fmanimashaun Working on Rails applications
Ruby on Rails is a mature, convention-driven web framework. Following its conventions generally produces code other Rails developers can read.
General principles
- Prefer conventional Rails solutions over bespoke ones.
- Keep controllers thin and move logic into models where it belongs.
- Name things clearly and consistently.
- Write readable code; favour clarity over cleverness.
- Follow the existing style of the surrounding codebase.
- Keep methods short and focused on a single responsibility.
- Handle error cases thoughtfully.
- Consider performance where it matters, but do not optimise prematurely.
Models
Active Record models represent your domain. Use validations to protect data integrity and associations to express relationships. Scopes can help express common queries.
Controllers
Controllers coordinate between the request and the domain. Keep actions small. Use before_action filters for shared setup where it improves readability.
Views
Views render the response. Extract shared markup into partials. Keep logic in views to a minimum, and use helpers where it aids readability.
Background work
Long-running work belongs in a background job rather than the request cycle. Jobs should be reliable and observable.
Testing
Test the behaviour that matters. A good test suite gives you confidence to change code. Keep tests readable and focused.
Styling
Keep styling consistent across the application. Reuse existing patterns rather than introducing new ones for each screen.