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Jinja2 vs Ruby: What are the differences?
Introduction
Jinja2 and Ruby are both popular template engines used in web development. While they serve a similar purpose of separating the presentation layer from the business logic, there are key differences between them.
Execution Environment: Jinja2 is a Python-based template engine, whereas Ruby uses ERB (Embedded Ruby) templates, which are specific to the Ruby programming language. This means that the execution and rendering of Jinja2 templates occur on the server-side, while Ruby templates are processed by the Ruby interpreter.
Syntax and Template Delimiters: In Jinja2, templates are written using a combination of double curly braces (
{{ }}) to denote variables and expressions, and blocks surrounded by curly braces and percentage signs ({% %}) for control structures. On the other hand, Ruby incorporates ERB tags (<% %>) for embedding Ruby code within the template. This fundamental difference in syntax and template delimiters influences the way the templates are structured and written.Filters and Operations: Jinja2 provides a wide range of filters and operations that can be applied to variables and expressions within templates, allowing for more complex manipulations and transformations of data. Ruby, on the other hand, doesn't have built-in filters but relies on the capabilities of the Ruby programming language itself for such operations.
Template Inheritance: Both Jinja2 and Ruby support template inheritance, which allows for the modularization and reuse of template components. However, the syntax and implementation of template inheritance differ between the two. Jinja2 uses the
{% extends %}statement to inherit from a base template, while Ruby uses the concept of partials and mixins for achieving similar functionality.Template Organization: Jinja2 enforces a clear separation between the template files, static assets, and other resources, making it easier to manage and organize the project structure. Ruby, on the other hand, allows for more flexibility in how templates and related files are organized within the project directory structure.
Integration with Web Frameworks: Jinja2 is commonly used in web frameworks such as Flask and Django in the Python ecosystem, providing seamless integration and compatibility. Ruby, being a dynamic and expressive language, integrates well with web frameworks like Ruby on Rails and Sinatra, offering a comprehensive toolset for web development.
In Summary, Jinja2 and Ruby differ in their execution environment, syntax, template organization, template inheritance, and integration with web frameworks, making them suited for different programming environments and preferences.
In 2015 as Xelex Digital was paving a new technology path, moving from ASP.NET web services and web applications, we knew that we wanted to move to a more modular decoupled base of applications centered around REST APIs.
To that end we spent several months studying API design patterns and decided to use our own adaptation of CRUD, specifically a SCRUD pattern that elevates query params to a more central role via the Search action.
Once we nailed down the API design pattern it was time to decide what language(s) our new APIs would be built upon. Our team has always been driven by the right tool for the job rather than what we know best. That said, in balancing practicality we chose to focus on 3 options that our team had deep experience with and knew the pros and cons of.
For us it came down to C#, JavaScript, and Ruby. At the time we owned our infrastructure, racks in cages, that were all loaded with Windows. We were also at a point that we were using that infrastructure to it's fullest and could not afford additional servers running Linux. That's a long way of saying we decided against Ruby as it doesn't play nice on Windows.
That left us with two options. We went a very unconventional route for deciding between the two. We built MVP APIs on both. The interfaces were identical and interchangeable. What we found was easily quantifiable differences.
We were able to iterate on our Node based APIs much more rapidly than we were our C# APIs. For us this was owed to the community coupled with the extremely dynamic nature of JS. There were tradeoffs we considered, latency was (acceptably) higher on requests to our Node APIs. No strong types to protect us from ourselves, but we've rarely found that to be an issue.
As such we decided to commit resources to our Node APIs and push it out as the core brain of our new system. We haven't looked back since. It has consistently met our needs, scaling with us, getting better with time as continually pour into and expand our capabilities.
In December we successfully flipped around half a billion monthly API requests from our Ruby on Rails application to some new Python 3 applications. Our Head of Engineering has written a great article as to why we decided to transition from Ruby on Rails to Python 3! Read more about it in the link below.
When I was evaluating languages to write this app in, I considered either Python or JavaScript at the time. I find Ruby very pleasant to read and write, and the Ruby community has built out a wide variety of test tools and approaches, helping e deliver better software faster. Along with Rails, and the Ruby-first Heroku support, this was an easy decision.
Pros of Ruby
- Programme friendly608
- Quick to develop538
- Great community492
- Productivity469
- Simplicity432
- Open source274
- Meta-programming235
- Powerful208
- Blocks157
- Powerful one-liners140
- Flexible70
- Easy to learn59
- Easy to start52
- Maintainability42
- Lambdas38
- Procs31
- Fun to write21
- Diverse web frameworks19
- Reads like English14
- Makes me smarter and happier10
- Rails9
- Elegant syntax9
- Very Dynamic8
- Matz7
- Programmer happiness6
- Object Oriented5
- Elegant code4
- Friendly4
- Generally fun but makes you wanna cry sometimes4
- Fun and useful4
- There are so many ways to make it do what you want3
- Easy packaging and modules3
- Primitive types can be tampered with2
Cons of Ruby
- Memory hog7
- Really slow if you're not really careful7
- Nested Blocks can make code unreadable3
- Encouraging imperative programming2
- No type safety, so it requires copious testing1
- Ambiguous Syntax, such as function parentheses1
What is Ruby?
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