Bagus Aji Santoso

Sorry Rails, but Laravel is Winning

A few months back, I wrote why I’m learning Rails for 2023. Fast forward to September 2023, I realized that Laravel is winning. Today, I’m going to share why in my case Laravel is winning.

The main reason, why I’m embracing Rails is Hotwire. HTML over the wire is a relatively new technology by the developer of Rails to develop a dynamic web apps with vanilla JavaScript and Rails. This technology, in the end will enable a Rails app to be ported into an iOS and Android application which can be released into the playstore. Yes, it is a wrapper of WebView but it does much more than just wrapping a web inside a WebView. That’s the main reason why I”m learning Rails.

I don’t have the exact number, but in reality PHP based framework (whatever it is) are way more popular than Rails. I doesn’t say that nobody using Rails in Indonesia, but PHP developer are more common.

In 2023, I got more freelance jobs in web development (see my portfolios). Most require a web based system (I did more web based freelance projects than mobile) and most of the time I’m going to need a help from other developer.

If I develop a web app using Rails, looking for an assistance would be a nightmare. I don’t know anyone who know Rails, if I got one, they’ll be way more professional than me (in other words, more expensive 😆). But, if I develop a web app using Laravel or any PHP framework, looking for a help will be easier. I know much more people who write PHP code personally, so anytime I need help with a task, I have someone to ask.

Laravel + Filament = ❤️

Laravel ecosystem are the best. Create a new Laravel app complete with a default user authentication and dashboard is less than 5 minutes. Setup a new development server in a matter of minutes with Forge. Automatic deployment is activated automatically. Tutorials everywhere, and the most important thing is Filament.

Filament is an admin panel framework for Laravel. It helps developer to generate an admin panel with many magic. Django already have a magical admin panel years ago, but this one is so good. Filament is what makes my life got even easier with Laravel.

Forge: The Easy and Modern (Also Cheap) VPS Hosting

Since Laravel is built with PHP, it can be hosted using the cheap shared hosting. But, deploying Laravel app to a shared hosting required many works. Compare it with Forge, a PHP managed server services.

Forge is a service by the maker of Laravel, Taylor Otwell, to manage a server to host PHP application such as Wordpress, Symfony and of course Laravel itself. It take a good care of the server with many task, so we can focus to the development of the app instead of managing service or deployment.

If we develop an app using Git, we can activate the automatic deployment freely from the dashboard of the site in Forge. Yes, continuous delivery right on your dashboard just 1-click away.

Am I done with Rails and Hotwire?

Short answer is NO. I’ll never stop trying to master rails and the ecosystem since it too shiny to ignore. I have a bad habit of not satisfied until I feel that I have master a technology I interested with.

I’m still mobile developer at heart even when I’m working with more web app at the moment. Hotwire is still too sexy and I also have a goal to enter western market with my skills.

Right now I’m still following the money. Laravel offer paths to earns more at the moment since I don’t have a channel yet with Rails job, so there’s not much opportunity to diving deep with Rails. Just wait Rails.