Aptana RadRails 1.0
When I reviewed RadRails 0.7 in 2006, I said that "all serious Rails developers should consider it for their toolkits." At the time, RadRails lacked debugging
and refactoring capabilities. I'm happy to say that its refactoring is now excellent. In addition, its debugging is now sufficient for the purpose, thanks to the ruby-debug-ide gem.
My biggest gripe about RadRails in 2006 was the lack of documentation, which has since been remedied. In addition to a combined
help file for RadRails and Aptana Studio, Aptana offers a number of videos, and a book by an independent author has just been published about using RadRails, titled AptanaRadRails: An IDE for Rails Development.
A full table of Aptana RadRails features is available. I would take the comparison columns that list NetBeans and 3rdRail features in this table with a grain of salt;
a quick check found several features incorrectly listed as missing in NetBeans and 3rdRail. I don't think the table was current
when I viewed it.
The two major RadRails features that are turned on in the Professional edition are profiling and JSON editing. Other features
of the Professional edition include FTPS and SFTP access to remote sites, Internet Explorer JavaScript debugging, early access
to new builds, and priority support.
I encountered two minor problems with Aptana RadRails 1.0. First, it still doesn't have a visible soft word-wrap display option,
which is a general Eclipse issue. Second, it generates .RHTML files for new views on Rails 2 projects that should have .HTML.ERB
files.
The second problem will be addressed in a future update to RadRails, according to Aptana. The word-wrap problem has a work-around, in the form of an Eclipse Monkey script.
I was initially concerned when the free open source RadRails project became part of Aptana. In fact, Aptana RadRails is a
stronger product than RadRails could have become by itself. The combination of RadRails' Ruby and Rails support and Aptana's
JavaScript support into two compatible Eclipse views makes Aptana RadRails a strong choice for people developing AJAX applications
on Rails.
On the other hand, if you need any of the Professional features of Aptana RadRails and find the modest license cost a problem,
you might want to look at NetBeans as a completely free alternative.
Jump to the review of the Ruby on Rails IDE of your choice from the list below:
SapphireSteel Ruby in Steel Developer Edition 1.2 and Text Edition 1.1.5
Aptana RadRails 1.0
ActiveState Komodo IDE 4.3 and Edit 4.3
CodeGear 3rdRail 1.1
NetBeans IDE 6.1
MacroMates TextMate 1.5.7
JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA 7.0.3 with Ruby plug-in 1.0
E Text Editor 1.0.20 Beta
Intype 0.3.1 Alpha
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| The Bottom Line |
SapphireSteel Ruby in Steel Developer Edition 1.2 and Text Edition 1.1.5
SapphireSteel Software, sapphiresteel.com
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 Very Good 8.3 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
9 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
8 |
20% |
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| Integration |
7 |
20% |
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| Performance |
9 |
10% |
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| Value |
8 |
10% |
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Cost:
$199 for Developer Edition, $49 for Text Edition (with reduced features and performance)
Platforms:
Windows XP/Vista
Bottom Line:
If you use Visual Studio for coding in other languages and/or developing other kinds of Web sites and want to develop Ruby
programs and Rails sites in the same IDE, then Ruby in Steel is exactly what you need. The best features -- the IntelliSense
support for Ruby and Rails, the Visual Rails Workbench, and the fast Ruby and JRuby debuggers -- are reserved for the more
expensive Developer Edition.
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| The Bottom Line |
Aptana RadRails 1.0
Aptana, aptana.com
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| Very Good 8.6 |
|
| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
8 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
9 |
20% |
|
| Integration |
9 |
20% |
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| Performance |
8 |
10% |
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| Value |
10 |
10% |
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Cost:
RadRails plug-in is free; $199 ($99 intro) for Aptana Studio Professional Edition. Community Edition is free, but lacks Profiler
and JSON editor
Platforms:
Windows 32- or 64-bit platforms, Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, or Linux 32-bit with GTK.
Bottom Line:
Aptana RadRails is a cross-platform Rails editor built on top of the Eclipse IDE. The free Community Edition is good enough
for most Rails developers' needs. The fact that RadRails is part of Aptana means that RadRails users have access to excellent
JavaScript editing and debugging, which helps when working with AJAX.
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| The Bottom Line |
ActiveState Komodo IDE 4.3 and Edit 4.3
ActiveState Software, activestate.com
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| Good 7.9 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
7 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
9 |
20% |
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| Integration |
8 |
20% |
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| Performance |
9 |
10% |
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| Value |
8 |
10% |
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Cost:
$295 for IDE, Edit is free
Platforms:
Windows 2000/XP/Vista; Mac OS X 10.3 and higher; Debian/Ubuntu 5.04 and higher; Red Hat/Fedora 4 and higher; Suse 9.0 and
higher
Bottom Line:
If you are already using the multiplatform, multilingual Komodo IDE for development in other languages, it makes sense to
use it for Ruby on Rails as well. It probably wouldn't be my top pick for full-time Rails developers, however. Komodo Edit
is a reasonably good free Ruby on Rails editor, but lacks the debuggers, interactive shells, HTTP inspector, DOM viewer, and
SCC integration of Komodo IDE.
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| The Bottom Line |
CodeGear 3rdRail 1.1
CodeGear, codegear.com
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| Very Good 8.4 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
8 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
9 |
20% |
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| Integration |
9 |
20% |
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| Performance |
9 |
10% |
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| Value |
7 |
10% |
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Cost:
$399
Platforms:
Windows XP/Vista; Mac OS X 10.4/10.5; Ubuntu Linux 7.1
Bottom Line:
3rdRail, which won a Jolt Productivity award last spring, offers higher developer productivity than most other Rails IDEs,
at a higher price. Developers who work on Rails applications full-time should be able to justify the initial cost in terms
of long-term productivity gains.
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| The Bottom Line |
NetBeans IDE 6.1
Sun, netbeans.org
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| Excellent 9.0 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
9 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
9 |
20% |
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| Integration |
9 |
20% |
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| Performance |
8 |
10% |
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| Value |
10 |
10% |
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Cost:
Free
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris.
Bottom Line:
If you already use NetBeans for Java and/or C/C++ development, then it should probably be your top choice as a Rails IDE as
well. Delivering strong editing and navigation along with good debugging and profiling, it's a very capable and highly integrated
Rails IDE. And it's free.
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| The Bottom Line |
MacroMates TextMate 1.5.7
MacroMates, http://macromates.com
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| Very Good 8.0 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
8 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
8 |
20% |
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| Integration |
7 |
20% |
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| Performance |
9 |
10% |
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| Value |
9 |
10% |
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Cost:
Around $63
Platforms:
Mac OS 10.4.2 PPC/Intel
Bottom Line:
TextMate is the favorite editor of the core Rails development team, but it's only available for Mac OS X. Its full set of
Ruby and Rails bundles help substantially with navigation, generation, and snippet insertion. Using them effectively, however,
requires memorizing shortcuts.
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JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA 7.0.3 with Ruby plug-in 1.0
JetBrains, jetbrains.com
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| Very Good 8.1 |
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| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Features |
8 |
40% |
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| Ease-of-use |
8 |
20% |
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| Integration |
8 |
20% |
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| Performance |
9 |
10% |
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| Value |
8 |
10% |
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Cost:
$249 for IntelliJ IDEA; Ruby plug-in is free
Platforms:
Windows Vista/2003/XP/2000/NT 4.0 SP6a; Mac OS X 10.4; Red Hat Linux Fedora/9.x/8.x/7.3
Bottom Line:
If you already use IntelliJ IDEA for Java development, you might like it as a Rails IDE as well: It brings to the table good
Ruby and Rails edits, integration, and refactoring. You'll have to look elsewhere for a debugger, however.
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E Text Editor 1.0.20
E Text Editor, e-texteditor.com
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| Beta |
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Cost:
$34.95
Platforms:
Windows
Bottom Line:
This capable TextMate clone for Windows is fast and efficient, incorporating the TextMate bundle and shortcut mechanism and
bundle editor. Its full set of Ruby and Rails bundles help substantially with navigation, generation, and snippet insertion.
Using them effectively, however, requires memorizing shortcuts.
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