What Are The Debugging Techniques For Ruby On Rails Developers?

1. Byebug

It’s one of the most powerful and commonly used debugging tools used in Ruby. It’s one of the valuable tools for developers as it offers a comprehensive set of features for debugging.

    Debugging using byebug
        class HomeController < ApplicationController
            def index
                name = "John"
                age = 23
                Byebug
                place = "canada"
        end
    end
                      

Placing this byebug code in the gemfile allows you to pause the execution of code, inspect variables, and step through code one line at a time which is extremely helpful for understanding the flow of your program and easily identifying issues.

2. Pry

Just another powerful tool used in debugging. Pry is an advanced feature that highlights syntax and code browsing.

    # Gemfile
        gem 'pry-rails'
        def another_method
        binding. pry
    # rest of the code
    end            
                                  

It’s just the same, you just need to add the binding. pry to activate this debuffing tool.

3. Web-console

A debugging tool for those who prefer in-browser debugging

    # Gemfile 
    gem 'web-console'            
                                  

It’s an interactive Ruby console tool in the browser that enables programmers to run Ruby code within a particular page's context.

4. Rails logger

It’s one of the invaluable tools that allows the developer to track down the issue.

    Rails. logger. debug "This is a debug message"
            

It makes it simpler to track the flow of data and spot bottlenecks by logging details about requests, database queries, and other actions.

5. Third-party logging tools

Just like the rails logger, there is a third-party logging tool available named Log Range and paper trail offering enhanced logging capabilities, better formatting, and integration with external monitoring services.

6. Identify and analyse errors

Occurring errors is a common factor in Ruby on Rails, Therefore here we have mentioned identifying and analysing these errors as it’s an important aspect of problem-solving.

7. Error message

The name itself explains that Ruby on Rails displays an error message.

    NoMethodError (undefined method 'name' for nil: NilClass):
    app/controllers/users_controller.rb:15:in 'show'      
                                      

The above coding indicates that “NoMethodError” is a type of an error followed by “undefined method ‘name’ for NilClass’ is the description of the error indicating that the ‘name’ method’ was called on a Nil object This message is the first clue that an error has been identified.

Moreover, information is provided related to the error, where it occurred, and suggestions for fixing it.

8. Stack trace

Rails provides an error message and a stack trace. This is a thorough report detailing the state of the application at the moment of the error. You may identify the precise line of code that generated the problem by looking at the stack trace.

9. Rails server log

"Rails server log" refers to the log files that capture information about the requests and responses processed by the application's web server. Rails provides different log files for various environments, including:

• Development.log: Used when the application is running in the development environment. It contains detailed information, making it useful for debugging during development.
• Test.log: Used for the test environment and captures information about tests run with tools like RSpec or MiniTest.
• Production.log: Reserved for the production environment, where it records information about the application's behaviour in a production setting. This log is typically less verbose than the development log.

These logs are a valuable resource for diagnosing issues, monitoring performance, and understanding how requests are processed within your Rails application, and they are an essential part of the development and maintenance of Rails applications.

1. E-commerce platforms

If you are willing to add options like add features, payment gateways, or email campaigns then Ruby on Rails will allow you to set up options on ecommerce platforms as it has tons of plugins and extensions making it useful for ecommerce developers.

2. Social networking application

Ruby on Rails is one of the best choices when it comes to creating social networking applications. Making it easy with less or no code usage it offers tons of gems, plugins, extensions, and features to create a social networking application the way just you want.

3. Content management system (CMS)

What to create a content-focused website with plenty of information available and all this with ready-to-go features? Then Ruby on Rails can help you out by creating and distributing content with the use of libraries with different gems, plugins, and extensions available.