Codetown ::: a software developer's community
Just started with Ruby on Rails ( Rails 3) and I'm trying to figure out the best I.D.E. Here's what I've found so far:
Eclipse / DLTK - while researching this on the web I came across a number of broken links which was a bad sign and when I did get it installed I wasn't able to debug using it. Ater some more web searches I came across a few posts that said basically the Ruby plug-in had run out of steam and was not being pursued.
JetBrains/RubyMine - this installed and works, so far the *looks* like the best bet. The instant database diagramming looks really cool, do other I.D.E.s support this?
Ecliplse/Aptana - just got this installed, Will try debugging with it soon.
Does anyone have recommendations for their favorite I.D.E.? I don't need anythgin too fancy, as long as I can set a breakpoint and view variables and the call stack I'm happy. And it helps if its a free product.'
Tags:
Kevin, What have you found out so far with Eclipse/Aptana and JetBrains/RubyMine? Have you experimented with any other IDE's?
With Eclipse/Aptana I *think* I got installed, but the online references that showed how to start a debugging session accessed menu options that were not present so I was unable to use it. So far RubyMine looks the best, it also checks the syntax of of .html.erb ( Embedded RuBy ) files and generates a diagram of your DB tables, highlighting any relationships that look hinky. Worth noting RubyMine costs money, while the others I've looked at are open source and frankly I think the developers for the free plugins ran out of steam. The profit motive at work.
Codetown is a social network. It's got blogs, forums, groups, personal pages and more! You might think of Codetown as a funky camper van with lots of compartments for your stuff and a great multimedia system, too! Best of all, Codetown has room for all of your friends.
Created by Michael Levin Dec 18, 2008 at 6:56pm. Last updated by Michael Levin May 4, 2018.
Check out the Codetown Jobs group.

Somtochi Onyekwere explains the architecture of Corrosion, a distributed system designed for low-latency state replication. She shares how Fly.io transitioned from Consul to a gossip-based SQLite solution to handle global machine data. By discussing CRDTs, the SWIM protocol, and QUIC, she shares how to build resilient systems that prioritize speed while managing the complexities of CAP theorem.
By Somtochi OnyekwereThis special edition of The InfoQ eMag, contains a comprehensive collection of our popular InfoQ Trends Reports from 2025, a year with both evolution and revolution within the landscapes of technology, software development trends. This collection does not just reflect the past year's technological trends. We aspire to use it as a guide for future exploration and innovation.
By InfoQ
Introducing TanStack AI: a revolutionary, framework-agnostic toolkit empowering developers with unparalleled control over their AI stack. This open-source release features a unified interface across multiple providers and ensures type safety with innovative isomorphic tools. Say goodbye to vendor lock-in and hello to freedom in AI development!
By Daniel Curtis
A secure software development life cycle means baking security into plan, design, build, test, and maintenance, rather than sprinkling it on at the end, Sara Martinez said in her talk Ensuring Software Security. Testers aren’t bug finders but early defenders, building security and quality in from the first sprint. Culture first, automation second, continuous testing and monitoring all the way.
By Ben Linders
AWS previews Route 53 Global Resolver, using Anycast to decouple DNS from regional failures. It simplifies hybrid setups with unified public/private resolution, DoH/DoT, and Zero-Trust security.
By Steef-Jan Wiggers
© 2026 Created by Michael Levin.
Powered by