When to Use Enums (and When Not To) #

While Enums offer many benefits, they are not always the best choice.

Here’s when you should and shouldn’t use them.

✅ Best Use Cases for Enums #

1. Finite States: If an attribute has a fixed number of possible values (e.g., status, role, priority).
2. Performance Optimization: When you need integer-based storage for faster querying.
3. Query Convenience: When you want built-in helper methods for filtering records.

❌ When Not to Use Enums #

1. Frequent Value Changes: If the values of an Enum attribute change often, it may lead to migration issues.
2. Complex State Management: If an attribute has complex transitions, consider using state machines instead (e.g., the AASM gem).
3. Unknown Future Values: If the list of possible values may expand unpredictably, use a separate lookup table instead.

Example of a lookup table:

class Role < ApplicationRecord
  has_many :users
end

class User < ApplicationRecord
  belongs_to :role
end

This method offers more flexibility than an Enum when dealing with dynamic lists.