Preface

Ruby on Rails is a powerful and influential open source framework specifically designed to facilitate the rapid development of web applications. As a full stack framework, Rails provides developers with the tools necessary for frontend and backend web development, allowing for the seamless integration of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and server-side scripting.

At the heart of Rails is the adoption of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. This pattern divides an application into three interconnected parts: the Model, which pertains to the application’s data and business logic; the View, responsible for the output of the information; and the Controller, which manages the flow of data between the Model and the View.

Alongside MVC, another central pillar of Rails is the convention-over-configuration principle. This philosophy manifests in many predefined settings and defaults within the Rails framework, significantly reducing the number of decisions a developer has to make.

Sticking to MVC-based framework components and leveraging conventions is The Rails Way. It aims to streamline the development process, allowing developers to focus on crafting product features rather than getting burdened by the complexities of taming the framework and its components.

However, as with most things, this initial simplicity can be a double-edged sword. It can sometimes spiral into an intricate labyrinth of complexities, potentially transforming a neatly organized code base into a difficult-to-manage, convoluted mess. This book seeks to equip you with strategies and techniques to help you control your Rails application’s complexity while ensuring maintainability.

We start by exploring the framework’s capabilities and principles, allowing you to utilize Rails’ power fully. Then, we start the layering process by gradually extracting and introducing new abstraction layers in a way that plays nicely with The Rails Way. Thus, the ideas expressed in this book could be considered The Extended Rails Way, the patterns and approaches that can help you enjoy the framework and increase Ruby developers' happiness at scale.

As you conclude this journey, you’ll emerge as a proficient specialist in code design, possessing an in-depth understanding of the Rails framework’s principles.