How Enums Have Evolved in Rails #

Enums were first introduced in Rails 4.1, and since then, they have undergone significant improvements across versions.

Below is an overview of how Enums have changed over time:

Rails 4.1 (Initial Release) #

• Introduced the enum feature.
• Allowed mapping symbolic values to integers.
• Provided automatic query and helper methods.

Rails 5 and 6 Enhancements #

• Allowed multiple enums in a single model.
• Improved handling of default values and validations.

Rails 7 Enhancements #

Improved serialization for Enums when working with APIs. Made Enums easier to work with in ActiveRecord queries.

Rails 8 (Latest Version) #

• Introduced a new syntax for defining Enums: enum :attribute_name instead of enum attribute_name: {}.
• Changed how prefixes and suffixes work by removing the underscore _ requirement.
• Provided better method auto-generation for enums with prefixes and suffixes.

The most significant change in Rails 8 is the new way of defining Enums. Instead of

class User < ApplicationRecord
  enum status: { active: 0, inactive: 1, banned: 2 }
end

Rails 8 now recommends

class User < ApplicationRecord
  enum :status, { active: 0, inactive: 1, banned: 2 }
end

This change improves readability and brings Enums more in line with modern Rails conventions.