Using Drupal and Ruby. Has anyone integrated both?

Question

I started a small web project and used Drupal to create it. So far, so good: you can quickly set up a good CMS-oriented website, add social features through modules, and you have an extensive API to configure on a well-designed platform.

The problem now arises: the site is growing beyond what was originally planned, and I am in a situation where I am seriously starting to write code for it. While I have gained new respect for PHP thanks to the Drupal project, I want to do this in Ruby. I will feel more comfortable, later it will be easier to maintain, and I can reuse it in other Ruby / Rails applications. Over time, I believe that I have rewritten existing parts in Drupal in Ruby.

Based on this, the question arises: did someone integrate both (success or failure story)? This is a pretty big decision, and I just can't find out who made it on Google.

Answer 1

Sorry to be negative. This is not a good idea for me.

I will feel more comfortable, it will be easier for me to support it later, and I can reuse it in other Ruby / Rails applications.

I seriously doubt it. It will probably be more difficult to maintain / reuse in the future due to additional code that you will need to write in order to “integrate” Drupal and Ruby. The larger the code, the greater the chance of errors. I assume that you are going to link them together using REST / webservices / similar technology - if so, you write so much extra code! Gluing the front elements (which should be in Drupal) with functional elements (maybe in Ruby) just sounds so complicated to me.

I assume that it will only be the one who will support the code. What if its someone else? Can you find someone who has two skill sets (Ruby + Drupal) in your area / budget?

What about returning the Drupal community? If your code becomes useful and its a big mess of Drupal + Ruby, you really can't post it on Drupal.org so that others can create, improve and test it.

I offer two options

• Use only Drupal.
• You seem to be in love with Ruby, or at least too used to it. In this case: find a Ruby-based CMS! (Sorry, I do not know!)

For me, this is a classic dilemma: if you create a custom Drupal module that will mean a shorter term pain, because you get out of your comfort zone .... or you have to integrate Ruby + Drupal, which will be easier in a short, but very painful in debt.

I would choose a short-term pain :-)

Answer 2

I think the term used to describe your idea is Polyglot programming: http://memeagora.blogspot.com/2006/12/polyglot-programming.html

One of my criticisms of Drupal is that everything is in Drupal or PHP. Drush is, of course, an exception, but it would be nice to see some development tools that do not use only the Drupal stack. I used Apache Ant on Drupal with some success (until the days of Drush).

I also worked on a Drupal project that provided Software as a service for the Java interface. This did not work too well, but the Drupal Services project has received some updates since then. I have also worked on several Drupal projects that interact with flash interfaces (ugg!), Google Maps, and mobile phone gadgets.

Are you thinking of a service oriented architecture? If you like it, you may be on a recording path to writing truly flexible software. I would love to hear you go!

However, if your only excuse is that you feel more comfortable in Ruby (and I understand why), then you should probably get out of your comfort zone.