However, the Rails community will listen to requests for changes. "There is nothing that is sacred in Rails. Everything is always up for debate," Hansson said.

Developers can pick options in Rails programming or just use it as it is, said Hansson. To explain this, he used a Burger King analogy where customers have the option to special-order their hamburgers.

Other changes planned for Rails 3 include router improvements and an HTML5 attribute capability, providing for unobtrusive and agnostic JavaScript. The HTML5 backing enables cleaner code.

Merb and Rails came together in December after tensions had arisen between developers of the two platforms, said Hansson. The two groups decided, "Maybe we should just talk to each other," Hansson said.

An audience member lauded the merger. "I think it's the best of the both worlds," said developer Adrian Mugnolo of Xymbol, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "Merb was very strong in the technical side and Rails has always been strong with the community."