#simple_scaffold

What is this?

A Rails template which makes Rails scaffolds easier for beginners to understand.

Why?

Many tutorials aimed at beginners (for example the Rails Girls App tutorial) rely on Rails scaffolds. With recent releases of Rails the scaffolds have become better for experienced developers but less accessible to beginners; files unnecessary for entry level tutorials are generated and the code in the controllers can be confusing.

The simple scaffold template generates scaffolds which are easier for beginners to understand.

How do I use it?

Create a Rails app as you usually would, but add -m to tell Rails to download and use the simple_scaffold template:

rails new myapp -m https://raw.github.com/Ben-M/simplescaffold/master/simple_scaffold.rb

Generate a scaffold the way you usually would:

rails generate scaffold idea name:string description:text picture:string

What is different?

See this presentation for a before and after comparsion of the simple_scaffold and the standard Rails scaffold.

Settings

Generators will no longer create:

• Tests
• Helpers
• Javascript/CoffeeScript files
• JBuilder files

Note: You can turn generation of these files back on by editing the config.generators lines in application.rb

Controller

• Records are loaded inline in the controller instead of using a before_action.
• Controllers no longer includerespond_to blocks.
• Controller actions now explicitly call render.

Note: If you'd like to revert to the default scaffold generator remove the file lib/templates/rails/scaffold_controller/controller.rb

How can I help?

If you are helping beginners learn Rails then try using simple_scaffold and let us know how it goes. Feel free to add an issue with any suggestions.

If you'd like to improve the code then go ahead and send a pull request. If you'd like to discuss an idea before you start development then open an issue.