Can JavaScript do as much as Ruby for mobile app development--framework comparison

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I'm looking at two different mobile frameworks--Rhomobile and PhoneGap--as platforms for creating cross-platform mobile apps. Both frameworks offer similar capabilities in terms of platform support, wrapping a web app into a native executable, and using HTML/JS for the front end.

The primary differences between these two frameworks is how the app/business logic is handled. Rhombile uses a stripped-down version of Ruby that can include various Ruby libraries/gems/etc., giving you access to most of the capabilities of Ruby and its extensions. PhoneGap uses the HTML5/JS/CSS stack.

I'm looking to develop an IRC app and an RSS reader app. Ruby has numerous libraries for these kinds of things. I'm not as clear on JavaScript. I've not been able to find any IRC libraries for JS, and the various RSS libraries I've found appear to depend heavily on server-side/PHP programming as well.

Is JS with HTML5 (WebSocket) a viable option for this kind of application, or am I better off sticking with Ruby?

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Your comparison is silly, Do you think you can just import ruby libraries and these "tools" will port them to mobile applications? Both of these tools have severe restrictions. Look into those - Raynos
I'm not sure I would call PhoneGap a "framework." It's just a way to package a Web app as a native app and bridge between JavaScript and native capabilities. - Eric Farr
Raynos: You didn't address my question. Rhomobile allows you to import Ruby gems and add them to your project. My question is, does JS have as broad library support in the domains I've outlined as Ruby does? My research says no, but I wanted to get some additional advice. - Kevin Walzer
Try looking into Sencha Touch. sencha.com/products/touch - Kelly Cook

1 Answers

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Based on the answers I've seen here, and the research I've conducted, here is what I have concluded:

  1. Ruby has a large library ecosystem for various programming tasks. I've found no shortage of pure-Ruby gems that can be added to Rhomobile via its extension API for parsing RSS, and for implementing IRC functionality.

  2. JavaScript, even with such library packages as JQuery and Prototype, seems much more focused on the display side of mobile development. The available libraries for IRC and RSS parsing seem thinner and, in many cases, dependent on server-side programming for the heavy lifting.

As a result, I am going to go with Rhomobile, as Ruby is better suited for the domains that I am targeting with my apps. Of course I will still have to learn JavaScript to handle the UI side of the equation, which I will do.