Building B2B Software with Ruby on Rails: 5 Best Practices for Success

by Shivangi

Are you considering developing B2B software? If so, Ruby on Rails is an excellent choice. This open-source web application framework is known for its ease of use, speed, and flexibility. However, as with any technology, it's important to follow best practices to ensure that you're getting the most out of it.

In this blog post, we'll explore five best practices for Ruby on Rails development in B2B Custom Software Development. These practices will help you build more efficient, effective, and scalable software, and they'll save you time and effort in the long run. Whether you're new to Ruby on Rails or a seasoned developer, these best practices are essential knowledge for anyone working in B2B software development.

Ruby on Rails: The Web Development Powerhouse

Released in 2004, Ruby on Rails (RoR) is an open-source web development framework. It is designed to make it easy to build web applications quickly and efficiently. Commonly known as Rails, this framework is based on the Ruby programming language. It is designed to be simple, easy to learn, and powerful enough to handle complex web applications. Popular giants like Netflix, Github, Shopify, and Airbnb, to name a few, have been using this framework for web development.

Ruby on Rails follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. MVC is a design pattern that separates the concerns of an application into three distinct layers: the model, the view, and the controller. This architecture makes it easy to organize an application's code and keep it maintainable over time. According to the latest Stack Overflow report, Ruby on Rails is among the most popular web development tools used by developers around the globe.

5 Best Practices for Ruby On Rails Development

Testing Applications

Testing applications helps identify bugs and issues before the Ruby On Rails web application is deployed. Ruby on Rails has built-in testing tools, making it easy to write automated tests for the application. Tests should be written for all components of the application, including the models, controllers, and views.

One of the tools is the Rails Testing Framework, which is a testing framework that provides a simple and intuitive way to write tests for Ruby On Rails web applications. The framework supports different types of tests such as unit tests, functional tests, and integration tests, which allow you to test individual components, controller actions, and the interaction between various parts of the application during Ruby on Rails app development.

Another important testing tool in Rails is the Rails Console, which provides an interactive environment for testing and debugging Ruby On Rails web applications. You can use the console to execute commands, queries, and tests. This allows you to quickly and easily test and debug the application code without having to manually run the application.

Deploying Applications

Deploying applications is important to ensure that the Ruby On Rails web application is deployed to a secure and stable environment. You must follow best practices for deployment, such as using SSL encryption, monitoring the Ruby On Rails web application's performance, and configuring backups. Ruby on Rails supports a variety of deployment options, including using a cloud-based platform, such as AWS or Heroku. These cloud-based providers handle server configuration, scaling, and maintenance, allowing one to focus on writing code.

Moreover, among the several deployment options available, Virtual Private Servers (VPS) providers such as DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr offer virtual servers that can be used to host Rails applications. With a VPS, you can have complete control over the server configuration and can install any required software and libraries.

Also explore Things to Consider While Hiring Ruby On Rails Team

Security

Attackers may use session hijacking to steal cookies and modify session IDs, and they may do so through methods like cross-site scripting or Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). Unlike cross-site scripting, CSRF does not aim to log in to a user's account by stealing their cookies. Instead, it allows a user to log in to a website that is vulnerable to CSRF, without the user's knowledge.

To prevent CSRF attacks in Rails, it is necessary to include an authenticity token in HTML responses. This token is stored within the user's session cookie and is used to generate unique authentication tokens for each form. When a form and its authentication token are submitted, Rails verifies the request to determine whether it should be processed.

Parameter Validation

Parameter validation is an important security measure in Rails applications that involves checking the input parameters for a particular action or request to ensure that they are valid and safe to use. Validating input parameters to prevent security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other attacks that can harm the application or its users.

Some of the ways to perform parameter validation in Rails include the following:

  • Model Validations: In model validations, you can add validation rules to your model classes to ensure that certain parameters meet specific criteria before they are saved to the database. For example, you could add a validation rule to ensure that a user's email address is unique or that a password is of minimum length.
  • Custom Validation Methods: You can also create custom validation methods in Rails to perform more complex validation checks on input parameters. Custom validation methods can be defined in your model or controller classes and can check for specific patterns or conditions in the input parameters.
  • Parameter Type Checking: Rails provides several methods to check the type of a parameter, such as is_a? and kind_of?. Type-checking can also help prevent type-related errors and vulnerabilities.

Choosing Convention over Configuration

The concept of Convention over Configuration was incorporated into Ruby on Rails during its development process, aiming to simplify the development time of applications. This design philosophy eliminates the need to configure every aspect of your application.

When using Rails, the three components to pay attention to are controllers, views, and models, which all relate to the database. As mentioned above, Rails has implemented rules to simplify the application development process. This reduces the need for extensive configuration.

Using the conventions that Rails provides, you can speed up development, make code more concise and readable, and simplify navigation within the application.

Domain Objects

You may be familiar with the term "Fat Model, Skinny Controller" if you have experience with Ruby. Although it can be a good starting point, this approach becomes less effective as your codebase expands.

Domain objects should be used for these purposes instead. Domain objects are classes that encapsulate the business logic of the application. They are designed to have a single responsibility within the problem domain and are responsible for modeling the data and behavior of the domain.

Domain objects in Rails are typically implemented using the Active Record pattern, which provides an object-relational mapping (ORM) layer for interacting with the database. The Active Record pattern maps each domain object to a database table and provides methods for querying, creating, updating, and deleting records. By using domain objects in Rails, you can create more modular, maintainable, and testable code that is easier to reason about and understand.

Ruby on Rails is important in B2B software development because of its rapid development cycle, scalability, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, security, and community support. It provides businesses with a powerful framework that can help them build web applications quickly and efficiently while meeting specific customer requirements.

Though B2B software development with Ruby on Rails can be a complex process, by following these best practices, it is possible to achieve success.

Explore in our previous blog, Why Ruby on Rails is Ideal for Enterprise Applications .