split 0.4.6 → 0.5.0

data/.travis.yml

@@ -3,7 +3,15 @@ rvm:
   - 1.8.7
   - 1.9.2
   - 1.9.3
-  - jruby-18mode # JRuby in 1.8 mode
-  - jruby-19mode # JRuby in 1.9 mode
+  - 2.0.0
+  - ruby-head
+  - jruby-18mode
+  - jruby-19mode
+  - jruby-head
   - rbx-18mode
-  - rbx-19mode
+  - rbx-19mode
+  - ree
+matrix:
+  allow_failures:
+    - rvm: ruby-head
+    - rvm: 2.0.0

data/CHANGELOG.mdown

@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+## 0.5.0 (January 28, 2012)
+
+Features:
+
+  - Persistence Adapters: Cookies and Session (@patbenatar, #98)
+  - Configure experiments from a hash (@iangreenleaf, #97)
+  - Pluggable sampling algorithms (@woodhull, #105)
+
+Bugfixes:
+
+  - Fixed negative number of non-finished rates (@philnash, #83)
+  - Fixed behaviour of finished(:reset => false) (@philnash, #88)
+  - Only take into consideration positive z-scores (@thomasmaas, #96)
+
+## 0.4.7 (November 1, 2012)
+
+Bugfixes:
+
+  - Amended ab_test method to raise ArgumentError if passed integers or symbols as
+    alternatives (@buddhamagnet, #81)
+
 ## 0.4.6 (October 28, 2012)
 
 Features:
@@ -176,4 +197,4 @@ Bugfixes:
 
 ## 0.1.0 (May 17, 2011)
 
-Initial Release
+Initial Release

data/CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+## Contributing
+* Fork the project.
+* Make your feature addition or bug fix.
+* Add tests for it. This is important so I don't break it in a
+  future version unintentionally.
+* Add documentation if necessary.
+* Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history.
+  (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)
+* Send a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.
+* Discussion at the [Google Group](https://groups.google.com/d/forum/split-ruby)

data/LICENSE

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Copyright (c) 2012 Andrew Nesbitt
+Copyright (c) 2013 Andrew Nesbitt
 
 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
 a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the

data/README.mdown

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ Split is heavily inspired by the Abingo and Vanity rails ab testing plugins and
 
 Split is designed to be hacker friendly, allowing for maximum customisation and extensibility.
 
-[![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/andrew/split.png?branch=master)](http://travis-ci.org/andrew/split) [![Dependency Status](https://gemnasium.com/andrew/split.png)](https://gemnasium.com/andrew/split)
+[![Gem Version](https://badge.fury.io/rb/split.png)](http://badge.fury.io/rb/split)
+[![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/andrew/split.png?branch=master)](http://travis-ci.org/andrew/split)
+[![Dependency Status](https://gemnasium.com/andrew/split.png)](https://gemnasium.com/andrew/split)
+[![Code Climate](https://codeclimate.com/badge.png)](https://codeclimate.com/github/andrew/split)
 
 ## Requirements
 
@@ -16,8 +19,10 @@ Split only supports redis 2.0 or greater.
 
 If you're on OS X, Homebrew is the simplest way to install Redis:
 
-    $ brew install redis
-    $ redis-server /usr/local/etc/redis.conf
+```bash
+$ brew install redis
+$ redis-server /usr/local/etc/redis.conf
+```
 
 You now have a Redis daemon running on 6379.
 
@@ -25,19 +30,27 @@ You now have a Redis daemon running on 6379.
 
 If you are using bundler add split to your Gemfile:
 
-    gem 'split'
+``` ruby
+gem 'split'
+```
 
 Then run:
 
-    bundle install
+```bash
+$ bundle install
+```
 
 Otherwise install the gem:
 
-    gem install split
+```bash
+$ gem install split
+```
 
 and require it in your project:
 
-    require 'split'
+```ruby
+require 'split'
+```
 
 ### SystemTimer
 
@@ -45,7 +58,9 @@ If you are using Redis on Ruby 1.8.x then you will likely want to also use the S
 
 Put the following in your gemfile as well:
 
-    gem 'SystemTimer'
+```
+gem 'SystemTimer'
+```
 
 ### Rails
 
@@ -55,13 +70,15 @@ Split is autoloaded when rails starts up, as long as you've configured redis it
 
 To configure sinatra with Split you need to enable sessions and mix in the helper methods. Add the following lines at the top of your sinatra app:
 
-    class MySinatraApp < Sinatra::Base
-      enable :sessions
-      helpers Split::Helper
+```ruby
+class MySinatraApp < Sinatra::Base
+  enable :sessions
+  helpers Split::Helper
 
-      get '/' do
-      ...
-    end
+  get '/' do
+  ...
+end
+```
 
 ## Usage
 
@@ -75,27 +92,35 @@ It can be used to render different templates, show different text or any other c
 
 Example: View
 
-    <% ab_test("login_button", "/images/button1.jpg", "/images/button2.jpg") do |button_file| %>
-      <%= img_tag(button_file, :alt => "Login!") %>
-    <% end %>
+```ruby
+<% ab_test("login_button", "/images/button1.jpg", "/images/button2.jpg") do |button_file| %>
+  <%= img_tag(button_file, :alt => "Login!") %>
+<% end %>
+```
 
 Example: Controller
 
-    def register_new_user
-      # See what level of free points maximizes users' decision to buy replacement points.
-      @starter_points = ab_test("new_user_free_points", '100', '200', '300')
-    end
+```ruby
+def register_new_user
+  # See what level of free points maximizes users' decision to buy replacement points.
+  @starter_points = ab_test("new_user_free_points", '100', '200', '300')
+end
+```
 
 Example: Conversion tracking (in a controller!)
 
-    def buy_new_points
-      # some business logic
-      finished("new_user_free_points")
-    end
+```ruby
+def buy_new_points
+  # some business logic
+  finished("new_user_free_points")
+end
+```
 
 Example: Conversion tracking (in a view)
 
-    Thanks for signing up, dude! <% finished("signup_page_redesign") >
+```ruby
+Thanks for signing up, dude! <% finished("signup_page_redesign") >
+```
 
 You can find more examples, tutorials and guides on the [wiki](https://github.com/andrew/split/wiki).
 
@@ -107,11 +132,13 @@ Perhaps you only want to show an alternative to 10% of your visitors because it
 
 To do this you can pass a weight with each alternative in the following ways:
 
-    ab_test('homepage design', {'Old' => 20}, {'New' => 2})
+```ruby
+ab_test('homepage design', {'Old' => 20}, {'New' => 2})
 
-    ab_test('homepage design', 'Old', {'New' => 0.1})
+ab_test('homepage design', 'Old', {'New' => 0.1})
 
-    ab_test('homepage design', {'Old' => 10}, 'New')
+ab_test('homepage design', {'Old' => 10}, 'New')
+```
 
 Note: If using ruby 1.8.x and weighted alternatives you should always pass the control alternative through as the second argument with any other alternatives as a third argument because the order of the hash is not preserved in ruby 1.8, ruby 1.9.1+ users are not affected by this bug.
 
@@ -134,7 +161,9 @@ When a user completes a test their session is reset so that they may start the t
 
 To stop this behaviour you can pass the following option to the `finished` method:
 
-    finished('experiment_name', :reset => false)
+```ruby
+finished('experiment_name', :reset => false)
+```
 
 The user will then always see the alternative they started with.
 
@@ -144,9 +173,40 @@ By default Split will avoid users participating in multiple experiments at once.
 
 To stop this behaviour and allow users to participate in multiple experiments at once enable the `allow_multiple_experiments` config option like so:
 
-    Split.configure do |config|
-      config.allow_multiple_experiments = true
-    end
+```ruby
+Split.configure do |config|
+  config.allow_multiple_experiments = true
+end
+```
+
+### Experiment Persistence
+
+Split comes with two built-in persistence adapters for storing users and the alternatives they've been given for each experiment.
+
+By default Split will store the tests for each user in the session.
+
+You can optionally configure Split to use a cookie or any custom adapter of your choosing.
+
+#### Cookies
+
+```ruby
+Split.configure do |config|
+  config.persistence = :cookie
+end
+```
+
+__Note:__ Using cookies depends on `ActionDispatch::Cookies` or any identical API
+
+#### Custom Adapter
+
+Your custom adapter needs to implement the same API as existing adapters.
+See `Split::Persistance::CookieAdapter` or `Split::Persistence::SessionAdapter` for a starting point.
+
+```ruby
+Split.configure do |config|
+  config.persistence = YourCustomAdapterClass
+end
+```
 
 ## Web Interface
 
@@ -154,39 +214,112 @@ Split comes with a Sinatra-based front end to get an overview of how your experi
 
 If you are running Rails 2: You can mount this inside your app using Rack::URLMap in your `config.ru`
 
-    require 'split/dashboard'
+```ruby
+require 'split/dashboard'
 
-    run Rack::URLMap.new \
-      "/"       => Your::App.new,
-      "/split" => Split::Dashboard.new
+run Rack::URLMap.new \
+  "/"       => Your::App.new,
+  "/split" => Split::Dashboard.new
+```
 
 However, if you are using Rails 3: You can mount this inside your app routes by first adding this to the Gemfile:
 
-    gem 'split', :require => 'split/dashboard'
+```ruby
+gem 'split', :require => 'split/dashboard'
+```
 
 Then adding this to config/routes.rb
 
-    mount Split::Dashboard, :at => 'split'
+```ruby
+mount Split::Dashboard, :at => 'split'
+```
 
 You may want to password protect that page, you can do so with `Rack::Auth::Basic`
 
-    Split::Dashboard.use Rack::Auth::Basic do |username, password|
-      username == 'admin' && password == 'p4s5w0rd'
-    end
+```ruby
+Split::Dashboard.use Rack::Auth::Basic do |username, password|
+  username == 'admin' && password == 'p4s5w0rd'
+end
+```
 
 ## Configuration
 
 You can override the default configuration options of Split like so:
 
+```ruby
+Split.configure do |config|
+  config.robot_regex = /my_custom_robot_regex/
+  config.ignore_ip_addresses << '81.19.48.130'
+  config.db_failover = true # handle redis errors gracefully
+  config.db_failover_on_db_error = proc{|error| Rails.logger.error(error.message) }
+  config.allow_multiple_experiments = true
+  config.enabled = true
+  config.persistence = Split::Persistence::SessionAdapter
+end
+```
+
+### Experiment configuration
+
+Instead of providing the experiment options inline, you can store them
+in a hash or a configuration file:
+
+    Split.configure do |config|
+      config.experiments = YAML.load_file "config/experiments.yml"
+    end
+
+This hash can control your experiment's variants, weights, algorithm and if the
+experiment resets once finished:
+
     Split.configure do |config|
-      config.robot_regex = /my_custom_robot_regex/
-      config.ignore_ip_addresses << '81.19.48.130'
-      config.db_failover = true # handle redis errors gracefully
-      config.db_failover_on_db_error = proc{|error| Rails.logger.error(error.message) }
-      config.allow_multiple_experiments = true
-      config.enabled = true
+      config.experiments = {
+        :my_first_experiment => {
+          :variants => ["a", "b"],
+          :resettable => false,
+        },
+        :my_second_experiment => {
+          :algorithm => 'Split::Algorithms::Whiplash',
+          :variants => [
+            { :name => "a", :percent => 67 },
+            { :name => "b", :percent => 33 },
+          ]
+        }
+      }
     end
 
+This simplifies the calls from your code:
+
+    ab_test(:my_first_experiment)
+
+and:
+
+    finished(:my_first_experiment)
+
+#### Metrics
+
+You might wish to track generic metrics, such as conversions, and use
+those to complete multiple different experiments without adding more to
+your code. You can use the configuration hash to do this, thanks to
+the `:metric` option.
+
+    Split.configure do |config|
+      config.experiments = {
+        :my_first_experiment => {
+          :variants => ["a", "b"],
+          :metric => :conversion,
+        }
+      }
+    end
+
+Your code may then track a completion using the metric instead of
+the experiment name:
+
+    finished(:conversion)
+    
+You can also create a new metric by instantiating and saving a new Metric object. 
+
+    Split::Metric.new(:conversion)
+    Split::Metric.save
+
 ### DB failover solution
 
 Due to the fact that Redis has no autom. failover mechanism, it's
@@ -216,19 +349,23 @@ appropriately.
 
 Here's our `config/split.yml`:
 
-    development: localhost:6379
-    test: localhost:6379
-    staging: redis1.example.com:6379
-    fi: localhost:6379
-    production: redis1.example.com:6379
+```yml
+development: localhost:6379
+test: localhost:6379
+staging: redis1.example.com:6379
+fi: localhost:6379
+production: redis1.example.com:6379
+```
 
 And our initializer:
 
-    rails_root = ENV['RAILS_ROOT'] || File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../..'
-    rails_env = ENV['RAILS_ENV'] || 'development'
+```ruby
+rails_root = ENV['RAILS_ROOT'] || File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../..'
+rails_env = ENV['RAILS_ENV'] || 'development'
 
-    split_config = YAML.load_file(rails_root + '/config/split.yml')
-    Split.redis = split_config[rails_env]
+split_config = YAML.load_file(rails_root + '/config/split.yml')
+Split.redis = split_config[rails_env]
+```
 
 ## Namespaces
 
@@ -242,11 +379,45 @@ in your Redis server.
 
 Simply use the `Split.redis.namespace` accessor:
 
-    Split.redis.namespace = "split:blog"
+```ruby
+Split.redis.namespace = "split:blog"
+```
 
 We recommend sticking this in your initializer somewhere after Redis
 is configured.
 
+## Outside of a Web Session
+
+Split provides the Helper module to facilitate running experiments inside web sessions. 
+
+Alternatively, you can access the underlying Metric, Trial, Experiment and Alternative objects to
+conduct experiments that are not tied to a web session.
+
+```ruby
+# create a new experiment
+experiment = Split::Experiment.find_or_create('color', 'red', 'blue')
+# create a new trial
+trial = Trial.new(:experiment => experiment)
+# run trial
+trial.choose!
+# get the result, returns either red or blue
+trial.alternative.name
+
+# if the goal has been achieved, increment the successful completions for this alternative.
+if goal_acheived?
+  trial.complete!
+end
+
+```
+
+## Algorithms
+
+By default, Split ships with an algorithm that randomly selects from possible alternatives for a traditional a/b test. 
+
+An implementation of a bandit algorithm is also provided. 
+
+Users may also write their own algorithms. The default algorithm may be specified globally in the configuration file, or on a per experiment basis using the experiments hash of the configuration file. 
+
 ## Extensions
 
   - [Split::Export](http://github.com/andrew/split-export) - easily export ab test data out of Split
@@ -263,11 +434,14 @@ Special thanks to the following people for submitting patches:
 * Lloyd Pick
 * Jeffery Chupp
 * Andrew Appleton
+* Phil Nash
+* Dave Goodchild
 
 ## Development
 
 Source hosted at [GitHub](http://github.com/andrew/split).
 Report Issues/Feature requests on [GitHub Issues](http://github.com/andrew/split/issues).
+Discussion at [Google Groups](https://groups.google.com/d/forum/split-ruby)
 
 Tests can be ran with `rake spec`
 
@@ -277,10 +451,11 @@ Tests can be ran with `rake spec`
  * Make your feature addition or bug fix.
  * Add tests for it. This is important so I don't break it in a
    future version unintentionally.
+ * Add documentation if necessary.
  * Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history.
    (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)
- * Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.
+ * Send a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.
 
 ## Copyright
 
-Copyright (c) 2012 Andrew Nesbitt. See [LICENSE](https://github.com/andrew/split/blob/master/LICENSE) for details.
+Copyright (c) 2013 Andrew Nesbitt. See [LICENSE](https://github.com/andrew/split/blob/master/LICENSE) for details.