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How to Dynamically Create Instance Variables in Ruby
This post shows one way to dynamically initialize multiple instance variables in a Ruby class using metaprogramming. If you need to pass multiple, separate pieces of data to a constructor (and cannot refactor the code for some reason), it's a pretty good technique to reduce all the repetitive code.
July 25, 2023
How to Render SVG Icons in Ruby on Rails
This post shows how I render SVG icons in my Ruby on Rails applications. Instead of littering your HTML with complicated SVG tags, keep them tucked away in a folder as an ERB partial, and use a Rails helper to insert it in your views. Result: reusable, customizable icons and readable HTML.
July 19, 2023
How to Implement Rails-like Dynamic Views in Ruby
In this article, we will learn 'one' way to implement the controller-to-view data handoff using instance variables, just like Rails, and following the same conventions as Rails. Although it's a highly simplified implementation to keep things simple, I hope you'll find it fun and learn something new.
July 15, 2023
Implementing Rails-like Controllers in a No-Rails App
In its essence, a controller class in Rails is a coordinator. It accepts the incoming HTTP request and builds the data required by the view using the domain models. This post shows a highly simplified implementation of the controller pattern for a better understanding of Rails controllers.
July 11, 2023
Understanding the Concept of Binding in Ruby
Binding is an elegant way to access the current scope (variables, methods, and self) in Ruby. Typically, you use it for building view templates and executing strings of Ruby code. The Ruby REPL also makes abundant use of binding. In this post, we'll learn what binding is and how it works.
July 08, 2023
How to Split a List into N Equal Parts in Ruby (and Rails)
This article shows you can split (or chunk) a list of items into n-equally sized parts using the `each_slice` method in Ruby and `in_groups_of` method in Rails.
June 24, 2023
Practical Stimulus: Capture User Input
Stimulus is a JavaScript library that works really well with the HTML-over-the-wire approach of building web applications. In this series of articles, we'll learn how to accomplish common front-end tasks using Stimulus. This post shows how to capture user input and display it on the screen.
June 17, 2023
Blocks, Procs, and Lambdas: A Beginner's Guide to Closures and Anonymous Functions in Ruby
Closures and anonymous functions are very useful concepts, especially in functional programming. Ruby makes working with them a pleasure via its flavors like blocks, procs, and lambdas. This post provides an in-depth tutorial and shows the subtle differences between them.
June 17, 2023
How Module Autoloading Works in Ruby and Rails
Autoloading allows you to speed up the initialization of your library by lazily loading the code only when you need it. This post explains how the autoload method works in Ruby and how Rails overrides this method to provide its own implementation that follows the Rails naming conventions.
June 14, 2023
Practical Stimulus: How to Toggle CSS Classes
This second article in the 'Stimulus in Practice' series shows how you can work with HTML classes using Stimulus. Specifically, we'll learn how to toggle classes on an element. This is useful when you want to show or hide certain elements or update the design in response to user interaction.
June 11, 2023
