Ruby

Ruby Language Skill

Overview

Opinionated Ruby conventions and idioms for writing idiomatic Ruby 3.x+ code. Focuses on patterns agents miss by default — the Weirich raise/fail distinction, safe nil-aware memoization, result objects over exceptions for expected failures, and performance-conscious enumeration.

Error Handling Conventions

Weirich raise/fail Convention

Use fail for first-time exceptions, raise only for re-raising:

def process(order)
  fail ArgumentError, "Order cannot be nil" if order.nil?

  begin
    gateway.charge(order)
  rescue PaymentError => e
    logger.error("Payment failed: #{e.message}")
    raise  # re-raise with raise
  end
end

Custom Exception Hierarchies

Group domain exceptions under a base error:

module MyApp
  class Error < StandardError; end
  class PaymentError < Error; end
  class InsufficientFundsError < PaymentError; end
end

# Rescue at any granularity:
rescue MyApp::InsufficientFundsError  # specific
rescue MyApp::PaymentError            # category
rescue MyApp::Error                   # all app errors

Result Objects for Expected Failures

Use result objects instead of exceptions for expected failure paths:

class Result
  attr_reader :value, :error
  def self.success(value) = new(value: value)
  def self.failure(error) = new(error: error)
  def initialize(value: nil, error: nil) = (@value, @error = value, error)
  def success? = error.nil?
  def failure? = !success?
end

Caller-Supplied Fallback

Let callers define error handling via blocks:

def fetch_user(id, &fallback)
  User.find(id)
rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound => e
  fallback ? fallback.call(e) : raise
end

user = fetch_user(999) { |_| User.new(name: "Guest") }

See references/error_handling.md for full patterns and retry strategies.

Modern Ruby (3.x+)

Pattern Matching

case response
in { status: 200, body: { users: [{ name: }, *] } }
  "First user: #{name}"
in { status: (400..), error: message }
  "Error: #{message}"
end

# Find pattern
case array
in [*, String => str, *]
  "Found string: #{str}"
end

# Pin operator
expected = 200
case response
in { status: ^expected, body: }
  process(body)
end

Other 3.x+ Features

# Endless methods (3.0+)
def square(x) = x * x
def admin? = role == "admin"

# Numbered block parameters (2.7+)
[1, 2, 3].map { _1 * 2 }

# Data class - immutable value objects (3.2+)
Point = Data.define(:x, :y)
p = Point.new(x: 1, y: 2)
p.with(x: 3)  # => Point(x: 3, y: 2)

# Hash#except (3.0+)
params.except(:password, :admin)

# filter_map (2.7+) - select + map in one pass
users.filter_map { |u| u.email if u.active? }

# tally (2.7+)
%w[a b a c b a].tally  # => {"a"=>3, "b"=>2, "c"=>1}

See references/modern_ruby.md for ractors, fiber scheduler, RBS types, and advanced pattern matching.

Performance Quick Wins

Frozen String Literals

# frozen_string_literal: true
# Add to top of every file. Prevents mutation, reduces allocations.
# When you need mutable: String.new("hello") or +"hello"

Efficient Enumeration

# each_with_object for building results (avoids intermediate arrays)
totals = items.each_with_object(Hash.new(0)) do |item, hash|
  hash[item.category] += item.amount
end

# Lazy enumerables for large/infinite sequences
(1..Float::INFINITY).lazy.select(&:odd?).map { _1 ** 2 }.first(10)

Memoization with nil/false Caveat

# Simple (only works if result is truthy)
def users = @users ||= User.all.to_a

# Safe (handles nil/false results)
def feature_enabled?
  return @feature_enabled if defined?(@feature_enabled)
  @feature_enabled = expensive_check
end

String Building

# Bad: O(n^2) with +=
result = ""; items.each { |i| result += i.to_s }

# Good: O(n) with <<
result = String.new; items.each { |i| result << i.to_s }

# Best: join
items.map(&:to_s).join

See references/performance.md for YJIT, GC tuning, benchmarking, and profiling tools.

Ruby Idioms to Prefer

Guard Clauses

def process(value)
  return unless value
  return unless value.valid?
  # main logic here
end

Literal Array Constructors

STATES = %w[draft published archived]      # word array
FIELDS = %i[name email created_at]         # symbol array

Hash#fetch for Required Keys

config.fetch(:api_key)                     # raises KeyError if missing
config.fetch(:timeout, 30)                 # default value
config.fetch(:handler) { build_handler }   # lazy default

Safe Navigation

user&.profile&.avatar_url  # returns nil if any link is nil

Predicate and Bang Conventions

• ? suffix: returns boolean (empty?, valid?, admin?)
• ! suffix: dangerous version - mutates receiver or raises on failure (save!, sort!)
• Always provide a non-bang alternative when defining bang methods

Method Ordering & File Layout

Lay a class out top-to-bottom so a reader descends one abstraction level at a time — the "stepdown" / newspaper layout. Element order:

1. extend / include / prepend
2. Constants
3. attr_* readers/writers and class macros (has_many, validates, scope)
4. def initialize
5. Public methods — highest-level entry points first
6. protected
7. private helpers — grouped by abstraction altitude

Within the public block and within the private block, order breadth-first by abstraction altitude, not depth-first by caller. Keep every method at one altitude next to its siblings, then the helpers they call, then the helpers those call. Defining a helper directly beneath its lone caller scatters the high-level steps and buries them under detail.

# Good — breadth-first by altitude: stages cluster, then their helpers
def process; validate; charge; notify; end   # altitude 1 (public entry)

private

def validate; end                            # altitude 2: stages together
def charge;   end
def notify;   end

def verify_customer; end                      # altitude 3: helpers together
def submit_payment;  end
def write_audit_log; end

# Bad — depth-first by caller: altitudes 2 and 3 interleave, stages scatter
def validate;        end
def verify_customer; end
def charge;          end
def submit_payment;  end
def notify;          end
def write_audit_log; end

See references/method_ordering.md for worked examples, the stepdown/SLAP background, and where shared helpers go.

Common Mistakes

References

• references/modern_ruby.md - Pattern matching, ractors, fiber scheduler, RBS types
• references/error_handling.md - Exception hierarchies, result objects, retry patterns
• references/performance.md - YJIT, GC tuning, benchmarking, profiling
• references/ood-philosophy.md - OOD principles, naming, SOLID, TRUE heuristic, Law of Demeter
• references/method_ordering.md - File layout order, stepdown rule, breadth-first vs depth-first method ordering