Scalability: Ruby on Rails vs PHP

How well does RoR handle big sites?

[jason_au80]

OK, I'm currently gearing to get into code an idea I've got for a website. I'm considering writing the dynamic portions of the site (which will be almost all of it) in either PHP or Ruby on Rails, and the usual Apache/mySQL backend.

Now, if the website idea is succesful, it is going to be producing some very intensive database work - let's say 1 million queries/day as an estimate for now.

(And if the website isn't successful, then this is all a moot point, but one should hardly set out to fail!)

Now, what I want to know is, can RoR handle a site that intensive, and do it using a similiar amount of hardware to a PHP site doing the same thing? It's no good writing a site in RoR if you have to have twice the amount of servers to run it, I would suggest.

Also, can anyone elaborate on what sort of development advantages accrue to RoR for production websites? I've seen comments elsewhere here that say the scaffolding, which gives you the enormous efficiencies in RoR for prototyping, is not actually that useful for production websites?

Is there anything else you should know regarding the relative merits of PHP and RoR? (I should add that I know PHP quite well, but would be learning RoR from scratch - though learning something new is an attraction in itself).

Cheers,

Jason

[txbakers]

I should add that I know PHP quite well, but would be learning RoR from scratch

If indeed you expect "one million" queries right out of the gate ask yourself this question:

would I rather spend my time providing customer service, marketing, and optimizing a database, OR would I want to embark on a steep learning curve in a language I know nothing about, and still have to provide customer service, handle marketing, and manage a database?

[jason_au80]

OK, it's a sub-topic, but perhaps the right question regarding learning RoR is whether

time to learn RoR + potentially quicker development time with RoR

is less than

development time with PHP

Both of which will be less than:

time to develop website in RoR + time to redevelop website in PHP down the track if it isn't scalable

Hence my original question about the scalability of RoR.

All clear as mud? :-)

Jason

[txbakers]

If you are not in a rush to get your site up, by all means learn RoR.

Despite what Big Brother and the Party say, Ignorance is NOT strength.

the more you know, the more tricks you have in your bag.

You might learn something really useful by studying RoR.

But if your main goal is getting your "million" query a day site up, why waste the time learning something from scratch.

Every language is good. I use ASP/javaScript because I know it and can make a dynamic site quickly.

I wouldn't start a new project in .NET if I'm expecting to make my income from it any time soon.

but I am learning it slowly.