Q3. What is Rails and how does it work with Ruby?

Answer:

What is Rails?
Rails in its simplest terms can be defined as the framework which provides a variety of programs which perform most of the application segment for us. This makes our task of programming much simpler and easier. Not only this, we can always have the flexibility of reusing this framework any number of times as we only need to install it once. Then we can implement it on any number of applications that we develop.
Since Rails is a framework, it also follows the same pattern as any other programming framework. These frameworks when implemented ease up the task of the programmer as it reduces a large amount of code writing. The programmer only needs to specify code which provides the instructions or the guidelines to the framework as to what has to be done. This means that if we are implementing any type of framework in our application we are saving a lot of coding time and also making our application more efficient by reusing the already installed framework.
This framework is also designed so that the entire application is segregated in three different layers, namely, Model, View & Controller (MVC). By implementing the MVC design at the time of developing our applications, we can have our application segemented into three logical sections. (Meshplex, 2009)

TutorialsPoint (2009) points out that Rails is

1. An extremely productive web-application framework.
2. Written in Ruby by David Heinemeier Hansson.
3. We could develop a web application at least ten times faster with Rails than you could with a typical Java framework.
4. An open source Ruby framework for developing database-backed web applications.
5. Our code and database schema are the configuration!
6. No compilation phase required.

How does it work with Ruby?
TutorialsPoint (2009) also points out that Rails is a Full Stack Framework which ...

1. Includes everything needed to create a database-driven web application using the Model-View-Controller pattern.
2. Being a full-stack framework means that all layers are built to work seamlessly together Less Code.
3. Requires fewer total lines of code than other frameworks spend setting up their XML configuration files.

Hibbs (2005) states that Rails works with Ruby in the following way...
Many things that are very simple to do in Ruby are not even possible in most other languages. Rails takes full advantage of this. The rest of the answer is in two of Rail's guiding principles: less software and convention over configuration.

Thereby, it is concluded that Rails works with Ruby with MVC approach and with two base theories, namely, less software/code and convention over configuration.

Reference:

1. Meshplex (2009). "Ruby/Ruby on Rails programming tutorials". Meshplex The Tutorial Database, Retrieved from URL - http://www.meshplex.org/wiki/Ruby/Ruby_on_Rails_programming_tutorials
2. TutorialsPoint (2009). "Ruby on Rails Introduction". Tutorials Point - A Self Learning Centre, Retrieved from URL - http://www.tutorialspoint.com/ruby-on-rails/rails-introduction.htm
3. Hibbs Curt (2005). "Rolling with Ruby on Rails". O'Reilly ONLamp.com, Retrieved Mar-28th-2009 from URL - http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html