[Rails] Re: UML

[Brez! !!]

Rails, specifically ActiveRecord [the 'Model' in MVC], serves the very 
specific role of object-relational mapping and as a result the entire 
framework [currently] is very database centric [as intended by its 
author].. I came from an RSA [of course it was called rose back then] 
world and a similar experience that it seems youre having when being 
introduced to rails. What you need to look into is 'Migrations':

http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/UnderstandingMigrations

This essentially allows you to describe your database tables/handle the 
management and migration of them in pure ruby [as opposed to SQL] - you 
still have to describe their relationships in the Model classes that you 
generate as a result of the table generation.

Unfortunatly RSA [and arguably UML] won't do you much good other than 
perhaps a UML-esque diagram of your model [which could be invaluable if 
things get complex] - the most popular UML concepts exist in database 
design as well, c.f. aggregation and has_many, etc.  As you'll find 
modeling data is fundamentally similar regardless of what abstract lingo 
you choose to author it in..

Theres also a difference of culture at play [I'm assuming] RSA, and all 
the tools in the Rational Unified Process are very concerned with 
process, documentation, etc. Rails is a framework geared toward Agile 
development, which is generally not concerned with formal processes, nor 
detailed documentation like a sequence diagram, et al.  i.e. youre 
mixing apples and oranges..



Jamie wrote:
> In Rolling with Ruby on Rails tutorial - 
> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/01/20/rails.html - I saw that to 
> introduce a new element to my domain, I needed to define it in a table, 
> generate a model element with a similar name and the class would 
> autoamtically take the attributes from the table definition.  Is it 
> possible to do this in the other direction... i.e to take the class 
> diagram and automatically generate the table definition.  Would this be 
> something build into Rails, or require a 3rd party tool?
> 
> My intention is to use RSA to define my domain model, export the classes 
> to Ruby and use this to drive the scaffolding set up in Rails.
> 
> If you have any direct experince with this or can point me to other 
> tutorials, it would be much appreciated!
> 
> ---------> Jamie


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