I’ve been researching JavaScript frameworks and understand that Ember is more comprehensive compared to Backbone’s lightweight approach. I’ve gone through various tutorials and documentation for both options.
I’m trying to figure out which one integrates better with a Rails REST API backend. With Backbone, I’ve noticed there are multiple ways to handle REST calls. But with Ember, it looks like I need additional packages like ember-data or similar resource handling libraries. Can someone explain why there are multiple options for this?
Which framework would you recommend? I’m also having trouble finding good tutorials that show the complete connection between frontend and backend. Does anyone have a working example for making REST calls to something like:
Endpoint: ../api/posts
Method: GET
Authentication: username/password
Response format: JSON
I’ve worked a lot with Rails backends, and Backbone actually works great with Rails’ RESTful setup. The models and collections map straight to Rails resources - barely any config needed. Just set your model’s urlRoot and Backbone handles all the HTTP verbs automatically. Ember’s ember-data exists because Ember’s way more strict about convention-over-configuration than Backbone. More setup upfront, but you get better structure for bigger apps. All those different options you’re seeing? They’re just different ways to handle data and API calls. For your REST endpoint, Backbone’s definitely faster to get running. Set your auth headers globally and you’re making calls right away. Ember needs more boilerplate but pays off long-term if your app’s gonna grow a lot. Really comes down to your project’s size and timeline.
what’s the scale here? quick prototype or something that’ll handle tons of users down the road? have you looked at vue or react with axios? they’re pretty smooth for REST calls too. backbone’s easier to jump into, but why limit yourself to just these two?
backbone’s ur best bet for rails integration. ember-data can be a pain with custom auth - i’ve spent ages debugging serializers just to get basic auth to play nice. with backbone, u just override backbone.sync and handle all auth headers globally. way less hassle than wrestling with ember’s strict conventions.