makandra is now a member of the Rails Foundation
We at makandra have been working exclusively with Ruby on Rails for 15 years. Our attachment to Rails goes all the way back to our beginnings. We are therefore particularly proud to be able to announce:
We are the first German company to join the Rails Foundation.
The Rails Foundation was founded to strengthen the existing Rails ecosystem and guarantee the success of Rails in the future. The programming language Ruby has been around for almost 30 years and Rails, the web framework that is based on Ruby, has been around for 20 years. Millions of applications have already been created with it by hundreds of thousands of satisfied developers. Rails 7 is technically stronger than ever before, thanks to the dedication of Rails Foundation members and thousands of contributors. Now we are officially a part of it as one of six contributing members.
Why we chose Rails
When makandra was founded in 2009, Rails was experiencing a worldwide hype. One of the reasons for that was that the Rails framework was one of the first that made it possible to implement automated tests that could minimize regression errors during the development and adaptation of web applications. Right from the start, it was clear that web development would become our main focus. As Ruby on Rails focuses mainly on this area, the framework was a perfect fit for us right from the start.
Although Ruby is often referred to as a niche programming language, it is one of the 20 most widely used programming languages in the world and some very large, well-known platforms have been developed with the help of Rails. Perhaps the best known of these are Shopify (accounts for 20% of all active e-commerce websites and handles 10% of the world's e-commerce traffic) GitHub, Airbnb or Kickstarter.
One of the particular strengths of Ruby on Rails is its flexibility in the use of agile methods. This means that we are not dependent on defining every development detail at the beginning. This flexibility allows us to react better to changes and ultimately achieve high-quality results.
Ruby on Rails is an open source web framework that simplifies the development of web applications by providing standardized structures and conventions. A special feature of Ruby is the possibility of metaprogramming, which increases the degree of flexibility enormously. Rails is also a framework that eliminates a lot of configuration work for the user and provides excellent components for everything that is relevant on the web. This means that web applications can be developed much faster and with significantly less code than with other languages and frameworks.
How we support the Rails ecosystem and the open source community
Through our makandra cards, we actively share our knowledge of RoR with the developer community. The cards serve as a platform where we document and share best practices, useful tips and tricks, and key learnings from our experience with Rails. In addition, we are actively involved in strengthening the Rails ecosystem by designing and developing our own open source projects such as unpoly, active_type or geordi.
In the form of Rails LTS, we offer security updates for unsupported versions of Ruby on Rails. After several years of use, old versions of the Ruby on Rails framework reach end-of-life (EOL). This marks the moment when the Rails community team stops providing security updates for critical vulnerabilities. This is where we come in. As soon as a new advisory is published on the official Rails security list or reported to us directly, we are on hand to patch the vulnerability. By continuously maintaining and providing security patches, we help to extend the lifespan of older Rails versions and give users the ability to run their applications securely and reliably without being forced to immediately upgrade to the latest version of Rails. This guarantees the flexibility to update systems according to your own schedule.
Ruby on Rails – Our key to outstanding solutions
At makandra, we realize a wide variety of web projects for customers from various industries on a daily basis. We have now implemented over 150 projects with Ruby on Rails! Our focus is on creating technically first-class, stable and long-term maintainable solutions. We can demonstrate a high speed in product development and deliver fully functional, usable software to our customers in 100 days. We owe this not only to our careful planning and dedicated team, but also to the Rails framework, which enables us to implement projects efficiently. With the help of this combination, we are always on schedule- a service that is particularly appreciated by our customers.
We are fully behind Ruby on Rails
Joining the Rails Foundation is a huge milestone for us and also creates the statement that we are fully behind Ruby on Rails. We are proud to be part of this community and look forward to continuing to develop high-quality solutions using the framework and sharing our knowledge with the developer community. Ruby on Rails will continue to be our key to outstanding results and we are determined to do our part to further develop and strengthen the framework.
Further information can be found in the official membership announcement of the Rails Foundation.