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How to Load Code in Ruby

There are many ways to load code and access file-related constants in Ruby. We can create a clear architecture by separating and handling concerns into classes and pulling in only the classes we depend on. Many full-stack frameworks like Rails and Hanami offer a built-in method to access the classes we want, as long as we stick with a certain convention. How does this work? In this post, we will explore three different options for loading code: using load, require, and autoload.

Audit Logging in Ruby and Rails

An audit log is a documented record of events and activity within an information technology system. Audit logging is critical for application owners and administrators to track activity within their systems. In this post, we'll first dive into what auditing entails and what to consider when audit logging. We'll then explore some options for implementing audit logs, including PaperTrail, Audited, AuditLog, AppSignal, and a custom implementation. Let's get started!

An Introduction to Mocking Tools for Elixir

A well-written test suite is a big part of any successful application. But let's say you rely on an external dependency for some parts of your app (for example, an external API for fetching user information). It then becomes important to mock that dependency in the test suite to prevent external API calls during testing or to test specific behavior. Several frameworks help reduce the boilerplate and make mocking safe for Elixir tests.

How to Use the rodauth-omniauth Gem in Ruby

Setting up authentication for your Ruby app is important to ensure it is secure. In this post, we'll explore the rodauth-omniauth gem for Ruby to implement authentication in your app via third-party providers. First, let's quickly define authentication before exploring the benefits of OmniAuth and setting up the rodauth-omniauth gem for a Rails app. Let's dive straight in!

Diving into Custom Exceptions in Ruby

Customizing exceptions is usually not a common concern during software development. But if you catch an error in an observability tool and can't correctly and quickly identify the problem, you may need more information and details about an exception. This article will show you how to customize exceptions in Ruby and mitigate potential future problems due to a lack of error information. Let's dive straight in!

Authorization Gems in Ruby: Pundit and CanCanCan

Today, many web applications will feature pages that are publicly available — like a homepage — and more secure ones where a user has to log in to get access. The process of user registration, logging in, and tracking user session state is called "authentication". At the same time, when dealing with logged-in users, it's necessary to separate actions and resources that are available to them depending on their user roles. For example, "admins" generally have more access than normal users.