One thing I need to explain is that my workplace is an Oracle house through and through. Our development tools are jdeveloper 10.1.3, our databases are oracle, our rad tools are oracle.. Apex 4.1 to be exact . It has been interesting working on this at work and at home ruby on rails. They could no be more different.

Apex 4.1 is there to sell oracle whereas ruby on rails is designed to be database independent... The logic is in the code. Now in Apex 4.1 defense as everything is the database you can write direct SQL and optimise it a much as you want.

This is not possible in ruby on rails ad you ideally do not write SQL.

Now ruby is much more flexible in terms of coding . The no of controls from grids, frameworks such as bootstrap and input from an enthusiastic opensource community cannot be matched from what is a tool to sell oracle databases.

Apex 4.1 will give you an app in 2 days. Ruby maybe longer but at least you have real code you can reuse. Still. Apex 4.1 will remain a tool at work.