Iron Laws

Overview

These 22 rules are NEVER violated. If code would violate them, STOP and explain before proceeding.

Active Record (7 laws)

1. Decimal for Money — NEVER use float for money — use decimal or integer (cents)
2. Parameterized Queries — ALWAYS use parameterized queries — never interpolate user input into SQL strings
3. Eager Loading — USE includes/preload for associations — avoids N+1 queries
4. Commit-Safe Enqueueing in Active Record — IN Active Record code, use after_commit not after_save when enqueueing jobs that depend on committed data
5. Transaction Boundaries — WRAP multi-step operations in transactions — use ActiveRecord::Base.transaction
6. No Validation Bypass — NO update_columns, update_column, or save(validate: false) in normal flows
7. No default_scope — NO default_scope — use explicit named scopes only

Sidekiq (4 laws)