Think about what part of an application you’re most comfortable working with. If you’re a Rails developer, there’s a good chance you prefer the back end, the Ruby code that powers the business logic of your application. What if you felt equally comfortable working with the database, such as tweaking queries and using advanced features of your database system? What if you were also comfortable working with the JavaScript and CSS necessary to make dynamic, usable, attractive user interfaces?
If you had that level of comfort at every level of the application stack, you would possess great power as a developer to quickly produce high-quality software. Your ability to solve problems would not be restricted by the tools available via a single framework, nor would you be at the mercy of hard-to-find specialists to help you with what are, in reality, simple engineering tasks.
The Rails framework encourages developers not to peer too closely into the database. Rails steers you away from JavaScript frameworks in favor of its sprinkling approach, where content is all rendered server-side. This book is going to open your eyes to all the things you can accomplish with your database, and set you on a path that includes JavaScript frameworks. With Rails acting as the foundation of what you do, you’ll learn how to embrace all other parts of the application stack.