rails 4.2.6.rc1 → 5.2.8.1

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- Active Record Migrations
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- ========================
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-
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- Migrations are a feature of Active Record that allows you to evolve your
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- database schema over time. Rather than write schema modifications in pure SQL,
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- migrations allow you to use an easy Ruby DSL to describe changes to your
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- tables.
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-
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- After reading this guide, you will know:
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-
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- * The generators you can use to create them.
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- * The methods Active Record provides to manipulate your database.
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- * The Rake tasks that manipulate migrations and your schema.
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- * How migrations relate to `schema.rb`.
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-
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-
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- Migration Overview
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- ------------------
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-
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- Migrations are a convenient way to
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- [alter your database schema over time](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_migration)
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- in a consistent and easy way. They use a Ruby DSL so that you don't have to
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- write SQL by hand, allowing your schema and changes to be database independent.
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-
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- You can think of each migration as being a new 'version' of the database. A
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- schema starts off with nothing in it, and each migration modifies it to add or
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- remove tables, columns, or entries. Active Record knows how to update your
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- schema along this timeline, bringing it from whatever point it is in the
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- history to the latest version. Active Record will also update your
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- `db/schema.rb` file to match the up-to-date structure of your database.
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-
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- Here's an example of a migration:
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- create_table :products do |t|
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- t.string :name
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- t.text :description
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-
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- t.timestamps null: false
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- end
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- This migration adds a table called `products` with a string column called
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- `name` and a text column called `description`. A primary key column called `id`
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- will also be added implicitly, as it's the default primary key for all Active
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- Record models. The `timestamps` macro adds two columns, `created_at` and
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- `updated_at`. These special columns are automatically managed by Active Record
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- if they exist.
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-
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- Note that we define the change that we want to happen moving forward in time.
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- Before this migration is run, there will be no table. After, the table will
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- exist. Active Record knows how to reverse this migration as well: if we roll
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- this migration back, it will remove the table.
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-
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- On databases that support transactions with statements that change the schema,
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- migrations are wrapped in a transaction. If the database does not support this
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- then when a migration fails the parts of it that succeeded will not be rolled
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- back. You will have to rollback the changes that were made by hand.
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-
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- NOTE: There are certain queries that can't run inside a transaction. If your
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- adapter supports DDL transactions you can use `disable_ddl_transaction!` to
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- disable them for a single migration.
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-
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- If you wish for a migration to do something that Active Record doesn't know how
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- to reverse, you can use `reversible`:
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class ChangeProductsPrice < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- reversible do |dir|
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- change_table :products do |t|
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- dir.up { t.change :price, :string }
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- dir.down { t.change :price, :integer }
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- end
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- end
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- Alternatively, you can use `up` and `down` instead of `change`:
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class ChangeProductsPrice < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def up
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- change_table :products do |t|
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- t.change :price, :string
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- end
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- end
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-
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- def down
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- change_table :products do |t|
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- t.change :price, :integer
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- end
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- Creating a Migration
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- --------------------
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-
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- ### Creating a Standalone Migration
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-
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- Migrations are stored as files in the `db/migrate` directory, one for each
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- migration class. The name of the file is of the form
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- `YYYYMMDDHHMMSS_create_products.rb`, that is to say a UTC timestamp
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- identifying the migration followed by an underscore followed by the name
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- of the migration. The name of the migration class (CamelCased version)
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- should match the latter part of the file name. For example
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- `20080906120000_create_products.rb` should define class `CreateProducts` and
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- `20080906120001_add_details_to_products.rb` should define
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- `AddDetailsToProducts`. Rails uses this timestamp to determine which migration
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- should be run and in what order, so if you're copying a migration from another
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- application or generate a file yourself, be aware of its position in the order.
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-
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- Of course, calculating timestamps is no fun, so Active Record provides a
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- generator to handle making it for you:
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-
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- ```bash
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- $ bin/rails generate migration AddPartNumberToProducts
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- ```
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-
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- This will create an empty but appropriately named migration:
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class AddPartNumberToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- If the migration name is of the form "AddXXXToYYY" or "RemoveXXXFromYYY" and is
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- followed by a list of column names and types then a migration containing the
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- appropriate `add_column` and `remove_column` statements will be created.
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-
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- ```bash
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- $ bin/rails generate migration AddPartNumberToProducts part_number:string
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- ```
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-
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- will generate
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class AddPartNumberToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- add_column :products, :part_number, :string
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- If you'd like to add an index on the new column, you can do that as well:
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-
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- ```bash
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- $ bin/rails generate migration AddPartNumberToProducts part_number:string:index
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- ```
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-
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- will generate
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class AddPartNumberToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- add_column :products, :part_number, :string
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- add_index :products, :part_number
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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-
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- Similarly, you can generate a migration to remove a column from the command line:
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-
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- ```bash
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- $ bin/rails generate migration RemovePartNumberFromProducts part_number:string
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- ```
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-
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- generates
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class RemovePartNumberFromProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- remove_column :products, :part_number, :string
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- end
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- end
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- ```
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-
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- You are not limited to one magically generated column. For example:
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-
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- ```bash
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- $ bin/rails generate migration AddDetailsToProducts part_number:string price:decimal
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- ```
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-
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- generates
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-
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- ```ruby
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- class AddDetailsToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
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- def change
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- add_column :products, :part_number, :string
200
- add_column :products, :price, :decimal
201
- end
202
- end
203
- ```
204
-
205
- If the migration name is of the form "CreateXXX" and is
206
- followed by a list of column names and types then a migration creating the table
207
- XXX with the columns listed will be generated. For example:
208
-
209
- ```bash
210
- $ bin/rails generate migration CreateProducts name:string part_number:string
211
- ```
212
-
213
- generates
214
-
215
- ```ruby
216
- class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
217
- def change
218
- create_table :products do |t|
219
- t.string :name
220
- t.string :part_number
221
- end
222
- end
223
- end
224
- ```
225
-
226
- As always, what has been generated for you is just a starting point. You can add
227
- or remove from it as you see fit by editing the
228
- `db/migrate/YYYYMMDDHHMMSS_add_details_to_products.rb` file.
229
-
230
- Also, the generator accepts column type as `references`(also available as
231
- `belongs_to`). For instance:
232
-
233
- ```bash
234
- $ bin/rails generate migration AddUserRefToProducts user:references
235
- ```
236
-
237
- generates
238
-
239
- ```ruby
240
- class AddUserRefToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
241
- def change
242
- add_reference :products, :user, index: true
243
- end
244
- end
245
- ```
246
-
247
- This migration will create a `user_id` column and appropriate index.
248
-
249
- There is also a generator which will produce join tables if `JoinTable` is part of the name:
250
-
251
- ```bash
252
- $ bin/rails g migration CreateJoinTableCustomerProduct customer product
253
- ```
254
-
255
- will produce the following migration:
256
-
257
- ```ruby
258
- class CreateJoinTableCustomerProduct < ActiveRecord::Migration
259
- def change
260
- create_join_table :customers, :products do |t|
261
- # t.index [:customer_id, :product_id]
262
- # t.index [:product_id, :customer_id]
263
- end
264
- end
265
- end
266
- ```
267
-
268
- ### Model Generators
269
-
270
- The model and scaffold generators will create migrations appropriate for adding
271
- a new model. This migration will already contain instructions for creating the
272
- relevant table. If you tell Rails what columns you want, then statements for
273
- adding these columns will also be created. For example, running:
274
-
275
- ```bash
276
- $ bin/rails generate model Product name:string description:text
277
- ```
278
-
279
- will create a migration that looks like this
280
-
281
- ```ruby
282
- class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
283
- def change
284
- create_table :products do |t|
285
- t.string :name
286
- t.text :description
287
-
288
- t.timestamps null: false
289
- end
290
- end
291
- end
292
- ```
293
-
294
- You can append as many column name/type pairs as you want.
295
-
296
- ### Passing Modifiers
297
-
298
- Some commonly used [type modifiers](#column-modifiers) can be passed directly on
299
- the command line. They are enclosed by curly braces and follow the field type:
300
-
301
- For instance, running:
302
-
303
- ```bash
304
- $ bin/rails generate migration AddDetailsToProducts 'price:decimal{5,2}' supplier:references{polymorphic}
305
- ```
306
-
307
- will produce a migration that looks like this
308
-
309
- ```ruby
310
- class AddDetailsToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
311
- def change
312
- add_column :products, :price, :decimal, precision: 5, scale: 2
313
- add_reference :products, :supplier, polymorphic: true, index: true
314
- end
315
- end
316
- ```
317
-
318
- TIP: Have a look at the generators help output for further details.
319
-
320
- Writing a Migration
321
- -------------------
322
-
323
- Once you have created your migration using one of the generators it's time to
324
- get to work!
325
-
326
- ### Creating a Table
327
-
328
- The `create_table` method is one of the most fundamental, but most of the time,
329
- will be generated for you from using a model or scaffold generator. A typical
330
- use would be
331
-
332
- ```ruby
333
- create_table :products do |t|
334
- t.string :name
335
- end
336
- ```
337
-
338
- which creates a `products` table with a column called `name` (and as discussed
339
- below, an implicit `id` column).
340
-
341
- By default, `create_table` will create a primary key called `id`. You can change
342
- the name of the primary key with the `:primary_key` option (don't forget to
343
- update the corresponding model) or, if you don't want a primary key at all, you
344
- can pass the option `id: false`. If you need to pass database specific options
345
- you can place an SQL fragment in the `:options` option. For example:
346
-
347
- ```ruby
348
- create_table :products, options: "ENGINE=BLACKHOLE" do |t|
349
- t.string :name, null: false
350
- end
351
- ```
352
-
353
- will append `ENGINE=BLACKHOLE` to the SQL statement used to create the table
354
- (when using MySQL, the default is `ENGINE=InnoDB`).
355
-
356
- ### Creating a Join Table
357
-
358
- Migration method `create_join_table` creates a HABTM join table. A typical use
359
- would be:
360
-
361
- ```ruby
362
- create_join_table :products, :categories
363
- ```
364
-
365
- which creates a `categories_products` table with two columns called
366
- `category_id` and `product_id`. These columns have the option `:null` set to
367
- `false` by default. This can be overridden by specifying the `:column_options`
368
- option.
369
-
370
- ```ruby
371
- create_join_table :products, :categories, column_options: {null: true}
372
- ```
373
-
374
- will create the `product_id` and `category_id` with the `:null` option as
375
- `true`.
376
-
377
- You can pass the option `:table_name` when you want to customize the table
378
- name. For example:
379
-
380
- ```ruby
381
- create_join_table :products, :categories, table_name: :categorization
382
- ```
383
-
384
- will create a `categorization` table.
385
-
386
- `create_join_table` also accepts a block, which you can use to add indices
387
- (which are not created by default) or additional columns:
388
-
389
- ```ruby
390
- create_join_table :products, :categories do |t|
391
- t.index :product_id
392
- t.index :category_id
393
- end
394
- ```
395
-
396
- ### Changing Tables
397
-
398
- A close cousin of `create_table` is `change_table`, used for changing existing
399
- tables. It is used in a similar fashion to `create_table` but the object
400
- yielded to the block knows more tricks. For example:
401
-
402
- ```ruby
403
- change_table :products do |t|
404
- t.remove :description, :name
405
- t.string :part_number
406
- t.index :part_number
407
- t.rename :upccode, :upc_code
408
- end
409
- ```
410
-
411
- removes the `description` and `name` columns, creates a `part_number` string
412
- column and adds an index on it. Finally it renames the `upccode` column.
413
-
414
- ### Changing Columns
415
-
416
- Like the `remove_column` and `add_column` Rails provides the `change_column`
417
- migration method.
418
-
419
- ```ruby
420
- change_column :products, :part_number, :text
421
- ```
422
-
423
- This changes the column `part_number` on products table to be a `:text` field.
424
-
425
- Besides `change_column`, the `change_column_null` and `change_column_default`
426
- methods are used specifically to change the null and default values of a
427
- column.
428
-
429
- ```ruby
430
- change_column_null :products, :name, false
431
- change_column_default :products, :approved, false
432
- ```
433
-
434
- This sets `:name` field on products to a `NOT NULL` column and the default
435
- value of the `:approved` field to false.
436
-
437
- TIP: Unlike `change_column` (and `change_column_default`), `change_column_null`
438
- is reversible.
439
-
440
- ### Column Modifiers
441
-
442
- Column modifiers can be applied when creating or changing a column:
443
-
444
- * `limit` Sets the maximum size of the `string/text/binary/integer` fields.
445
- * `precision` Defines the precision for the `decimal` fields, representing the
446
- total number of digits in the number.
447
- * `scale` Defines the scale for the `decimal` fields, representing the
448
- number of digits after the decimal point.
449
- * `polymorphic` Adds a `type` column for `belongs_to` associations.
450
- * `null` Allows or disallows `NULL` values in the column.
451
- * `default` Allows to set a default value on the column. Note that if you
452
- are using a dynamic value (such as a date), the default will only be calculated
453
- the first time (i.e. on the date the migration is applied).
454
- * `index` Adds an index for the column.
455
- * `required` Adds `required: true` for `belongs_to` associations and
456
- `null: false` to the column in the migration.
457
-
458
- Some adapters may support additional options; see the adapter specific API docs
459
- for further information.
460
-
461
- ### Foreign Keys
462
-
463
- While it's not required you might want to add foreign key constraints to
464
- [guarantee referential integrity](#active-record-and-referential-integrity).
465
-
466
- ```ruby
467
- add_foreign_key :articles, :authors
468
- ```
469
-
470
- This adds a new foreign key to the `author_id` column of the `articles`
471
- table. The key references the `id` column of the `authors` table. If the
472
- column names can not be derived from the table names, you can use the
473
- `:column` and `:primary_key` options.
474
-
475
- Rails will generate a name for every foreign key starting with
476
- `fk_rails_` followed by 10 random characters.
477
- There is a `:name` option to specify a different name if needed.
478
-
479
- NOTE: Active Record only supports single column foreign keys. `execute` and
480
- `structure.sql` are required to use composite foreign keys.
481
-
482
- Removing a foreign key is easy as well:
483
-
484
- ```ruby
485
- # let Active Record figure out the column name
486
- remove_foreign_key :accounts, :branches
487
-
488
- # remove foreign key for a specific column
489
- remove_foreign_key :accounts, column: :owner_id
490
-
491
- # remove foreign key by name
492
- remove_foreign_key :accounts, name: :special_fk_name
493
- ```
494
-
495
- ### When Helpers aren't Enough
496
-
497
- If the helpers provided by Active Record aren't enough you can use the `execute`
498
- method to execute arbitrary SQL:
499
-
500
- ```ruby
501
- Product.connection.execute('UPDATE `products` SET `price`=`free` WHERE 1')
502
- ```
503
-
504
- For more details and examples of individual methods, check the API documentation.
505
- In particular the documentation for
506
- [`ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::SchemaStatements`](http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/ConnectionAdapters/SchemaStatements.html)
507
- (which provides the methods available in the `change`, `up` and `down` methods),
508
- [`ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::TableDefinition`](http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/ConnectionAdapters/TableDefinition.html)
509
- (which provides the methods available on the object yielded by `create_table`)
510
- and
511
- [`ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::Table`](http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/ConnectionAdapters/Table.html)
512
- (which provides the methods available on the object yielded by `change_table`).
513
-
514
- ### Using the `change` Method
515
-
516
- The `change` method is the primary way of writing migrations. It works for the
517
- majority of cases, where Active Record knows how to reverse the migration
518
- automatically. Currently, the `change` method supports only these migration
519
- definitions:
520
-
521
- * `add_column`
522
- * `add_index`
523
- * `add_reference`
524
- * `add_timestamps`
525
- * `add_foreign_key`
526
- * `create_table`
527
- * `create_join_table`
528
- * `drop_table` (must supply a block)
529
- * `drop_join_table` (must supply a block)
530
- * `remove_timestamps`
531
- * `rename_column`
532
- * `rename_index`
533
- * `remove_reference`
534
- * `rename_table`
535
-
536
- `change_table` is also reversible, as long as the block does not call `change`,
537
- `change_default` or `remove`.
538
-
539
- If you're going to need to use any other methods, you should use `reversible`
540
- or write the `up` and `down` methods instead of using the `change` method.
541
-
542
- ### Using `reversible`
543
-
544
- Complex migrations may require processing that Active Record doesn't know how
545
- to reverse. You can use `reversible` to specify what to do when running a
546
- migration what else to do when reverting it. For example:
547
-
548
- ```ruby
549
- class ExampleMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
550
- def change
551
- create_table :distributors do |t|
552
- t.string :zipcode
553
- end
554
-
555
- reversible do |dir|
556
- dir.up do
557
- # add a CHECK constraint
558
- execute <<-SQL
559
- ALTER TABLE distributors
560
- ADD CONSTRAINT zipchk
561
- CHECK (char_length(zipcode) = 5) NO INHERIT;
562
- SQL
563
- end
564
- dir.down do
565
- execute <<-SQL
566
- ALTER TABLE distributors
567
- DROP CONSTRAINT zipchk
568
- SQL
569
- end
570
- end
571
-
572
- add_column :users, :home_page_url, :string
573
- rename_column :users, :email, :email_address
574
- end
575
- end
576
- ```
577
-
578
- Using `reversible` will ensure that the instructions are executed in the
579
- right order too. If the previous example migration is reverted,
580
- the `down` block will be run after the `home_page_url` column is removed and
581
- right before the table `distributors` is dropped.
582
-
583
- Sometimes your migration will do something which is just plain irreversible; for
584
- example, it might destroy some data. In such cases, you can raise
585
- `ActiveRecord::IrreversibleMigration` in your `down` block. If someone tries
586
- to revert your migration, an error message will be displayed saying that it
587
- can't be done.
588
-
589
- ### Using the `up`/`down` Methods
590
-
591
- You can also use the old style of migration using `up` and `down` methods
592
- instead of the `change` method.
593
- The `up` method should describe the transformation you'd like to make to your
594
- schema, and the `down` method of your migration should revert the
595
- transformations done by the `up` method. In other words, the database schema
596
- should be unchanged if you do an `up` followed by a `down`. For example, if you
597
- create a table in the `up` method, you should drop it in the `down` method. It
598
- is wise to reverse the transformations in precisely the reverse order they were
599
- made in the `up` method. The example in the `reversible` section is equivalent to:
600
-
601
- ```ruby
602
- class ExampleMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
603
- def up
604
- create_table :distributors do |t|
605
- t.string :zipcode
606
- end
607
-
608
- # add a CHECK constraint
609
- execute <<-SQL
610
- ALTER TABLE distributors
611
- ADD CONSTRAINT zipchk
612
- CHECK (char_length(zipcode) = 5);
613
- SQL
614
-
615
- add_column :users, :home_page_url, :string
616
- rename_column :users, :email, :email_address
617
- end
618
-
619
- def down
620
- rename_column :users, :email_address, :email
621
- remove_column :users, :home_page_url
622
-
623
- execute <<-SQL
624
- ALTER TABLE distributors
625
- DROP CONSTRAINT zipchk
626
- SQL
627
-
628
- drop_table :distributors
629
- end
630
- end
631
- ```
632
-
633
- If your migration is irreversible, you should raise
634
- `ActiveRecord::IrreversibleMigration` from your `down` method. If someone tries
635
- to revert your migration, an error message will be displayed saying that it
636
- can't be done.
637
-
638
- ### Reverting Previous Migrations
639
-
640
- You can use Active Record's ability to rollback migrations using the `revert` method:
641
-
642
- ```ruby
643
- require_relative '2012121212_example_migration'
644
-
645
- class FixupExampleMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
646
- def change
647
- revert ExampleMigration
648
-
649
- create_table(:apples) do |t|
650
- t.string :variety
651
- end
652
- end
653
- end
654
- ```
655
-
656
- The `revert` method also accepts a block of instructions to reverse.
657
- This could be useful to revert selected parts of previous migrations.
658
- For example, let's imagine that `ExampleMigration` is committed and it
659
- is later decided it would be best to use Active Record validations,
660
- in place of the `CHECK` constraint, to verify the zipcode.
661
-
662
- ```ruby
663
- class DontUseConstraintForZipcodeValidationMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
664
- def change
665
- revert do
666
- # copy-pasted code from ExampleMigration
667
- reversible do |dir|
668
- dir.up do
669
- # add a CHECK constraint
670
- execute <<-SQL
671
- ALTER TABLE distributors
672
- ADD CONSTRAINT zipchk
673
- CHECK (char_length(zipcode) = 5);
674
- SQL
675
- end
676
- dir.down do
677
- execute <<-SQL
678
- ALTER TABLE distributors
679
- DROP CONSTRAINT zipchk
680
- SQL
681
- end
682
- end
683
-
684
- # The rest of the migration was ok
685
- end
686
- end
687
- end
688
- ```
689
-
690
- The same migration could also have been written without using `revert`
691
- but this would have involved a few more steps: reversing the order
692
- of `create_table` and `reversible`, replacing `create_table`
693
- by `drop_table`, and finally replacing `up` by `down` and vice-versa.
694
- This is all taken care of by `revert`.
695
-
696
- Running Migrations
697
- ------------------
698
-
699
- Rails provides a set of Rake tasks to run certain sets of migrations.
700
-
701
- The very first migration related Rake task you will use will probably be
702
- `rake db:migrate`. In its most basic form it just runs the `change` or `up`
703
- method for all the migrations that have not yet been run. If there are
704
- no such migrations, it exits. It will run these migrations in order based
705
- on the date of the migration.
706
-
707
- Note that running the `db:migrate` task also invokes the `db:schema:dump` task, which
708
- will update your `db/schema.rb` file to match the structure of your database.
709
-
710
- If you specify a target version, Active Record will run the required migrations
711
- (change, up, down) until it has reached the specified version. The version
712
- is the numerical prefix on the migration's filename. For example, to migrate
713
- to version 20080906120000 run:
714
-
715
- ```bash
716
- $ bin/rake db:migrate VERSION=20080906120000
717
- ```
718
-
719
- If version 20080906120000 is greater than the current version (i.e., it is
720
- migrating upwards), this will run the `change` (or `up`) method
721
- on all migrations up to and
722
- including 20080906120000, and will not execute any later migrations. If
723
- migrating downwards, this will run the `down` method on all the migrations
724
- down to, but not including, 20080906120000.
725
-
726
- ### Rolling Back
727
-
728
- A common task is to rollback the last migration. For example, if you made a
729
- mistake in it and wish to correct it. Rather than tracking down the version
730
- number associated with the previous migration you can run:
731
-
732
- ```bash
733
- $ bin/rake db:rollback
734
- ```
735
-
736
- This will rollback the latest migration, either by reverting the `change`
737
- method or by running the `down` method. If you need to undo
738
- several migrations you can provide a `STEP` parameter:
739
-
740
- ```bash
741
- $ bin/rake db:rollback STEP=3
742
- ```
743
-
744
- will revert the last 3 migrations.
745
-
746
- The `db:migrate:redo` task is a shortcut for doing a rollback and then migrating
747
- back up again. As with the `db:rollback` task, you can use the `STEP` parameter
748
- if you need to go more than one version back, for example:
749
-
750
- ```bash
751
- $ bin/rake db:migrate:redo STEP=3
752
- ```
753
-
754
- Neither of these Rake tasks do anything you could not do with `db:migrate`. They
755
- are simply more convenient, since you do not need to explicitly specify the
756
- version to migrate to.
757
-
758
- ### Setup the Database
759
-
760
- The `rake db:setup` task will create the database, load the schema and initialize
761
- it with the seed data.
762
-
763
- ### Resetting the Database
764
-
765
- The `rake db:reset` task will drop the database and set it up again. This is
766
- functionally equivalent to `rake db:drop db:setup`.
767
-
768
- NOTE: This is not the same as running all the migrations. It will only use the
769
- contents of the current `schema.rb` file. If a migration can't be rolled back,
770
- `rake db:reset` may not help you. To find out more about dumping the schema see
771
- [Schema Dumping and You](#schema-dumping-and-you) section.
772
-
773
- ### Running Specific Migrations
774
-
775
- If you need to run a specific migration up or down, the `db:migrate:up` and
776
- `db:migrate:down` tasks will do that. Just specify the appropriate version and
777
- the corresponding migration will have its `change`, `up` or `down` method
778
- invoked, for example:
779
-
780
- ```bash
781
- $ bin/rake db:migrate:up VERSION=20080906120000
782
- ```
783
-
784
- will run the 20080906120000 migration by running the `change` method (or the
785
- `up` method). This task will
786
- first check whether the migration is already performed and will do nothing if
787
- Active Record believes that it has already been run.
788
-
789
- ### Running Migrations in Different Environments
790
-
791
- By default running `rake db:migrate` will run in the `development` environment.
792
- To run migrations against another environment you can specify it using the
793
- `RAILS_ENV` environment variable while running the command. For example to run
794
- migrations against the `test` environment you could run:
795
-
796
- ```bash
797
- $ bin/rake db:migrate RAILS_ENV=test
798
- ```
799
-
800
- ### Changing the Output of Running Migrations
801
-
802
- By default migrations tell you exactly what they're doing and how long it took.
803
- A migration creating a table and adding an index might produce output like this
804
-
805
- ```bash
806
- == CreateProducts: migrating =================================================
807
- -- create_table(:products)
808
- -> 0.0028s
809
- == CreateProducts: migrated (0.0028s) ========================================
810
- ```
811
-
812
- Several methods are provided in migrations that allow you to control all this:
813
-
814
- | Method | Purpose
815
- | -------------------- | -------
816
- | suppress_messages | Takes a block as an argument and suppresses any output generated by the block.
817
- | say | Takes a message argument and outputs it as is. A second boolean argument can be passed to specify whether to indent or not.
818
- | say_with_time | Outputs text along with how long it took to run its block. If the block returns an integer it assumes it is the number of rows affected.
819
-
820
- For example, this migration:
821
-
822
- ```ruby
823
- class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
824
- def change
825
- suppress_messages do
826
- create_table :products do |t|
827
- t.string :name
828
- t.text :description
829
- t.timestamps null: false
830
- end
831
- end
832
-
833
- say "Created a table"
834
-
835
- suppress_messages {add_index :products, :name}
836
- say "and an index!", true
837
-
838
- say_with_time 'Waiting for a while' do
839
- sleep 10
840
- 250
841
- end
842
- end
843
- end
844
- ```
845
-
846
- generates the following output
847
-
848
- ```bash
849
- == CreateProducts: migrating =================================================
850
- -- Created a table
851
- -> and an index!
852
- -- Waiting for a while
853
- -> 10.0013s
854
- -> 250 rows
855
- == CreateProducts: migrated (10.0054s) =======================================
856
- ```
857
-
858
- If you want Active Record to not output anything, then running `rake db:migrate
859
- VERBOSE=false` will suppress all output.
860
-
861
- Changing Existing Migrations
862
- ----------------------------
863
-
864
- Occasionally you will make a mistake when writing a migration. If you have
865
- already run the migration then you cannot just edit the migration and run the
866
- migration again: Rails thinks it has already run the migration and so will do
867
- nothing when you run `rake db:migrate`. You must rollback the migration (for
868
- example with `rake db:rollback`), edit your migration and then run
869
- `rake db:migrate` to run the corrected version.
870
-
871
- In general, editing existing migrations is not a good idea. You will be
872
- creating extra work for yourself and your co-workers and cause major headaches
873
- if the existing version of the migration has already been run on production
874
- machines. Instead, you should write a new migration that performs the changes
875
- you require. Editing a freshly generated migration that has not yet been
876
- committed to source control (or, more generally, which has not been propagated
877
- beyond your development machine) is relatively harmless.
878
-
879
- The `revert` method can be helpful when writing a new migration to undo
880
- previous migrations in whole or in part
881
- (see [Reverting Previous Migrations](#reverting-previous-migrations) above).
882
-
883
- Schema Dumping and You
884
- ----------------------
885
-
886
- ### What are Schema Files for?
887
-
888
- Migrations, mighty as they may be, are not the authoritative source for your
889
- database schema. That role falls to either `db/schema.rb` or an SQL file which
890
- Active Record generates by examining the database. They are not designed to be
891
- edited, they just represent the current state of the database.
892
-
893
- There is no need (and it is error prone) to deploy a new instance of an app by
894
- replaying the entire migration history. It is much simpler and faster to just
895
- load into the database a description of the current schema.
896
-
897
- For example, this is how the test database is created: the current development
898
- database is dumped (either to `db/schema.rb` or `db/structure.sql`) and then
899
- loaded into the test database.
900
-
901
- Schema files are also useful if you want a quick look at what attributes an
902
- Active Record object has. This information is not in the model's code and is
903
- frequently spread across several migrations, but the information is nicely
904
- summed up in the schema file. The
905
- [annotate_models](https://github.com/ctran/annotate_models) gem automatically
906
- adds and updates comments at the top of each model summarizing the schema if
907
- you desire that functionality.
908
-
909
- ### Types of Schema Dumps
910
-
911
- There are two ways to dump the schema. This is set in `config/application.rb`
912
- by the `config.active_record.schema_format` setting, which may be either `:sql`
913
- or `:ruby`.
914
-
915
- If `:ruby` is selected then the schema is stored in `db/schema.rb`. If you look
916
- at this file you'll find that it looks an awful lot like one very big
917
- migration:
918
-
919
- ```ruby
920
- ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 20080906171750) do
921
- create_table "authors", force: true do |t|
922
- t.string "name"
923
- t.datetime "created_at"
924
- t.datetime "updated_at"
925
- end
926
-
927
- create_table "products", force: true do |t|
928
- t.string "name"
929
- t.text "description"
930
- t.datetime "created_at"
931
- t.datetime "updated_at"
932
- t.string "part_number"
933
- end
934
- end
935
- ```
936
-
937
- In many ways this is exactly what it is. This file is created by inspecting the
938
- database and expressing its structure using `create_table`, `add_index`, and so
939
- on. Because this is database-independent, it could be loaded into any database
940
- that Active Record supports. This could be very useful if you were to
941
- distribute an application that is able to run against multiple databases.
942
-
943
- There is however a trade-off: `db/schema.rb` cannot express database specific
944
- items such as triggers, or stored procedures. While in a migration you can
945
- execute custom SQL statements, the schema dumper cannot reconstitute those
946
- statements from the database. If you are using features like this, then you
947
- should set the schema format to `:sql`.
948
-
949
- Instead of using Active Record's schema dumper, the database's structure will
950
- be dumped using a tool specific to the database (via the `db:structure:dump`
951
- Rake task) into `db/structure.sql`. For example, for PostgreSQL, the `pg_dump`
952
- utility is used. For MySQL, this file will contain the output of
953
- `SHOW CREATE TABLE` for the various tables.
954
-
955
- Loading these schemas is simply a question of executing the SQL statements they
956
- contain. By definition, this will create a perfect copy of the database's
957
- structure. Using the `:sql` schema format will, however, prevent loading the
958
- schema into a RDBMS other than the one used to create it.
959
-
960
- ### Schema Dumps and Source Control
961
-
962
- Because schema dumps are the authoritative source for your database schema, it
963
- is strongly recommended that you check them into source control.
964
-
965
- `db/schema.rb` contains the current version number of the database. This
966
- ensures conflicts are going to happen in the case of a merge where both
967
- branches touched the schema. When that happens, solve conflicts manually,
968
- keeping the highest version number of the two.
969
-
970
- Active Record and Referential Integrity
971
- ---------------------------------------
972
-
973
- The Active Record way claims that intelligence belongs in your models, not in
974
- the database. As such, features such as triggers or constraints,
975
- which push some of that intelligence back into the database, are not heavily
976
- used.
977
-
978
- Validations such as `validates :foreign_key, uniqueness: true` are one way in
979
- which models can enforce data integrity. The `:dependent` option on
980
- associations allows models to automatically destroy child objects when the
981
- parent is destroyed. Like anything which operates at the application level,
982
- these cannot guarantee referential integrity and so some people augment them
983
- with [foreign key constraints](#foreign-keys) in the database.
984
-
985
- Although Active Record does not provide all the tools for working directly with
986
- such features, the `execute` method can be used to execute arbitrary SQL.
987
-
988
- Migrations and Seed Data
989
- ------------------------
990
-
991
- Some people use migrations to add data to the database:
992
-
993
- ```ruby
994
- class AddInitialProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
995
- def up
996
- 5.times do |i|
997
- Product.create(name: "Product ##{i}", description: "A product.")
998
- end
999
- end
1000
-
1001
- def down
1002
- Product.delete_all
1003
- end
1004
- end
1005
- ```
1006
-
1007
- However, Rails has a 'seeds' feature that should be used for seeding a database
1008
- with initial data. It's a really simple feature: just fill up `db/seeds.rb`
1009
- with some Ruby code, and run `rake db:seed`:
1010
-
1011
- ```ruby
1012
- 5.times do |i|
1013
- Product.create(name: "Product ##{i}", description: "A product.")
1014
- end
1015
- ```
1016
-
1017
- This is generally a much cleaner way to set up the database of a blank
1018
- application.