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
   

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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
   

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3. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   Outline
   • Recurring problems
   
   • Communication
   
   • Dependencies
   
   • Lack of architecture
   
   • Easy code, not simple
   
   • Good news: easily avoidable
   

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4. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   BUT…
   

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5. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   The other problem
   Sometimes we forget
   how good we have it!
   

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6. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   Things to remember #1
   It’s Ruby! On Rails.
   

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7. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   Things to remember #2
   It’s Ruby. On Rails!
   

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8. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   Things to remember #3
   We are Ruby on Rails!
   

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9. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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   Agency requirements
   • Clients pay for results, not tech
   
   • Handoff project
   
   • Easy to onboard new developers
   
   • Usable across projects
   
   • Fits team & work flows
   

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10. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Communication
    “You didn’t specify the resolution”
    Leonardo Da Vinci,
    Oil on poplar panel, 1503
    

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11. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    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
    

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12. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Dependencies
    “Updating your bundle”
    Roy Lichtenstein,
    Lithograph on paper, 1963
    

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13. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Dependencies
    + Help bootstrap the app faster
    
    + Avoid reinventing the wheel
    
    + Get peer reviewed
    
    - Easily get outdated
    
    - Memory footprint & startup times
    
    - Have more dependencies
    

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14. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Dependencies
    • Be selective about dependencies
    
    • Do reinvent certain wheels
    
    • Look for actively maintained gems
    
    • Prefer developers with vested interest
    
    • Use gems for common tasks
    

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15. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Reinventing the wheel
    Original wheel Potentially better wheel
    

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16. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Dependencies
    

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17. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Lack of architecture
    “Programmers at work maintaining a Ruby on Rails application"
    Eero Järnefelt,
    Oil on canvas, 1893
    

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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
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    Frameworks
    

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19. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks
    

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20. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    • Wrapper around datastore
    
    • ActiveRecord configuration
    
    • Associations
    
    • Validations
    
    • Finders / scopes
    
    • Simple accessors / mutation methods
    

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21. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    • Extract POROs
    
    • Use namespacing
    
    • Various extraction patterns
    
    • Service objects
    
    • Form objects
    
    • Query objects
    
    • many more
    

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22. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    ! tree app/models/cv
    app/models/cv
    "## file_mover.rb
    "## importer.rb
    "## parser.rb
    "## repository.rb
    "## suggestion_handler.rb
    $## viewer.rb
    

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23. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    

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24. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    

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25. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Models
    

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26. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Controllers
    • Abstracting HTTP communication
    
    • Authentication
    
    • Authorization
    
    • Sessions / cookies
    
    • Param validation / transformation
    
    • Redirection / rendering
    

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27. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Controllers
    

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28. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Controllers - Hanami
    

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29. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Views
    • Response generation
    
    • Should be mostly logic free
    
    • Rails “views” are templates
    
    • Helpers become dumping grounds
    

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30. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Views
    

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31. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Views
    

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32. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Frameworks - Views
    

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33. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Implicit code
    “Reading your own code after 3 months”
    Edvard Munch,
    Oil, tempera, pastel and crayon on cardboard, 1893
    

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34. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Implicit code
    • “Convention over configuration”
    
    • “Magic”:
    
    • AR configuration
    
    • Instance variables in views
    
    • Implicit code:
    
    • AR callbacks
    
    • before_action/after_action
    

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35. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Implicit code
    • Hard for newcomers to understand
    
    • Hard to follow code flow
    
    • Easy, not simple
    
    • Doesn’t apply in all cases
    

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36. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Simple vs. easy
    

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37. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Implicit code
    • Be more explicit!
    
    • Reading is more important than writing!
    
    • POROs to encapsulate processes
    
    • Don’t try to be too clever!
    

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38. • Communicate!
    
    • Manage your dependencies!
    
    • Stay change positive!
    
    • Optimize for reading!
    
    • Make your own rules!
    
    • Have fun!
    Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Summary
    

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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
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    Resources
    

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40. Ruby X Elixir Conf Taiwan 2018
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    Thank you!
    

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