How cool is this: http://www.refactormycode.com/
Now Java programmers can’t say Ruby lacks refactoring support. ;) The app looks great. The only thing I would even suggest is syntax highlighting in the Code/Refactoring textarea. Heroku is already doing something like that in its web-based Rails editor.
Speaking of which, Heroku is crazy awesome. What an ambitious project… I can’t believe how smooth they make the process of editing and running a Rails app. They’ve got a built-in gem and plug-in manager, too. Definitely check out their list of features, which appears to be growing rapidly.
(Update)
I already assed myself out by submitting multiple refactorings to a single code submission. Hey, I couldn’t edit before my OpenID login was hooked up. Oops! But on a more serious note, one thing I don’t like is how people are using Refactor My Code as a Fix My Broke-Ass Code. There are already plenty of sites to go have people fix your code. Refactoring, by definition is taking working code and improving the design. To that end, it’d be neat to see an online UML tool, as well as the ability to upload a test suite for the code you want refactored. That would allow people to actually refactor larger than just at the class or method level. Too much? I rather like the idea.
Looks like no love lost between the languages especially against Rails. But there surely are more improvements coming into the Rails community and with it platforms that make deployment of apps a cinch.
You may also want to check out morphexchange.com and see how they compare with the traditional stuff.
Best.
alain