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-rw-r--r--guides/source/active_record_migrations.md130
1 files changed, 80 insertions, 50 deletions
diff --git a/guides/source/active_record_migrations.md b/guides/source/active_record_migrations.md
index 229c6ee458..67881e6087 100644
--- a/guides/source/active_record_migrations.md
+++ b/guides/source/active_record_migrations.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+**DO NOT READ THIS FILE ON GITHUB, GUIDES ARE PUBLISHED ON http://guides.rubyonrails.org.**
+
Active Record Migrations
========================
@@ -39,7 +41,7 @@ class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
t.string :name
t.text :description
- t.timestamps
+ t.timestamps null: false
end
end
end
@@ -239,7 +241,7 @@ generates
```ruby
class AddUserRefToProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
def change
- add_reference :products, :user, index: true
+ add_reference :products, :user, index: true, foreign_key: true
end
end
```
@@ -285,7 +287,7 @@ class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
t.string :name
t.text :description
- t.timestamps
+ t.timestamps null: false
end
end
end
@@ -355,8 +357,8 @@ will append `ENGINE=BLACKHOLE` to the SQL statement used to create the table
### Creating a Join Table
-Migration method `create_join_table` creates a HABTM join table. A typical use
-would be:
+The migration method `create_join_table` creates an HABTM (has and belongs to
+many) join table. A typical use would be:
```ruby
create_join_table :products, :categories
@@ -365,23 +367,21 @@ create_join_table :products, :categories
which creates a `categories_products` table with two columns called
`category_id` and `product_id`. These columns have the option `:null` set to
`false` by default. This can be overridden by specifying the `:column_options`
-option.
+option:
```ruby
-create_join_table :products, :categories, column_options: {null: true}
+create_join_table :products, :categories, column_options: { null: true }
```
-will create the `product_id` and `category_id` with the `:null` option as
-`true`.
-
-You can pass the option `:table_name` when you want to customize the table
-name. For example:
+By default, the name of the join table comes from the union of the first two
+arguments provided to create_join_table, in alphabetical order.
+To customize the name of the table, provide a `:table_name` option:
```ruby
create_join_table :products, :categories, table_name: :categorization
```
-will create a `categorization` table.
+creates a `categorization` table.
`create_join_table` also accepts a block, which you can use to add indices
(which are not created by default) or additional columns:
@@ -421,21 +421,23 @@ change_column :products, :part_number, :text
```
This changes the column `part_number` on products table to be a `:text` field.
+Note that `change_column` command is irreversible.
Besides `change_column`, the `change_column_null` and `change_column_default`
-methods are used specifically to change the null and default values of a
-column.
+methods are used specifically to change a not null constraint and default
+values of a column.
```ruby
change_column_null :products, :name, false
-change_column_default :products, :approved, false
+change_column_default :products, :approved, from: true, to: false
```
This sets `:name` field on products to a `NOT NULL` column and the default
-value of the `:approved` field to false.
+value of the `:approved` field from true to false.
-TIP: Unlike `change_column` (and `change_column_default`), `change_column_null`
-is reversible.
+Note: You could also write the above `change_column_default` migration as
+`change_column_default :products, :approved, false`, but unlike the previous
+example, this would make your migration irreversible.
### Column Modifiers
@@ -452,6 +454,8 @@ number of digits after the decimal point.
are using a dynamic value (such as a date), the default will only be calculated
the first time (i.e. on the date the migration is applied).
* `index` Adds an index for the column.
+* `required` Adds `required: true` for `belongs_to` associations and
+`null: false` to the column in the migration.
Some adapters may support additional options; see the adapter specific API docs
for further information.
@@ -466,16 +470,18 @@ add_foreign_key :articles, :authors
```
This adds a new foreign key to the `author_id` column of the `articles`
-table. The key references the `id` column of the `articles` table. If the
+table. The key references the `id` column of the `authors` table. If the
column names can not be derived from the table names, you can use the
`:column` and `:primary_key` options.
Rails will generate a name for every foreign key starting with
-`fk_rails_` followed by 10 random characters.
+`fk_rails_` followed by 10 characters which are deterministically
+generated from the `from_table` and `column`.
There is a `:name` option to specify a different name if needed.
NOTE: Active Record only supports single column foreign keys. `execute` and
-`structure.sql` are required to use composite foreign keys.
+`structure.sql` are required to use composite foreign keys. See
+[Schema Dumping and You](#schema-dumping-and-you).
Removing a foreign key is easy as well:
@@ -496,7 +502,7 @@ If the helpers provided by Active Record aren't enough you can use the `execute`
method to execute arbitrary SQL:
```ruby
-Product.connection.execute('UPDATE `products` SET `price`=`free` WHERE 1')
+Product.connection.execute("UPDATE products SET price = 'free' WHERE 1=1")
```
For more details and examples of individual methods, check the API documentation.
@@ -516,24 +522,39 @@ majority of cases, where Active Record knows how to reverse the migration
automatically. Currently, the `change` method supports only these migration
definitions:
-* `add_column`
-* `add_index`
-* `add_reference`
-* `add_timestamps`
-* `add_foreign_key`
-* `create_table`
-* `create_join_table`
-* `drop_table` (must supply a block)
-* `drop_join_table` (must supply a block)
-* `remove_timestamps`
-* `rename_column`
-* `rename_index`
-* `remove_reference`
-* `rename_table`
+* add_column
+* add_foreign_key
+* add_index
+* add_reference
+* add_timestamps
+* change_column_default (must supply a :from and :to option)
+* change_column_null
+* create_join_table
+* create_table
+* disable_extension
+* drop_join_table
+* drop_table (must supply a block)
+* enable_extension
+* remove_column (must supply a type)
+* remove_foreign_key (must supply a second table)
+* remove_index
+* remove_reference
+* remove_timestamps
+* rename_column
+* rename_index
+* rename_table
`change_table` is also reversible, as long as the block does not call `change`,
`change_default` or `remove`.
+`remove_column` is reversible if you supply the column type as the third
+argument. Provide the original column options too, otherwise Rails can't
+recreate the column exactly when rolling back:
+
+```ruby
+remove_column :posts, :slug, :string, null: false, default: '', index: true
+```
+
If you're going to need to use any other methods, you should use `reversible`
or write the `up` and `down` methods instead of using the `change` method.
@@ -541,7 +562,7 @@ or write the `up` and `down` methods instead of using the `change` method.
Complex migrations may require processing that Active Record doesn't know how
to reverse. You can use `reversible` to specify what to do when running a
-migration what else to do when reverting it. For example:
+migration and what else to do when reverting it. For example:
```ruby
class ExampleMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
@@ -593,7 +614,7 @@ schema, and the `down` method of your migration should revert the
transformations done by the `up` method. In other words, the database schema
should be unchanged if you do an `up` followed by a `down`. For example, if you
create a table in the `up` method, you should drop it in the `down` method. It
-is wise to reverse the transformations in precisely the reverse order they were
+is wise to perform the transformations in precisely the reverse order they were
made in the `up` method. The example in the `reversible` section is equivalent to:
```ruby
@@ -638,7 +659,7 @@ can't be done.
You can use Active Record's ability to rollback migrations using the `revert` method:
```ruby
-require_relative '2012121212_example_migration'
+require_relative '20121212123456_example_migration'
class FixupExampleMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
def change
@@ -691,6 +712,10 @@ of `create_table` and `reversible`, replacing `create_table`
by `drop_table`, and finally replacing `up` by `down` and vice-versa.
This is all taken care of by `revert`.
+NOTE: If you want to add check constraints like in the examples above,
+you will have to use `structure.sql` as dump method. See
+[Schema Dumping and You](#schema-dumping-and-you).
+
Running Migrations
------------------
@@ -764,7 +789,7 @@ The `rake db:reset` task will drop the database and set it up again. This is
functionally equivalent to `rake db:drop db:setup`.
NOTE: This is not the same as running all the migrations. It will only use the
-contents of the current `schema.rb` file. If a migration can't be rolled back,
+contents of the current `db/schema.rb` or `db/structure.sql` file. If a migration can't be rolled back,
`rake db:reset` may not help you. To find out more about dumping the schema see
[Schema Dumping and You](#schema-dumping-and-you) section.
@@ -824,7 +849,7 @@ class CreateProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
create_table :products do |t|
t.string :name
t.text :description
- t.timestamps
+ t.timestamps null: false
end
end
@@ -939,10 +964,10 @@ that Active Record supports. This could be very useful if you were to
distribute an application that is able to run against multiple databases.
There is however a trade-off: `db/schema.rb` cannot express database specific
-items such as triggers, or stored procedures. While in a migration you can
-execute custom SQL statements, the schema dumper cannot reconstitute those
-statements from the database. If you are using features like this, then you
-should set the schema format to `:sql`.
+items such as triggers, stored procedures or check constraints. While in a
+migration you can execute custom SQL statements, the schema dumper cannot
+reconstitute those statements from the database. If you are using features like
+this, then you should set the schema format to `:sql`.
Instead of using Active Record's schema dumper, the database's structure will
be dumped using a tool specific to the database (via the `db:structure:dump`
@@ -986,7 +1011,10 @@ such features, the `execute` method can be used to execute arbitrary SQL.
Migrations and Seed Data
------------------------
-Some people use migrations to add data to the database:
+The main purpose of Rails' migration feature is to issue commands that modify the
+schema using a consistent process. Migrations can also be used
+to add or modify data. This is useful in an existing database that can't be destroyed
+and recreated, such as a production database.
```ruby
class AddInitialProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
@@ -1002,9 +1030,11 @@ class AddInitialProducts < ActiveRecord::Migration
end
```
-However, Rails has a 'seeds' feature that should be used for seeding a database
-with initial data. It's a really simple feature: just fill up `db/seeds.rb`
-with some Ruby code, and run `rake db:seed`:
+To add initial data after a database is created, Rails has a built-in
+'seeds' feature that makes the process quick and easy. This is especially
+useful when reloading the database frequently in development and test environments.
+It's easy to get started with this feature: just fill up `db/seeds.rb` with some
+Ruby code, and run `rake db:seed`:
```ruby
5.times do |i|