Rails application architecture and common setup

Question

So I am starting out on company project that will have several components:

At first...

1. Job list
2. Client profile creation and management
3. User administration and access (login, signup, roles, etc)

later...

1. Messaging
2. Schedule
3. Basic reporting

way later...

1. Deeper analysis and bi

I'm wondering if it makes sense for each bullet item to be its own rails project, self contained and modular (if that is indeed the case); or if it's just best for it to be in the same app. I could envision a situation where each module could operate so independently of each other that it wouldn't need the rest (except for the user funcionality) and another situation where all modules would be used together.

It seems like to me that many tasks can be handled with a lighter framework like Sinatra (and then situated physically under the rails app). It also seems like it would be a lot of overhead to have several rails apps running on a server. But I am not totally aware of all the pluses and minuses to operating each scenario.

I know this is kind of a general question that is bound to get a lot of "it depends" kind of responses (and rightfully so) I was looking for opinions/examples of how you setup this kind/your kind of project in rails. I am a quasi noob so be gentle.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Generally speaking I would consider a website to be a suitable target for a Rails app. Each part of the app can have its own namespaces within the app, so the app has some structure internally, but they should all be one application. Consider things like sessions, where you want a user to login and use whatever features of the site you want. You want those sessions in one application without a user having to login to different sections.

Saying that, if there is complex or extended functionality that isn't part of the MVC architecture (say talking to an external API, data-mining etc), then you could offset that to a separate project and a include it as a Gem in your application. You would still have one main Rails application that includes those Gems.

You might also want to bundle together a section of your project into a reusable Rails engine that can be loaded into multiple projects. For example, Devise handles user login and management. It is a Rails engine, bundled as a Gem, that you include in your project.

Another example from Meducation (one of my sites). I'm in the process of extracting our email tracking system out into its own Rails engine as I feel its functionality sits alongside Meducation and is not a core part of it. I can then use it in other projects as well.

In your specific example, I think your requirements fit fine in one Rails application.