BuiltInData

BuiltInData is a simple tool for loading and updating data in a Rails application.

Objects are stored in the database with a built_in_key that is used on subsequent loads to update or remove the object. Items in the table without a built_in_key will not be modified or removed.

BuiltInData is designed to address the data gray area between customer data and constants. It allows developers to deliver, update, and destroy data that is stored in the database.

Add built_in_key to your model:

ruby script/rails generate migration AddBuiltInKeyToYourModel built_in_key:string:index
rake db:migrate

Include BuiltInData in your model:

class YourModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  include BuiltInData
end

There are two methods to load data

• Pass as a hash to load_built_in_data!

YourModel.load_built_in_data!({
  glacier: {
    name: 'Glacier National Park'
  },
  yellowstone: {
    name: 'Yellowstone National Park'
  }
})

• Create a yaml load file in db/built_in_data with the name of the model (ie. national_parks.yml), and load the data with YourModel.load_built_in_data! without any arguments. The yaml file can contain erb.

glacier:
  name: Glacier National Park
  established: <%= Date.parse('1910-05-11') %>

yellowstone:
  name: Yellowstone National Park
  established: 1872-03-01

Use built_in? to check if an object was loaded by BuiltInData:

object.built_in?

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.