Ever since seeing Eileen Uchitelle's RailsWorld 2024 talk, I've struggled with the feeling that discussions of modularity are hampered by a lack of consensus on basic terms.
I wrote a few articles to help sort out my thoughts. The third one is probably the most applicable. https://rossney.net/articles/good-boundaries-make-good-systems/
I'm not writing as an expert or any kind of authority, but I sure would enjoy being part of a conversation that promotes clarity around this topic. Please boost.
I propose four conventions for implementing autonomous modules:
1. Packs/modules are only for domain logic. No controllers, views, or other UI objects allowed.
2. Only coupling between packs/modules should be examined for dependency control (coupling to the UI is expected behavior).
3. Only data objects should be passed to and from packs/modules.
4. Packs/modules must own their own data.
Do you think these make sense? Do you have different ideas? I would love to hear about them.
Something I should have discussed more: all of this runs contrary to Rails conventions and most other Ruby experiences. That makes it more important to be up front about the costs and benefits of modularity. But I think the benefits are pretty great. 🧐
Be Kinder Than Necessary
Jacob Atzen