CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptruby-on-railstwitter-bootstrapdatepickerasset-pipeline
Muhammad Ateeq Azam
Muhammad Ateeq Azam

Reputation: 1029

Compilation Speed: Should I add gem or include js/css files in my rails project?

For example, I want to add datepicker feature in my rails app. I have both options, that is, I can install bootstrap-datepicker rails gem or download datepicker files and include in my project. Which is the better approach with respect to security and compilation/page load speed?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 101

Answers (1)

Hassan Akram
Hassan Akram

Reputation: 652

Rails is all about following conventions and make life easier. The prefer way would be include a gem and require it in application.js file. The other options would be including from a live CDN or download manually and include in the assets folder which does not seems to be a right choice.

Reasons:

  • If you download manually and include it in the assets folder, then in future if you ever need to upgrade to a latest version, you will need to repeat the process of downloading the file and include the assets folder.

  • If you include from a live CDN, this will make your layout file(application.html.erb) messy. You are going against assets pipeline to minimise http requests which slower down the speed of page rendering. Also you will have to repeat the same process of updating URLs to upgrade to a latest version.

So its better to use gems and easy to change versions. You can change version of any library in the gem file.

Upvotes: 6

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