,objects,andinheritance.Models,views,andcontrollersinRailsareall
representedasobjects,andtheframeworkencouragesdeveloperstofollowOOPbestpractices.
Object-RelationalMapping(ORM):RailsusesActiveRecord,anORM(Object-RelationalMapping)thatallows
developerstointeractwithdatabasesinanobject-orientedmanner.DatabasetablesaremappedtoRuby
classes,andrecordsaretreatedasobjects,makingiteasiertoworkwithrelationaldata.
ConventionoverConfiguration:RailspromotestheDRY(Don’tRepeatYourself)principleandusesa
convention-over-configurationapproach.Thisencouragesdeveloperstostructuretheircodeinanobject-
orientedwaybyfollowingRailsconventions,whichreducestheneedforredundantcode.
However,it’simportanttoacknowledgethatnoteveryaspectofaRailsapplicationadheresstrictlytoobject-
orientedprinciples.HerearesomefactorsthatmaychallengetheideaofRailsbeing100%object-oriented:
SQLQueries:WhileActiveRecordabstractsawaymuchofthedatabaseinteraction,developersmaystillwrite
SQLqueriesorusefeatureslikejoinsandaggregationsthatinvolveamorerelationaldatabaseapproach.
Third-PartyLibraries:Railsapplicationsoftenincorporatethird-partylibrariesandgemsthatmaynotstrictly
followobject-orientedprinciples.Theselibrariescouldintroducenon-OOPcodeintotheapplication.
Views:Railsviews,whichdealwiththepresentationlayer,mayincludeelementslikeHTML,JavaScript,and
CSS,whicharenotinherentlyobject-oriented.
RubyonRailsisfirmlyrootedinobject-orientedprogrammingandencouragesdeveloperstofollowOOP
principles.However,itoperatesinareal-worldecosystemwheresomenon-OOPelements,suchasdatabase
queriesandexternallibraries,maybenecessary.
YoucandescribeRailsasprimarilyobject-oriented,butexternalfactorssometimespreventitfrombeing100%
object-orientedinpractice.
BurstingtheMyth:IsIt100%Object-
Oriented?
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10. 10/25/23, 5:20 PM Is Ruby on Rails Object Oriented? A Comprehensive Exploration
https://www.rorbits.com/is-ruby-on-rails-object-oriented/ 10/11
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Inthiscomprehensiveexploration,we’vedelvedintotheheartofRubyonRailsanditsadherencetoobject-
orientedprinciples.Althoughnotpurelyobject-oriented,RailscapturestheessenceofOOPandcombinesit
withotherparadigmstocreateaflexibleandefficientwebdevelopmentframework.
So,thenexttimesomeoneasks,“IsRubyonRailsobject-oriented?”youcanconfidentlysaythatitmergesthe
bestofmultipleworlds,providingaversatileandpowerfulapproachtowebdevelopment.
IfyouwanttodevelopyourappwithRubyonRailsandwantgreatguidancetoexecute!Thenyoushould
connectwiththeRubyonRailsConsultingServicesProviderlikeRORBits.Theywillsupportyouandguide
youthroughoutthedevelopmentprocess.
HAPPYRUBYONRAILS!!!
IsRubyonRailspurelyanobject-orientedframework?
RubyonRailsprimarilyfollowsobject-orientedprinciplesbutalsoincorporatesproceduralandfunctional
elements.
HowdoesRubyonRailsimplementencapsulation?
WhatmakesRubyapureobject-orientedlanguage?
CanIextendRubyonRails'functionalityeasily?
IsRubyonRailsagoodchoiceforwebdevelopmentprojects?
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whatisrubyandrails
MitulPatel
www.rorbits.com/
MitulPatel,FoundedRORBits,oneoftheTopSoftwareDevelopmentCompanyin2011
offermobileappdevelopmentservicesacrosstheglobe.Hisvisionaryleadershipand
flamboyantmanagementstylehaveyieldfruitfulresultsforthecompany.
Conclusion
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