There are a dizzying amount of programming languages and frameworks to choose from in 2017.

Ruby on Rails used to be the hot new thing, but it’s now over 10 years old. The combination of Rails’s age and the explosion of other frameworks onto the scene has given rise to the idea that “Ruby on Rails is dead”.

If that’s true then it’s understandable why you might be hesitant to use Ruby/Rails…

Newbie developers need to know what to invest their time and energy into learning. There’s no sense wasting effort studying a framework that won’t be relevant long enough to master it.

Junior- and senior-developers alike want to stay hirable and not struggle to find work.

Entrepreneurs don’t want to build their businesses on top of a dying framework.

I encourage you to decide for yourself if the Rails-is-dead meme is true. But if you want extra reassurance, here are 6 different articles explaining why Rails is still a worthwhile choice.

“What Makes Rails a Framework Worth Learning in 2017”

Written by David Heinemeier Hanson (the creator of Ruby on Rails) himself.

DHH argues that the reasons Rails was relevant in 2004 are exactly the same in 2017.

“The core premise of Rails is the same: by formalizing conventions, eliminating valueless choices, and offering a full-stack framework that provides great defaults for anyone who wants a complete application, we can make dramatic strides of productivity.”

Ruby Rogues Podcast Episode 283 - “Is Ruby Dying?”

“The same people that are saying that Rails is dying or Ruby is dying are putting their code on GitHub… taking photos from 500pixels… getting lodging at Airbnb… playing games on Twitch… using Basecamp for their workflow… going on BleacherReport… Bloomberg”

“What is so much better about this other framework over Ruby on Rails that I should leave RoR behind? So far I haven’t really seen anything that’s so much better than Ruby on Rails than RoR was compared to anything I was doing with PHP.”

“Why Ruby”

This article discusses why the popular forum platform Discourse was built on Ruby. Despite being published in 2013, it’s message is still 100% true today.

“Ruby isn’t cool anymore… personally, I’m thrilled that Ruby is now mature enough that the community no longer needs to bother with the pretense of being the coolest kid on the block… the rest of us who just like to Get Shit Done can roll up our sleeves and focus on the mission of building stuff… rather than frantically running around trying to suss out the next shiny thing.”

“Why you should build your web startup using Ruby on Rails” (For Entrepreneurs)

“Ruby on Rails is the most powerful web framework available today and it should be the de-facto choice (at least for now) for any bespoke web application.”

“Why Learning Rails Is Still a Great Choice in 2016” (For Newbies)

“If you are new to web development, Rails gives you success early”

“Learn Rails because you’ll be able to see progress instantly. And that will keep you learning”

“Is Ruby on Rails Still Worth it in 2017?” (For Newbies)

“With so many coding frameworks to choose from today, knowing where to invest your time and money is not an easy matter. Ruby on Rails is still a safe bet - even in 2017”

“Is Ruby Dying?” (BONUS)

If that wasn’t enough, here are 30+ answers from developers, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

The consensus…? Rails is NOT dead.