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JavaScript Optional: How Turbo is Rewriting the Rails Stack

JavaScript Optional: How Turbo is Rewriting the Rails Stack

From Turbo Drive, Turbo Frames, and Turbo Streams to the rise of Hotwire and the slow decline of heavy JavaScript, this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications dives into it all. Nolan Alimonti, Senior Architect and Team Lead at Delta Systems, and Daniel Cannon, the company’s Chief Innovation Officer and Founder of Strive DB, join Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards to unpack how Turbo is changing Rails development, what it makes easier, where it adds complexity, and why it’s sparking both excitement and debate in the dev world. This podcast is brought to you by Delta Systems, your one-stop shop for front-end, back-end, and full-stack software development. At Delta, Justin and Aaron share the same philosophy when it comes to clients: they treat people like colleagues, not just customers. Maybe that’s why Delta typically spends years working with the same companies: how many software engineering firms can you say that about? So, if you’ve got a big SaaS project in mind but have no idea where to start, come and get a free scope and estimate from Delta Systems on their website. Got a burning idea for an episode, or a SaaS question you absolutely must know the answer to? Leave us a voice memo at SaasThatApp

SaaS That App - Building Tech-Enabled Businesses · Delta Systems

August 5, 202537m 53s

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Show Notes

From Turbo Drive, Turbo Frames, and Turbo Streams to the rise of Hotwire and the slow decline of heavy JavaScript, this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications dives into it all. Nolan Alimonti, Senior Architect and Team Lead at Delta Systems, and Daniel Cannon, the company’s Chief Innovation Officer, join Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards to unpack how Turbo is changing Rails development, what it makes easier, where it adds complexity, and why it’s sparking both excitement and debate in the dev world.

What You’ll Learn:

  • What Turbo actually does and why Rails made the shift away from TurboLinks
  • How Turbo reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the need for JavaScript in modern apps
  • Where Turbo shines: CRUD apps, business platforms, and clean server-side rendering
  • Where Turbo struggles: debugging, scaling, and highly interactive consumer apps
  • Why knowing Turbo is becoming “table stakes” for Rails developers

Nolan Alimonti is a Senior Architect and Team Lead at Delta Systems, where he tackles complex client projects by uniting front-end speed with backend clarity. With deep experience in React and Ruby on Rails, he’s known for simplifying messy codebases, improving scalability, and steering apps toward cleaner, maintainable architecture. A hands-on specialist in modern Rails development, Nolan has led significant refactors, helping teams migrate from TurboLinks-era code to sleek, serviceable Turbo and Stimulus builds. His goal is  to make apps snappier and smoother, while keeping the stack lean and intentional.

Daniel Cannon is the Founder of Strive DB and Chief Innovation Officer at Delta Systems, where he drives the adoption of emerging technologies and modern development practices across the organization. A senior developer with a history of tackling thorny technical challenges, Daniel has a knack for questioning assumptions, stress-testing ideas, and finding pragmatic ways to turn cutting-edge tools into everyday solutions. His perspective on Turbo, Stimulus, and Rails comes from hands-on experience shaping how these tools are used in real-world applications and mentoring teams through the learning curve.


This podcast is brought to you by Delta Systems, your one-stop shop for front-end, back-end, and full-stack software development. At Delta, Justin and Aaron share the same philosophy when it comes to clients: they treat people like colleagues, not just customers. Maybe that’s why Delta typically spends years working with the same companies: how many software engineering firms can you say that about? So, if you’ve got a big SaaS project in mind but have no idea where to start, come and get a free scope and estimate from Delta Systems on their website.

Got a burning idea for an episode, or a SaaS question you absolutely must know the answer to? Leave us a voice memo at SaasThatApp


Highlights:

  • [00:00] Introduction
  • [01:20] What Turbo Is and Why It Matters
  • [03:40] Turbo vs. Heavy JavaScript Front-Ends
  • [08:40] How Turbo Changes the Way Developers Build Views
  • [14:30] Turbo Drive, Frames, and Streams Explained
  • [19:45] The Hard Stuff: Debugging Turbo and Stimulus
  • [25:50] Should Turbo Be Your Default for New Projects?
  • [30:20] Migrating from TurboLinks to Turbo: What to Expect
  • [35:35] When Turbo Hits a Wall: Where You Still Need SPAs
  • [41:25] Scaling, Analytics, and the “Millions of Users” Question


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