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TAG: Ruby on Rails
July 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Ruby on Rails IDEs and editors compared
Martin Heller left no stone unturned in today's examination of Ruby on Rails IDEs and text editors (see "Lab test: Climb aboard Ruby on Rails". The nine tools for Windows, Mac, and Linux include both free and commercial products. Follow the link above for the full reviews. Below you'll find essential pros and cons for each product, and a quick comparison table showing price, OS support, and major features.
| Product | Pros | Cons |
| Ruby in Steel Developer Edition 1.2 and Text Edition 1.1.5 | Visual Rails Workbench; Fast debugging; Excellent IntelliSense; Supports standard Ruby, JRuby, and IronRuby | Weak testing integration; No refactoring support |
| Aptana 1.1 RadRails 1.0 Professional and Community Editions | Good integration of all common Rails development functions; Free functionality is sufficient for most Rails developers; Strong refactoring capabilities; Strong test integration | Performance is adequate |
| Komodo IDE 4.3, Komodo Edit 4.3 | Good debugger; Nice testing integration; Multi-language, multi-platform; Good lightweight feel | Lacks refactoring; Weak Rails M-V-C-H-T navigation |
| 3rdRail 1.1 | Wizards combine and enhance Rails generators; Commanders tie IDE to and from command line; Good code completion and navigation; Good debugger; Includes development license for InterBase | More expensive than competitors |
| NetBeans IDE 6.1 | Strong editing and navigation; Good integration; Good debugging and profiling; Gem installation manager | Adequate performance |
| TextMate 1.5.7 | Fast, efficient editor; Full set of Ruby and Rails bundles; Many useful snippets and shortcuts; Includes a bundle editor | Using bundles effectively requires memorizing shortcuts |
| IntelliJ IDEA 7.0.3 with Ruby plug-in 1.0 | Good Ruby and Rails editing; Good integration; Good refactoring | No debugger |
| E Text Editor 1.0.20 BETA | Fast, efficient editor; Full set of Ruby and Rails bundles; Many useful snippets and shortcuts; Includes a bundle editor | Using bundles effectively requires memorizing shortcuts |
| InType 0.3.1 ALPHA | Fast, efficient editor; Partial set of Ruby and Rails bundles; Many useful snippets and shortcuts | Lacks a project view; Lacks a bundle editor; Using bundles effectively requires memorizing shortcuts |
| Product | Windows | Mac | Linux | IDE | Debugger | Bundles | Refactoring | Price | Notes |
| Ruby in Steel Developer Edition 1.2 | X | X | X | $199 | Fast debugging; IntelliSense; Visual Rails | ||||
| Ruby in Steel Text Edition 1.1.5 | X | X | X | $49 | |||||
| Aptana 1.1 RadRails 1.0 Professional | X | X | X | X | X | X | $199 | Intro $99; profiler; ftps; sftp | |
| Aptana 1.1 RadRails 1.0 Community | X | X | X | X | X | X | Free | ||
| Komodo IDE 4.3 | X | X | X | X | X | $295 | Code completion | ||
| Komodo Edit 4.3 | X | X | X | Free | |||||
| 3rdRail 1.1 | X | X | X | X | X | X | $399 | Code completion; productivity wizards; includes InterBase | |
| NetBeans IDE 6.1 | X | X | X | X | X | X | Free | ||
| TextMate 1.5.7 | X | X | $63 | ||||||
| IntelliJ IDEA 7.0.3 with Ruby plug-in 1.0 | X | X | X | X | X | $249 | Ruby debugging planned for IDEA 8 | ||
| E Text Editor 1.0.20 BETA | X | X | $35 | ||||||
| InType 0.3.1 ALPHA | X | X | Free | Release $34? |
Posted by Doug Dineley on July 7, 2008 03:00 AM