RailsConf & Balkan Ruby 2019: The Past, Present, and Future of Rails at GitHub

by Eileen M. Uchitelle

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The Past, Present, & Future of at

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Eileen M. Uchitelle ! " # @eileencodes eileencodes.com

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I’m a Staff Engineer at !

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I’m on the Core team!

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Upgrading at

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The Past, Present, & Future of at

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a ♥

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2004

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Rails is born 2004

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Frameworks are extracted, not built. -DHH “ ”

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Rails 1.0 2005 2004 Rails is born

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2005 2006 2007 2004 Rails is born Rails 1.2 Rails 1.0

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I built a thing!

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I’m in! I built a thing!

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2005 2006 2007 2004 Rails is born Rails 1.2 GitHub is born Rails 1.0

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2005 2006 2007 2004 Rails is born GitHub is born GitHub launches 2008 Rails 1.2 Rails 1.0

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2005 2006 2007 2004 Rails is born 2008 GitHub is born Rails 1.2 GitHub launches Rails joins Rails 1.0

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2006 2007 2008 2005 2009 GitHub is born Rails 1.2 GitHub launches Rails joins Rails 2.3 Rails 1.0

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GitHub is born GitHub launches Rails 1.2 Rails joins Rails 2.3 2007 2008 2009 2006 2010 Fork Rails

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GitHub is born GitHub launches Rails 1.2 Rails joins Rails 2.3 2007 2008 2009 2006 2010 Fork Rails

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fork repository

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fork repository

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GitHub is born GitHub launches Rails 1.2 Rails joins Rails 2.3 2007 2008 2009 2006 2010 Rails 3.0 Fork Rails

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GitHub is born GitHub launches Rails 1.2 Rails joins Rails 2.3 2007 2008 2009 2010 Rails 3.0 Fork Rails 2011 Start 3.0 upgrade

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GitHub launches Rails joins Rails 2.3 2008 2009 2010 Rails 3.0 Fork Rails 2011 Start 3.0 upgrade 2012 Rails 3.2

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GitHub launches Rails joins Rails 2.3 2008 2009 2010 Rails 3.0 Fork Rails 2011 Start 3.0 upgrade 2012 Rails 3.2 Upgrade stalled

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Why upgrade when this version isn’t causing us pain?

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Why upgrade when this version isn’t causing us pain? Why upgrade when Rails 3 is slower?

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Why upgrade when this version isn’t causing us pain? Why upgrade when Rails 3 is slower? Why upgrade when our fork is better?

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SECURITY BACKPORTS

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SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER DEVELOPMENT IS PAINFUL

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2010 Rails 3.0 2011 Start 3.0 upgrade 2013 Rails 3.2 Upgrade stalled 2012 Complete 3.0 2014 Rails 4.0

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2013 Rails 3.2 Upgrade stalled 2012 2014 2015 Complete 3.0 2016 4.0 started Rails 4.0

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2013 Rails 3.2 Upgrade stalled 2012 2014 2015 Complete 3.0 2016 4.0 started Rails 5.0 Rails 4.0

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2013 2014 2015 Complete 3.0 2016 2017 Eileen joins Rails 5.0 4.0  started Rails 4.0

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Gemﬁle.lock (Rails 3.2) $ rails server $ rails test tests/models/issue_test.rb Multiple Rails Versions Gemﬁle_rails4.lock (Rails 4.0) $ RAILS4=1 rails server $ RAILS4=1 rails test tests/models/issue_test.rb

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Gemﬁle_rails4.lock (Rails 4.0) $ RAILS4=1 rails server $ RAILS4=1 rails test tests/models/issue_test.rb Multiple Rails Versions Gemﬁle_rails41.lock (Rails 4.1) $ RAILS41=1 rails server $ RAILS41=1 rails test tests/models/issue_test.rb

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Conditional Code if GitHub.rails_3_2? # code for Rails 3.2 elsif GitHub.rails_4_0? # code for Rails 4.0 else # code for all future versions end

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2015 2016 2019 Rails 5.0 4.0  started 2017 Eileen joins 2018 4.2 in prod

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2015 2016 2019 Rails 5.0 4.0  started 2017 Eileen joins 2018 5.2 in prod 4.2 in prod

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engineers at $ for hours = $ /hr

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The cost of not upgrading is immeasurable

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SECURITY BACKPORTS

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SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER DEVELOPMENT IS PAINFUL

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER DEVELOPMENT IS PAINFUL REWRITE IN MICROSERVICES

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…the stories of upgrading being a huge undertaking always makes me scratch my head - what are we doing wrong if its easy for us. - HN troll “ ”

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When upgrading you should…

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When upgrading you should build a team.

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When upgrading you should take time to make a plan.

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When upgrading you should ﬁx deprecation warnings early.

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When upgrading you should plan for the future.

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You may regret forking Rails.

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You may regret falling behind security supported versions.

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You may regret using old, unsupported gems.

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You may regret using private Rails  APIs.

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This was my ﬁrst major upgrade.

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It’s important to remember…

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It’s important to remember to pay debt down incrementally.

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It’s important to remember you’re not alone.

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It’s important to remember the payoff is worth it.

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The beneﬁts of upgrading

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IMPROVED APIS

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IMPROVED APIS SECURITY FEATURES

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IMPROVED APIS BETTER PERFORMANCE SECURITY FEATURES

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IMPROVED APIS BETTER PERFORMANCE NEW LIBRARIES SECURITY FEATURES

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IMPROVED APIS BETTER PERFORMANCE NEW LIBRARIES SECURITY FEATURES A CHANCE TO CONTRIBUTE

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The Future…

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75+ Pull Requests from GitHub

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Rails 6.0: Multiple database support

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Continuous Upgrades

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For the ﬁrst time in GitHub’s history…

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We’re pioneering the future of Rails.

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We have a responsibility to support Rails

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DEPENDENCIES ARE BRITTLE SECURITY BACKPORTS HIRING IS HARDER DEVELOPMENT IS PAINFUL