[Rails] I learned about migration files! (Adding a column to the table)

Introduction

As I was working with Rails, I noticed that there were a lot of files and commands that I somehow knew existed, but didn't really understand what they did. One of them is the migration file.

When I make a model, I don't know why the migration file is created, and when I type rails db: migrate, it is reflected as table data in schema.rb ... That was the recognition, but I will dig deeper and explain it!

What is a migration file?

The migration file is the blueprint for creating the database. Also, by executing the migration file, a data table based on the described contents will be generated.

Generate a migration file

When you create a model by typing the following in the terminal, a migration file will also be generated automatically.

Basic syntax

rails g model model name#Here, the model name is "book"

db/migrate/20201114044025_create_books.rb

class CreateBooks < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.2]
  def change
    create_table :books do |t|
      t.timestamps
    end
  end
end

You can see that only t.timestamps is listed by default in the initial state when the migration file is completed. This will add created_at, which means the creation date and time, and updated_at, which means the update date and time, to the column.

Now let's run the migration file we created! I feel that there are not enough columns that I actually need, but I dare to keep it as it is!

Run the migration file

The created migration file is read by typing the following command in the terminal and reflected in the database.

command

rails db:migrate

Check the status of the migration file

This time, I created only one migration file. I think that you may create many models at the same time (or rather, I think there are more). In such a case, if you want to check how far the migration file you created is executed, type the following command in the terminal.

command

rails db:migrate:status

This will print the current migration file status to the terminal.

Terminal

Status   Migration ID    Migration Name
--------------------------------------------------
  up     20201114044025   Create books

The migration file that is up is already executed, so it will not be read even if you enter the rails db: migrate command. So if you edit the migration file that is up when you create a column with the wrong name, it will not be read and it will be meaningless.

Reference: [Rails] Thorough explanation of migration files!

Well, so what if you want to add a new column to the books table you just created? Let's check the schema file for the time being!

What is a schema file?

When the migration is executed, a file called schema.rb will be created in the db folder. Let's take a look at the contents immediately.

db/schema.rb

ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 2020_11_14_044025) do
  create_table "books", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
  end
end

It seems that the table has been created successfully. The description force :: cascade allows the schema to be reloaded if the foreign key is correct. Now let's add a column called title here!

How to add a column

There are two ways to add columns to an existing table.

1. Create a new migration file and add columns
2. Add columns with rails db: rollback

① Create a migration file to add columns

In this case, enter the following command in the terminal

command

rails g migration Add Column name to add To Table name to add Column name to add:Type

In this case, it looks like this:

Terminal

rails g migration AddTitleToBooks title:string

Then, the following migration file will be created.

Migration file

class AddTitleToBooks < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.2]
  def change
    add_column :books, :title, :string
  end
end

After that, run the migration file and the title column will be added to the table.

command

rails db:migrate

② Add a column with rails db: rollback

command

rails db:migrate:rollback

Entering this command in the terminal reverts the latest migration file version to what it was before rails db: migrate. In this case, the terminal display changes as follows.

Terminal

Status   Migration ID    Migration Name
--------------------------------------------------
 down   20201114044025    Create books  #It's going from up to down! !! !! !!

In other words, going from up to down will bring the database back to what it was before rails db: migrate. Since we have returned to before db: migrate, we can add the title column to the migration file created first.

db/migrate/20201114044025_create_books.rb

class CreateGenres < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.2]
  def change
    create_table :books do |t|
      t.string :title    #Add a title column here! !! !! !!
      t.timestamps
    end
  end
end

After that, if you execute the migration file as in pattern (1), the title column will be added.

command

rails db:migrate

db/schema.rb

ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 2020_11_14_044025) do
  create_table "books", force: :cascade do |t|
    t.string "title"  #A title column has been added! !! !! !!
    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
    t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
  end
end

in conclusion

The work of modifying the migration file is often more sensitive than I expected, so I was reminded that I should work on it with a solid understanding of the timing and order. I learned one more thing! !!