Ten Years of Rails Upgrades

Presented at RailsConf 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Upgrading Rails can go from easy-to-hard quickly. If you've struggled to upgrade to a new version of Rails, you're not alone. And yet, with useful deprecation warnings and extensive beta periods, Rails has never made it easier to upgrade. So what makes it hard?

By looking at the past ten years of Rails upgrades at Clio (and other notable apps), let's see what we can learn. Gain insight into the tradeoffs between different timelines and approaches and learn practical ways to keep your app up-to-date.

Transcript

1. Ten Years of Rails Upgrades Jordan Raine @jnraine
2. Jordan Raine (@jnraine) I’m a Rails developer at Clio From Vancouver, BC ! " # Ten Years of Rails Upgrades
3. Why is it still so tough?
5. Tiny Co. / Big Inc.
6. $ Tiny Co.
8. % Big Inc.
9. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many 2. Code changes Few Many 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run 4. Deploy Easy Terrifying
10. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems ✅ ✅ 2. Code changes ✅ ✅ 3. Test ✅ ✅ 4. Deploy ✅ ✅
12. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2008 2007 2016 2017 2018 2.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.0 3.1 3.2 4.0 4.2 4.1 5.0 5.1 5.2 4.0 4.1 4.2
13. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2008 2007 2016 2017 2018 2.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.0 3.1 3.2 4.0 4.2 4.1 5.0 5.1 5.2 4.0 4.1 4.2
14. '•More developers
 •More features
 •More customers
 •More revenue
15. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2008 2007 2016 2017 2018 2.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.0 3.1 3.2 4.0 4.2 4.1 5.0 5.1 5.2 4.0 4.1 4.2
16. Problems Tiny Co. / Big Inc.
17. Gemfile
18. Dependencies aren’t free.
19. Find the dependencies – and eliminate them. https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/10/14/in-defense-of-not-invented-here-syndrome/ “ ” Joel On Software
20. The Excel team’s ruggedly independent mentality also meant that they always shipped on time [and] their code was of uniformly high quality. Joel On Software https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/10/14/in-defense-of-not-invented-here-syndrome/ “ ”
21. gem "quickbooks-ruby" gem "oauth"
22. gem "quickbooks-ruby" gem "oauth"
23. gem "quickbooks-ruby" gem "oauth", "0.x.x"
24. a) Don’t upgrade any gems b) Upgrade both gems c) Fork a gem and downgrade
25. a) Don’t upgrade any gems b) Upgrade both gems c) Fork a gem and downgrade
26. gem "quickbooks-ruby", github: "<fork>/quickbooks-ruby", ref gem "oauth", "0.x.x"
27. Rigid dependencies are difficult to maintain.
31. class MyController < ApplicationController - before_filter :require_login + before_action :require_login end
32. class MyModel < ApplicationRecord attr_accessible :name, :description # ... end
34. protected_attributes 4,947,703 activerecord >= 5.0 15,350,275
35. We like protected_attributes 1/3 as much as activerecord.
37. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2008 2007 2016 2017 2018 2.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.0 3.1 3.2 4.0 4.2 4.1 5.0 5.1 5.2 4.0 4.1 4.2 ( ( (
38. Tiny Co. / Big Inc. Problems Close the gaps
40. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Canary Rails
41. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Canary Rails
42. gem "multi_json", "1.9.1" gem "mime-types", "~> 2.0"
43. gem "multi_json", "1.9.1" gem "mime-types", "~> 2.0" Drop those version constraints!
44. gem "multi_json" gem "mime-types" Drop those version constraints! ,
45. gem "quickbooks-ruby", github: "<fork>/quickbooks-ruby",
46. gem "quickbooks-ruby", github: "<fork>/quickbooks-ruby", Kill your forks!
47. gem "quickbooks-ruby" , Kill your forks!
48. Culture of updating gems $ bundle update multi_json mime-types
49. $ bundle outdated
50. $ bundle outdated Outdated gems included in the bundle: * actionmailer (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * actionpack (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * actionview (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * active_model_serializers (newest 0.10.7, installed 0.8.3, requested ~> 0.8.3) in groups "default" * activejob (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4) * activemodel (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * activerecord (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default"
51. actionmailer (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" name newest version installed version requested version group
52. $ bundle outdated bundle outdated Fetching gem metadata from https://rubygems.org/............... Fetching gem metadata from https://rubygems.org/.. Resolving dependencies........... Outdated gems included in the bundle: * actionmailer (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * actionpack (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * actionview (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * active_model_serializers (newest 0.10.7, installed 0.8.3, requested ~> 0.8.3) in groups "default" * activejob (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4) * activemodel (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * activerecord (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * activesupport (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * addressable (newest 2.5.2, installed 2.5.1) * arel (newest 9.0.0, installed 8.0.0) * aws-partitions (newest 1.80.0, installed 1.24.0) * aws-sdk-core (newest 3.19.0, installed 3.6.0) * aws-sdk-kms (newest 1.5.0, installed 1.2.0) * aws-sdk-s3 (newest 1.9.0, installed 1.4.0) in groups "default" * barber (newest 0.12.0, installed 0.11.2) in groups "default" * better_errors (newest 2.4.0, installed 2.1.1) in groups "development" * bootsnap (newest 1.3.0, installed 1.1.8) in groups "default" * bullet (newest 5.7.5, installed 5.5.1) in groups "development" * byebug (newest 10.0.2, installed 9.0.6) in groups "test, development" * chunky_png (newest 1.3.10, installed 1.3.8) * crass (newest 1.0.4, installed 1.0.3) * ember-data-source (newest 3.0.2, installed 2.2.1) * ember-handlebars-template (newest 0.8.0, installed 0.7.5, requested = 0.7.5) in groups "default" * ember-rails (newest 0.21.0, installed 0.18.5, requested = 0.18.5) in groups "default" * ember-source (newest 2.18.2, installed 2.13.3, requested = 2.13.3) in groups "default" * erubi (newest 1.7.1, installed 1.6.1) * excon (newest 0.62.0, installed 0.56.0) in groups "default" * exifr (newest 1.3.3, installed 1.2.5) * fabrication (newest 2.20.1, installed 2.9.8, requested = 2.9.8) in groups "test, development" * faraday (newest 0.14.0, installed 0.11.0) * ffi (newest 1.9.23, installed 1.9.18) * globalid (newest 0.4.1, installed 0.4.0) * hashdiff (newest 0.3.7, installed 0.3.4) * hashie (newest 3.5.7, installed 3.5.5) * highline (newest 1.7.10, installed 1.7.8) in groups "default" * http_accept_language (newest 2.1.1, installed 2.0.5, requested ~> 2.0.5) in groups "default" * i18n (newest 1.0.0, installed 0.8.6) * in_threads (newest 1.5.0, installed 1.4.0) * jmespath (newest 1.4.0, installed 1.3.1) * jwt (newest 2.1.0, installed 1.5.6) * kgio (newest 2.11.2, installed 2.11.1) * lograge (newest 0.10.0, installed 0.7.1) in groups "default" * logstash-logger (newest 0.26.1, installed 0.25.1) in groups "default" * method_source (newest 0.9.0, installed 0.8.2) * mini_mime (newest 1.0.0, installed 0.1.3) in groups "default" * minitest (newest 5.11.3, installed 5.10.3) in groups "test" * mocha (newest 1.5.0, installed 1.2.1) in groups "test, development" * mock_redis (newest 0.18.0, installed 0.17.3) in groups "test, development" * oauth (newest 0.5.4, installed 0.5.1) * oauth2 (newest 1.4.0, installed 1.3.1) * oj (newest 3.5.1, installed 3.4.0) in groups "default" * omniauth (newest 1.8.1, installed 1.6.1) in groups "default" * omniauth-facebook (newest 5.0.0, installed 4.0.0) in groups "default" * omniauth-google-oauth2 (newest 0.5.3, installed 0.3.1) in groups "default" * omniauth-instagram (newest 1.3.0, installed 1.0.2) in groups "default" * omniauth-oauth2 (newest 1.5.0, installed 1.4.0) in groups "default" * omniauth-twitter (newest 1.4.0, installed 1.3.0) in groups "default" * parser (newest 2.5.1.0, installed 2.5.0.3) * pg (newest 1.0.0, installed 0.21.0, requested ~> 0.21.0) in groups "default" * progress (newest 3.4.0, installed 3.3.1) * pry (newest 0.11.3, installed 0.10.4) * pry-rails (newest 0.3.6, installed 0.3.4) in groups "default" * public_suffix (newest 3.0.2, installed 2.0.5) * puma (newest 3.11.4, installed 3.9.1) in groups "default" * r2 (newest 0.2.7, installed 0.2.6, requested ~> 0.2.5) in groups "default" * rack-openid (newest 1.4.2, installed 1.3.1) * rack-test (newest 1.0.0, installed 0.7.0) * railties (newest 5.2.0, installed 5.1.4, requested ~> 5.1) in groups "default" * rake (newest 12.3.1, installed 12.3.0) in groups "default" * rb-fsevent (newest 0.10.3, installed 0.9.8) in groups "test, development" * rb-inotify (newest 0.9.10, installed 0.9.8, requested ~> 0.9) in groups "test, development" * redis (newest 4.0.1, installed 3.3.5) in groups "default" * redis-namespace (newest 1.6.0, installed 1.5.3) in groups "default" * request_store (newest 1.4.1, installed 1.3.2) * rinku (newest 2.0.4, installed 2.0.2) in groups "default" * rotp (newest 3.3.1, installed 3.3.0) in groups "default" * rspec (newest 3.7.0, installed 3.6.0) in groups "test, development" * rspec-core (newest 3.7.1, installed 3.6.0) * rspec-expectations (newest 3.7.0, installed 3.6.0) * rspec-mocks (newest 3.7.0, installed 3.6.0) * rspec-rails (newest 3.7.2, installed 3.6.1) in groups "test, development" * rspec-support (newest 3.7.1, installed 3.6.0) * rubocop (newest 0.54.0, installed 0.53.0) in groups "test, development" * ruby-prof (newest 0.17.0, installed 0.16.2) in groups "development" * sass (newest 3.5.6, installed 3.4.24) * sassc (newest 1.11.4, installed 1.11.2) in groups "default" * seed-fu (newest 2.3.9, installed 2.3.7) in groups "default" * shoulda-matchers (newest 3.1.2, installed 2.8.0) * sidekiq (newest 5.1.3, installed 5.0.5) in groups "default" * slop (newest 4.6.2, installed 3.6.0) * sprockets-rails (newest 3.2.1, installed 3.2.0) in groups "default" * stackprof (newest 0.2.11, installed 0.2.10) in groups "default" * thor (newest 0.20.0, installed 0.19.4) in groups "default" * tilt (newest 2.0.8, installed 2.0.7) in groups "default" * tzinfo (newest 1.2.5, installed 1.2.3) * uglifier (newest 4.1.9, installed 3.2.0) in groups "assets" * unf_ext (newest 0.0.7.5, installed 0.0.7.4) * uniform_notifier (newest 1.11.0, installed 1.10.0) where do I start? • what is most important? • which are the oldest? • what is unmaintained?
53. $ bin/bundle_report
54. $ bin/bundle_report outdated
55. $ bin/bundle_report outdated | head -n 5 rack-openid 1.3.1: released about 7 years ago (latest version, 1.4.2, released about 4 years ago) method_source 0.8.2: released over 4 years ago (latest version, 0.9.0, released 7 months ago) fabrication 2.9.8: released about 4 years ago (latest version, 2.20.1, released 3 months ago) slop 3.6.0: released over 3 years ago (latest version, 4.6.2, released about 1 month ago) active_model_serializers 0.8.3: released over 3 years ago (latest version, 0.10.7, released 5 months ago)
56. rack-openid 1.3.1: released about 7 years ago (latest version, 1.4.2, released about 4 years ago) name installed version release date newest version release date
57. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version=5.2.0
58. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version=5.2.0
59. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version 5.2.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with new versions that are compatible): These gems will need to be upgraded before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. lograge 0.7.1 - upgrade to 0.10.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with no new compatible versions): These gems will need to be removed or replaced before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. jquery-rails 4.3.1 - new version, 4.3.1, is not compatible with Rails 5.2.0 2 gems incompatible with Rails 5.2.0
60. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version 5.2.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with new versions that are compatible): These gems will need to be upgraded before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. lograge 0.7.1 - upgrade to 0.10.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with no new compatible versions): These gems will need to be removed or replaced before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. jquery-rails 4.3.1 - new version, 4.3.1, is not compatible with Rails 5.2.0 2 gems incompatible with Rails 5.2.0
61. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version 5.2.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with new versions that are compatible): These gems will need to be upgraded before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. lograge 0.7.1 - upgrade to 0.10.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with no new compatible versions): These gems will need to be removed or replaced before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. jquery-rails 4.3.1 - new version, 4.3.1, is not compatible with Rails 5.2.0 2 gems incompatible with Rails 5.2.0
62. $ bin/bundle_report compatibility --rails-version 5.2.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with new versions that are compatible): These gems will need to be upgraded before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. lograge 0.7.1 - upgrade to 0.10.0 => Incompatible with Rails 5.2.0 (with no new compatible versions): These gems will need to be removed or replaced before upgrading to Rails 5.2.0. jquery-rails 4.3.1 - new version, 4.3.1, is not compatible with Rails 5.2.0 2 gems incompatible with Rails 5.2.0
63. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Canary Rails
64. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Canary Rails
65. User.find(current_user) # DEPRECATION WARNING: You are passing an instance # of ActiveRecord::Base to `find`. Please pass the # id of the object by calling `.id`. (called from <main> at (
66. ActiveSupport::Deprecation.behavior = :raise
67. if ENV["DEPRECATION_TRACKER"] DeprecationTracker.track_rspec( config, shitlist_path: "deprecation_warning.shitlist.json", mode: ENV["DEPRECATION_TRACKER"] ) end
68. $ DEPRECATION_TRACKER=save rspec deprecations.shitlist.json $ DEPRECATION_TRACKER=compare rspec -
71. { "./spec/controllers/post_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/session_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: `xhr` and `xml_http_request` are de "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/accounts_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: Using positional arguments in funct ] }
72. { "./spec/controllers/post_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/session_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: `xhr` and `xml_http_request` are de "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/accounts_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: Using positional arguments in funct ] }
73. { "./spec/controllers/post_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/session_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: `xhr` and `xml_http_request` are de "DEPRECATION WARNING: env is deprecated and will be remov ], "./spec/controllers/accounts_controller_spec.rb": [ "DEPRECATION WARNING: Using positional arguments in funct ] }
74. $ bin/deprecations info
75. $ bin/deprecations info Ten most common deprecation warnings: Occurrences: 608 DEPRECATION WARNING: Using positional arguments in functional tests has been deprecated, in favor of keyword arguments, and will be removed in Rails 5.1. Deprecated style: get :show, { id: 1 }, nil, { notice: "This is a flash message" } New keyword style: get :show, params: { id: 1 }, flash: { notice: "This is a flash message" }, session: nil # Can safely be omitted. (called from block (3 levels) in <main> at spec/foo.rb:67) ---------- Occurrences: 553 DEPRECATION WARNING: Passing an argument to force an association to reload is now deprecated and will be removed in Rails 5.1. Please call `reload_active_al_subscription` instead. (called from reload_subscriptions at app/models/foo.rb:270) # ...
76. $ bin/deprecations run
77. $ bin/deprecations run --pattern "ActiveRecord::Base"
78. $ bin/deprecations run --tracker-mode save
79. ActiveSupport::Deprecation.behavior = :raise
80. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Canary Rails
81. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Dual-boot Rails next
82. “current” Rails “next” Rails 4.2 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 master
83. $ bin/next rails s $ bin/next rspec $ DEPRECATION_TRACKER=save bin/next rspec
84. $ bin/next rails s $ bin/next rspec $ DEPRECATION_TRACKER=save bin/next rspec
85. $ bin/next rails s $ bin/next rspec $ DEPRECATION_TRACKER=save bin/next rspec
86. -old_deprecated_thing +new_thing_that_works_in_both_versions
87. +if Rails.application.next? + do_new_thing +else + do_old_thing +end -do_old_thing
88. Gemfile
89. Gemfile Gemfile.next
90. # top of Gemfile def next? File.basename(__FILE__) == "Gemfile.next" end # later if next? gem "rails", "5.2.0" else gem "rails", "5.1.6" end
91. # top of Gemfile def next? File.basename(__FILE__) == "Gemfile.next" end # later if next? gem "rails", "5.2.0" else gem "rails", "5.1.6" end
92. # top of Gemfile def next? File.basename(__FILE__) == "Gemfile.next" end # later if next? gem "rails", "5.2.0" else gem "rails", "5.1.6" end
93. Gemfile.next Gemfile.next.lock Gemfile.lock Gemfile
94. $ bin/next --init
95. #!/bin/bash export BUNDLE_GEMFILE=Gemfile.next export BUNDLE_CACHE_PATH=vendor/cache.next if [[ "${@}" =~ ^bundle ]]; then $@ else bundle exec $@ fi
96. #!/bin/bash export BUNDLE_GEMFILE=Gemfile.next export BUNDLE_CACHE_PATH=vendor/cache.next if [[ "${@}" =~ ^bundle ]]; then $@ else bundle exec $@ fi
97. #!/bin/bash export BUNDLE_GEMFILE=Gemfile.next export BUNDLE_CACHE_PATH=vendor/cache.next if [[ "${@}" =~ ^bundle ]]; then $@ else bundle exec $@ fi
98. $ bundle install # install gems $ rails s # run rails $ rspec # run tests
99. $ bin/next bundle install # install gems $ bin/next rails s # run rails $ bin/next rspec # run tests
101. ) Keep the Gemfile healthy * Outlaw deprecations + Dual-boot Rails next
102. Make it easy to do the right thing.
103. # Try it out $ gem install ten_years_rails_conf_2018 # Or, read the code $ open https://github.com/clio/ten_years_rails_conf_2018
104. Tiny Co. / Big Inc. Problems Close the gaps Summary
105. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many 2. Code changes Few Many 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run 4. Deploy Easy Terrifying
106. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many Few 2. Code changes Few Many 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run 4. Deploy Easy Terrifying
107. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many Few 2. Code changes Few Many Few 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run 4. Deploy Easy Terrifying
108. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many Few 2. Code changes Few Many Few 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run Few failures 4. Deploy Easy Terrifying
109. $ Tiny Co. % Big Inc. 1. Gems Few Many Few 2. Code changes Few Many Few 3. Test Few failures Won’t even run Few failures 4. Deploy Easy Less terrifying*
110. Blur the lines
111. Prepare for Rails upgrade Make codebase better
113. Removed 33 gems Updated 27 gems Reduced to zero deprecations Fixed 2,950 of 3,300 failing tests
114. Created an upgrade process where everyone can contribute
115. Hundreds of tiny changes.
116. Hundreds of tiny changes. Don’t wait.
117. Thanks Jordan Raine @jnraine