Sanity on Rails

Talk given at Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018. An updated version of the talk from Deccan RubyConf 2017, including new material on Phoenix and Hanami.

Transcript

1. Sanity on Rails Michael Kohl Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
2. • Michael Kohl (@citizen428) • CTO @ Lockstep Labs • Based in Bangkok, Thailand • Ruby developer since 200[3|4] • Really into FP (Clojure, Elixir etc) • BUT: I still ❤ Ruby Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com whoami
3. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Outline • Recurring problems • Communication • Dependencies • Lack of architecture • Easy code, not simple • Good news: easily avoidable
4. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com BUT…
5. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com The other problem Sometimes we forget how good we have it!
6. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Things to remember #1 It’s Ruby! On Rails.
7. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Things to remember #2 It’s Ruby. On Rails!
8. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Things to remember #3 We are Ruby on Rails!
9. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Agency requirements • Clients pay for results, not tech • Handoff project • Easy to onboard new developers • Usable across projects • Fits team & work flows
10. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Communication “You didn’t specify the resolution” Leonardo Da Vinci, Oil on poplar panel, 1503
11. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Communication “First, solve the problem. Then, write the code.” – John Johnson “Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.” – Martin Fowler
12. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Dependencies “Updating your bundle” Roy Lichtenstein, Lithograph on paper, 1963
13. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Dependencies + Help bootstrap the app faster + Avoid reinventing the wheel + Get peer reviewed - Easily get outdated - Memory footprint & startup times - Have more dependencies
14. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Dependencies • Be selective about dependencies • Do reinvent certain wheels • Look for actively maintained gems • Prefer developers with vested interest • Use gems for common tasks
15. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Reinventing the wheel Original wheel Potentially better wheel
16. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Dependencies
17. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Lack of architecture “Programmers at work maintaining a Ruby on Rails application" Eero Järnefelt, Oil on canvas, 1893
18. "A basic conceptional structure (as of ideas)" – Merriam Webster "A basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text." – Oxford English dictionary Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks
19. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks
20. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models • Wrapper around datastore • ActiveRecord configuration • Associations • Validations • Finders / scopes • Simple accessors / mutation methods
21. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models • Extract POROs • Use namespacing • Various extraction patterns • Service objects • Form objects • Query objects • many more
22. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models ! tree app/models/cv app/models/cv "## file_mover.rb "## importer.rb "## parser.rb "## repository.rb "## suggestion_handler.rb $## viewer.rb
23. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models
24. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models
25. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Models
26. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Controllers • Abstracting HTTP communication • Authentication • Authorization • Sessions / cookies • Param validation / transformation • Redirection / rendering
27. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Controllers
28. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Controllers - Hanami
29. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Views • Response generation • Should be mostly logic free • Rails “views” are templates • Helpers become dumping grounds
30. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Views
31. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Views
32. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Frameworks - Views
33. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Implicit code “Reading your own code after 3 months” Edvard Munch, Oil, tempera, pastel and crayon on cardboard, 1893
34. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Implicit code • “Convention over configuration” • “Magic”: • AR configuration • Instance variables in views • Implicit code: • AR callbacks • before_action/after_action
35. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Implicit code • Hard for newcomers to understand • Hard to follow code flow • Easy, not simple • Doesn’t apply in all cases
36. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Simple vs. easy
37. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Implicit code • Be more explicit! • Reading is more important than writing! • POROs to encapsulate processes • Don’t try to be too clever!
38. • Communicate! • Manage your dependencies! • Stay change positive! • Optimize for reading! • Make your own rules! • Have fun! Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Summary
39. • How DHH Organizes His Rails Controllers
 http://jeromedalbert.com/how-dhh-organizes-his-rails- controllers/ • 7 Patterns to Refactor Fat ActiveRecord Models
 http://blog.codeclimate.com/blog/2012/10/17/7-ways- to-decompose-fat-activerecord-models/ • Objects on Rails
 http://objectsonrails.com • Exploding Rails
 https://speakerdeck.com/radar/exploding-rails Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Resources
40. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018 locksteplabs.com Thank you!