Ruby on Rails naming conventions

Ruby on Rails, often referred to as Rails, follows a set of naming conventions to maintain consistency and readability in code. I generally like RoR conventions and follow them. Here's a summary of some key naming conventions in Ruby on Rails:

Class Names: Class names in Rails are typically in CamelCase (also known as PascalCase), starting with an uppercase letter. For example, User, ProductCategory, or OrderDetail.

Table Names: The corresponding database table names for Rails models are usually in lowercase and pluralized. For example, if you have a User model, the corresponding table name should be users.

Model Files: Model files are singular and use snake_case. For example, user.rb, product_category.rb, or order_detail.rb.

Controller Names: Controller names are in CamelCase, followed by "Controller." For example, UsersController, ProductsController, or OrdersController.

Controller Files: Controller files use snake_case and end with "_controller.rb." For example, users_controller.rb, products_controller.rb, or orders_controller.rb.

Route Names: Routes in Rails often follow a RESTful naming convention. For example, GET /users maps to the index action of the UsersController. The route helpers generated for these follow the same convention, such as users_path or new_user_path.

Database Columns: Database column names are typically in snake_case. For instance, first_name, last_name, or created_at.

Foreign Keys: When creating associations between models, foreign keys follow a convention of singularized model name plus "_id." For example, a user_id field in a table associates it with the User model.

Join Tables: Join tables used in many-to-many associations are named by combining the names of the associated models in alphabetical order, separated by underscores. For example, if you have a many-to-many relationship between User and Group, the join table might be named groups_users.

Helper Methods: Helper methods follow a naming convention with snake_case. For example, link_to, form_for, or render.

Adhering to these naming conventions in Ruby on Rails helps maintain code consistency and makes it easier for developers to work on the same project. It also helps Rails automatically infer associations and routes, reducing the need for extensive configuration.

Please login to post a comment.