Down Ruby Down.

Rails vs Java

That was dumb! So 'Rails' is a packaged framework and server....
I think that's called an application server. I remember the packaged c/java application servers circa 1997. First they are simple, then they bloat, and then they float. After all that you learn what worked and what failed, you build it modular because all needs are not created the same. Then you learn that inflexibility is more economical than flexibility, so you package it with different configurations. You learn what configurations are demanded the most and you start to move resources to those projects and bloat those all over again. Then comes ruby to make believe like it's saving the day, but really it's just trying to get you to begin all over again.

I am not against Ruby, just not sure it will not have the same problems.
http://stdlib.rubyonrails.org/
http://www.devdaily.com/Dir/Ruby/Libraries/
http://www.caliban.org/ruby/
And GEMS within ruby is a psuedo-rpm'ish package/installation system.

And I do believe that the simplest form of building web applications has not yet emerged. I am still trying to understand why the template engine approach was not the cure-all.