Rails Vs. The Client - Speaker Deck

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Rails vs. The Client Noel Rappin Table XI @noelrap Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Here's my problem: Wednesday, May 1, 13

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I want my users to have a "rich client experience" Wednesday, May 1, 13

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@dhh: "If it's document based, structure it like Basecamp" Wednesday, May 1, 13

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1. Key based cache expiration 2. Russian doll nested caching 3. JavaScript decoration of shared caches 4. Turbolinks 5. Polling for JS Updates Wednesday, May 1, 13

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@wycats: "Rails makes a great API serving JSON to a browser" Wednesday, May 1, 13

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The locus of innovation is in the client Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Build HTML in the browser using HTML Avoid ad-hoc JavaScript Avoid Backbone Stop hiding from JavaScript Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Wednesday, May 1, 13

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@noelrap: "I just want to write my e- commerce site" Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Traditional Rails App Ember App Hybrid JS App Traditional Rails + Backbone Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png User Data Stuff Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png User Data Client Stuff Server Stuff Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png User Data Client Stuff Server Stuff Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png User Data Client Stuff Server Stuff Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png User Data Client Stuff Server Stuff JS Ruby Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Avoiding JavaScript Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Avoiding Complex MVC Structures Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Where does the heart of your application live? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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But it's still a fraught question... Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Do we even need Rails? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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rails::api Wednesday, May 1, 13

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logging params parsing reloading security sessions sending files thread safety caching cookies url writing redirection renderers callbacks active record layouts Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Complexity Wednesday, May 1, 13

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You can make things more complex, you can't make them less complex Wednesday, May 1, 13

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How can you best manage complexity? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Simplicity is being able to deal with components separately Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Simplicity is using simple structures Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Simplicity is consistency Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Server-side uses simpler JavaScript structures Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Server side has three distinct output modes Wednesday, May 1, 13

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HTML JavaScript JSON Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Client side has generally one mode of interaction Wednesday, May 1, 13

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But, business logic can be duplicated Wednesday, May 1, 13

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It's not clear that one side or the other requires less code Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Speed Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Both sides claim speed Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Server side interaction is proportional to user clicks Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Client side interaction is proportional to new data requirements Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Optimized for... Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Server style is optimized for least disruption to Rails Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Client style is optimized for simplicity of Server logic Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Questions To Ask Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Is the representation of your data stable? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Is interaction with the server primarily notification? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Do client components interact? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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What do you already have? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Will a hybrid approach work? Wednesday, May 1, 13

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Takeaways Wednesday, May 1, 13

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There's no excuse for re- downloading assets Wednesday, May 1, 13

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It'd help if the JS frameworks were more polished Wednesday, May 1, 13

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http://www.noelrappin.com @noelrap RAILSCONF25 http://www.tablexi.com http://www.tablexi.com/blog/category/xi-to-eye/ http://www.devpressed.com @tablexi Wednesday, May 1, 13