Month: February 2025

Exploring Rails 8: Powerful 💪 Features, Deployment & Real-Time Updates

Introduction

Rails 8.x has arrived, bringing exciting new features and enhancements to improve productivity, performance, and ease of development. From built-in authentication to real-time WebSocket updates, this latest version of Rails continues its commitment to being a powerful and developer-friendly framework.

Let’s dive into some of the most significant features and improvements introduced in Rails 8.

Rails 8 Features & Enhancements

1. Modern JavaScript with Importmaps & Hotwire

Rails 8 eliminates the need for Webpack and Node.js, allowing developers to manage JavaScript dependencies more efficiently. Importmaps simplify dependency management by fetching JavaScript packages directly and caching them locally, removing runtime dependencies.

Key Benefits:

  • Faster page loads and reduced complexity
  • No need for Node.js or Webpack
  • Dependencies are cached locally and loaded efficiently

Example: Pinning a Package

bin/importmap pin local-time

This command fetches the package from npm and stores it locally for future use.

Hotwire Integration

Hotwire enables dynamic page updates without requiring heavy JavaScript frameworks. Rails 8 fully integrates Turbo and Stimulus, making frontend interactivity more seamless.

Importing Dependencies in application.js:
import "trix";

With this setup, developers can create reactive UI elements with minimal JavaScript.

2. Real-Time WebSockets with Action Cable & Turbo Streams

Rails 8 enhances real-time functionality with Action Cable and Turbo Streams, allowing WebSocket-based updates across multiple pages without additional JavaScript libraries.

Setting Up Turbo Streams in Views:

<%= turbo_stream_from @object %>

This creates a WebSocket channel tied to the object.

Broadcasting Updates from Models:

broadcast_to :object, render(partial: "objects/object", locals: { object: self })

Any changes to the object will be instantly reflected across all connected clients.

Why This Matters:

  • No need for third-party WebSocket npm packages
  • Real-time updates are built into Rails
  • Simplifies building interactive applications

3. Rich Text with ActionText

Rails 8 continues to support ActionText, making it easy to handle rich text content within models and views.

Model Level Implementation:

has_rich_text :body

This enables rich text storage and formatting for the body attribute of a model.

View Implementation:

<%= form.rich_text_area :body %>

This adds a full-featured WYSIWYG text editor to the form, allowing users to create and edit rich text content seamlessly.

Displaying Updated Timestamps:

<%= time_tag post.updated_at %>

This helper formats timestamps cleanly, improving date and time representation in views.

4. Deployment with Kamal – Simpler & Faster

Rails 8 introduces Kamal, a modern deployment tool that simplifies remote deployment by leveraging Docker containers.

Deployment Steps:

  1. Setup Remote Serverkamal setup
    • Installs Docker (if missing) and configures the server.
  2. Deploy the Applicationkamal deploy
    • Builds and ships a Docker container using Rails’ default Dockerfile.

File Uploads with Active Storage

By default, Kamal stores uploaded files in Docker volumes, but this can be customized based on specific deployment needs.

5. Built-in Authentication – No Devise Needed

Rails 8 introduces native authentication, reducing reliance on third-party gems like Devise. This built-in system manages password encryption, user sessions, and password resets while keeping signup flows flexible.

Generating Authentication:

rails g authentication
rails db:migrate

Creating a User for Testing:

User.create(email: "user@example.com", password: "securepass")

Managing Authentication:

  • Uses bcrypt for password encryption
  • Provides a pre-built sessions_controller for handling authentication
  • Allows remote database changes via: kamal console

6. Turning a Rails App into a PWA

Rails 8 makes it incredibly simple to transform any app into a Progressive Web App (PWA), enabling offline support and installability.

Steps to Enable PWA:

  1. Modify application.html.erb: <%= tag.link pwa_manifest_path %>
  2. Ensure manifest and service-worker routes are enabled.
  3. Verify PWA files: pwa/manifest.json.erb and pwa/service-worker.js.
  4. Deploy and restart the application to see the Install button in the browser.

Final Thoughts

Rails 8 is packed with developer-friendly features that improve security, real-time updates, and deployment workflows. With Hotwire, Kamal, and native authentication, it’s clear that Rails is evolving to reduce dependencies while enhancing performance.

Are you excited about Rails 8? Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

Why Ruby begin Block with ensure is Important

Ruby provides a powerful way to handle exceptions using the begin block. One of the key features of this block is ensure, which ensures that a certain section of code runs no matter what happens in the begin block. This is particularly useful when dealing with resource management, such as file handling, database connections, and network requests.

Understanding begin, rescue, and ensure

The begin block in Ruby is used to handle potential exceptions. It works alongside rescue, which catches exceptions, and ensure, which executes code regardless of whether an exception occurs.

Basic Syntax:

begin
  # Code that might raise an exception
rescue SomeError => e
  # Handle the exception
ensure
  # Code that will always execute
end

Why is ensure Important?

  1. Guaranteed Execution – Code inside ensure runs no matter what, ensuring cleanup actions always occur.
  2. Resource Cleanup – Ensures that resources like file handles, database connections, or network sockets are properly closed.
  3. Prevents Leaks – Helps avoid memory or resource leaks by making sure cleanup is performed.

Example 1: File Handling

One of the most common uses of ensure is closing a file after performing operations.

file = nil
begin
  file = File.open("example.txt", "r")
  puts file.read
rescue StandardError => e
  puts "An error occurred: #{e.message}"
ensure
  file.close if file
  puts "File closed."
end

Explanation:

  • The begin block opens a file and reads its contents.
  • If an error occurs (e.g., file not found), the rescue block catches it.
  • The ensure block ensures that the file is closed, preventing resource leaks.

Example 2: Database Connection Handling

Handling database connections properly is crucial to avoid locked or hanging connections.

require 'sqlite3'

db = nil
begin
  db = SQLite3::Database.open("test.db") # Open database connection
  db.execute("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)")
  db.execute("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES ('Alice')")
  puts "User added successfully."
rescue SQLite3::Exception => e
  puts "Database error: #{e.message}"
ensure
  db.close if db # Ensure the database connection is closed
  puts "Database connection closed."
end

Explanation:

  • Opens a database connection and executes SQL statements.
  • If an error occurs, such as a syntax error in SQL, rescue catches it.
  • The ensure block ensures the database connection is closed, preventing connection leaks.

Example 3: Network Request Handling

When making HTTP requests, errors like timeouts or invalid URLs can occur. Using ensure, we can ensure proper handling.

require 'net/http'

url = URI("http://example.com")
response = nil

begin
  response = Net::HTTP.get(url)
  puts "Response received: #{response[0..50]}..." # Print a snippet of the response
rescue StandardError => e
  puts "Network error: #{e.message}"
ensure
  puts "Request complete. Cleanup actions (if any) can be performed here."
end

Explanation:

  • Makes an HTTP request to a given URL.
  • If an error occurs (e.g., network failure), rescue handles it.
  • The ensure block ensures any necessary final actions, such as logging, happen.

Key Takeaways

  • The ensure block always executes, making it essential for cleanup tasks.
  • It helps prevent resource leaks by ensuring proper closure of files, database connections, and network requests.
  • Using ensure makes your Ruby code robust and reliable, handling errors gracefully while ensuring necessary actions take place.

By incorporating ensure in your Ruby code, you can improve reliability, maintainability, and efficiency in handling critical resources.

Can We Do Type Checking in Ruby Method Parameters?

Ruby is a dynamically typed language that favors duck typing over strict type enforcement. However, there are cases where type checking can be useful to avoid unexpected behavior. In this post, we’ll explore various ways to perform type validation and type checking in Ruby.

Type Checking and Type Casting in Ruby

Yes, even though Ruby does not enforce types at the language level, there are several techniques to validate the types of method parameters. Below are some approaches:

1. Manual Type Checking with raise

One straightforward way to enforce type checks is by manually verifying the type of a parameter using is_a? and raising an error if it does not match the expected type.

def my_method(arg)
  raise TypeError, "Expected String, got #{arg.class}" unless arg.is_a?(String)
  
  puts "Valid input: #{arg}"
end

my_method("Hello")  # Works fine
my_method(123)      # Raises: TypeError: Expected String, got Integer

2. Using respond_to? for Duck Typing

Rather than enforcing a strict class type, we can check whether an object responds to a specific method.

def my_method(arg)
  unless arg.respond_to?(:to_str)
    raise TypeError, "Expected a string-like object, got #{arg.class}"
  end
  
  puts "Valid input: #{arg}"
end

my_method("Hello")  # Works fine
my_method(:symbol)  # Raises TypeError

3. Using Ruby 3’s Type Signatures (RBS)

Ruby 3 introduced RBS and TypeProf for static type checking. You can define types in an .rbs file:

def my_method: (String) -> void

Then, you can use tools like steep, a static type checker for Ruby, to enforce type checking at development time.

How to Use Steep for Type Checking

Steep does not use annotations or perform type inference on its own. Instead, it relies on .rbi files to define type signatures. Here’s how you can use Steep for type checking:

  1. Define a Ruby Class:
class Calculator
  def initialize(value)
    @value = value
  end
  
  def double
    @value * 2
  end
end
  1. Generate an .rbi File:
steep scaffold calculator.rb > sig/calculator.rbi

This generates an .rbi file, but initially, it will use any for all types. You need to manually edit it to specify proper types.

  1. Modify the .rbi File to Define Types:
class Calculator
  @value: Integer
  def initialize: (Integer) -> void
  def double: () -> Integer
end
  1. Run Steep to Check Types:
steep check

Steep also supports generics and union types, making it a powerful but less intrusive type-checking tool compared to Sorbet.

4. Using Sorbet for Stronger Type Checking

Sorbet is a third-party static type checker that allows you to enforce type constraints at runtime.

require 'sorbet-runtime'

extend T::Sig

sig { params(arg: String).void }
def my_method(arg)
  puts "Valid input: #{arg}"
end

my_method("Hello")  # Works fine
my_method(123)      # Raises error at runtime

References:

Another Approach: Using Rescue for Type Validation

A different way to handle type checking is by using exception handling (rescue) to catch unexpected types and enforce validation.

def process_order(order_items, customer_name, discount_code)
  # Main logic
  ...

rescue => e
  # Type and validation checks
  raise "Expecting an array of items: #{order_items.inspect}" unless order_items.is_a?(Array)
  raise "Order must contain at least one item: #{order_items.inspect}" if order_items.empty?
  raise "Expecting a string for customer name: #{customer_name.inspect}" unless customer_name.is_a?(String)
  raise "Customer name cannot be empty" if customer_name.strip.empty?
  
  raise "Unexpected error in `process_order`: #{e.message}"
end

Summary

  • Use is_a? or respond_to? for runtime type checking.
  • Use Ruby 3’s RBS for static type enforcement.
  • Use Sorbet for stricter type checking at runtime.
  • Use Steep for static type checking with RBS.
  • Exception handling can be used for validating types dynamically.

Additional Considerations

Ruby is a dynamically typed language, and unit tests can often be more effective than type checks in ensuring correctness. Writing tests ensures that method contracts are upheld for expected data.

For Ruby versions prior to 3.0, install the rbs gem separately to define types for classes.

If a method is defined, it will likely be called. If reasonable tests exist, every method will be executed and checked. Therefore, instead of adding excessive type checks, investing time in writing tests can be a better strategy.

Installing ⚙️ and Setting Up 🔧 Ruby 3.4, Rails 8.0 and IDE on macOS in 2025

Ruby on Rails is a powerful framework for building web applications. If you’re setting up your development environment on macOS in 2025, this guide will walk you through installing Ruby 3.4, Rails 8, and a best IDE for development.

1. Installing Ruby and Rails

“While macOS comes with Ruby pre-installed, it’s often outdated and can’t be upgraded easily. Using a version manager like Mise allows you to install the latest Ruby version, switch between versions, and upgrade as needed.” – Rails guides

Install Dependencies

Run the following command to install essential dependencies (takes time):

brew install openssl@3 libyaml gmp rust

…..
==> Installing rust dependency: libssh2, readline, sqlite, python@3.13, pkgconf
==> Installing rust

zsh completions have been installed to:
/opt/homebrew/share/zsh/site-functions
==> Summary
🍺 /opt/homebrew/Cellar/rust/1.84.1: 3,566 files, 321.3MB
==> Running brew cleanup rust…
==> openssl@3
A CA file has been bootstrapped using certificates from the system
keychain. To add additional certificates, place .pem files in
/opt/homebrew/etc/openssl@3/certs

and run
/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/bin/c_rehash
==> rust
zsh completions have been installed to:
/opt/homebrew/share/zsh/site-functions

Install Mise Version Manager

curl https://mise.run | sh
echo 'eval "$(~/.local/bin/mise activate zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Install Ruby and Rails

mise use -g ruby@3
mise ruby@3.4.1 ✓ installed
mise ~/.config/mise/config.toml tools: ruby@3.4.1

ruby --version   # output Ruby 3.4.1

gem install rails

# reload terminal and check
rails --version  # output Rails 8.0.1

For additional guidance, refer to these resources:

2. Installing an IDE for Ruby on Rails Development

Choosing the right Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is crucial for productivity. Here are some popular options:

RubyMine

  • Feature-rich and specifically designed for Ruby on Rails.
  • Includes debugging tools, database integration, and smart code assistance.
  • Paid software that can be resource-intensive.

Sublime Text

  • Lightweight and highly customizable.
  • Requires plugins for additional functionality.

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) (Recommended)

  • Free and open-source.
  • Excellent plugin support.

Install VS Code

Follow the official installation guide.

Enable GitHub Copilot for AI-assisted coding:

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Sign in with your GitHub account.
  3. Enable Copilot from the extensions panel.

To use VS Code from the terminal, ensure code is added to your $PATH:

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P).
  2. Search for Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH.
  3. Restart your terminal and try: code .

3. Your 15 Essential VS Code Extensions for Ruby on Rails

To enhance your development workflow, install the following VS Code extensions:

  1. GitHub Copilot – AI-assisted coding (already installed).
  2. vscode-icons – Better file and folder icons.
  3. Tabnine AI – AI autocompletion for JavaScript and other languages.
  4. Ruby & Ruby LSP – Language support and linting.
  5. ERB Formatter/Beautify – Formats .erb files (requires htmlbeautifier gem): gem install htmlbeautifier
  6. ERB Helper Tags – Autocomplete for ERB tags.
  7. GitLens – Advanced Git integration.
  8. Ruby Solargraph – Provides code completion and inline documentation (requires solargraph gem): gem install solargraph
  9. Rails DB Schema – Auto-completion for Rails database schema.
  10. ruby-rubocop – Ruby linting and auto-formatting (requires rubocop gem): gem install rubocop
  11. endwise – Auto-adds end keyword in Ruby.
  12. Output Colorizer – Enhances syntax highlighting in log files.
  13. Auto Rename Tag – Automatically renames paired HTML/Ruby tags.
  14. Highlight Matching Tag – Highlights matching tags for better visibility.
  15. Bracket Pair Colorizer 2 – Improved bracket highlighting.

Conclusion

By following this guide, you’ve successfully set up a robust Ruby on Rails development environment on macOS. With Mise for version management, Rails installed, and VS Code configured with essential extensions, you’re ready to start building Ruby on Rails applications.

Part 2: https://railsdrop.com/2025/03/22/setup-rails-8-app-rubocop-actiontext-image-processing-part-2

Happy Rails setup! 🚀

Setting Up Terminal 🖥️ for Development on MacOS (Updated 2025)

If you’re setting up your MacBook for development, having a well-configured terminal is essential. This guide will walk you through installing and configuring a powerful terminal setup using Homebrew, iTerm2, and Oh My Zsh, along with useful plugins.

1. Install Homebrew

Homebrew is a package manager that simplifies installing software on macOS.

Open the Terminal and run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

After installation, add Homebrew to your PATH by running the following commands:

echo >> ~/.zprofile
echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Verify installation:

brew --version

Check here.

2. Install iTerm2

The default macOS Terminal is functional but lacks advanced features. iTerm2 is a powerful alternative.

Install it using Homebrew:

brew install --cask iterm2

Open iTerm2 from your Applications folder after installation.

Check and Install Git

Ensure Git is installed:

git --version

If not installed, install it using Homebrew:

brew install git

3. Install Oh My Zsh

Oh My Zsh enhances the Zsh shell with themes and plugins. Install it with:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Check here.

Configure .zshrc

Edit your .zshrc file:

vim ~/.zshrc

Add useful plugins:

plugins=(git rails ruby)

The default theme is robbyrussell. You can explore other themes here.

Customize iTerm2 Color Scheme

Find and import themes from iTerm2 Color Schemes.

4. Add Zsh Plugins

Enhance your terminal experience with useful plugins.

a. Install zsh-autosuggestions

This plugin provides command suggestions as you type.

Install via Oh My Zsh:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions

Or install via Homebrew:

brew install zsh-autosuggestions

Add to ~/.zshrc:

plugins=(git rails ruby zsh-autosuggestions)

If installed via Homebrew, add:

source /opt/homebrew/share/zsh-autosuggestions/zsh-autosuggestions.zsh

to the bottom of ~/.zshrc.

Restart iTerm2:

exec zsh

b. Install zsh-syntax-highlighting

This plugin highlights commands to distinguish valid syntax from errors.

Install via Oh My Zsh:

git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting

Add to .zshrc:

plugins=(git rails ruby zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-highlighting)

Restart iTerm2:

exec zsh

Wrapping Up

Your terminal is now set up for an optimized development experience! With Homebrew, iTerm2, Oh My Zsh, and useful plugins, your workflow will be faster and more efficient.

to be continued …