L1
Honest Take — Before You Begin
Honest reflections on the layer where most Rails apps actually break
preview →
Course · 7 lessons
~60 hr
Intermediate
ActiveRecord & Database Mastery
Master ActiveRecord beyond basic CRUD — complex queries, query optimization, PostgreSQL internals, database design, migrations strategy, and multi-database architectures.
reading · we frame, you read MIT or the canonical
taught · we author, no canonical fits
↺ spirals back to earlier lessons
Course locked
Complete Rails Internals & Framework Deep Dive first.
This course unlocks once you've finished its prerequisite. Open prerequisite →
L2
Read: Advanced Active Record
Approach: READ cover-to-cover
primary
Use The Index, Luke
locked
L3
Read: Easy Active Record for Rails Developers
Approach: SELECTIVE: complex associations, scopes, advanced queries
primary
Use The Index, Luke
locked
L4
Read: Learn PostgreSQL (2nd Edition)
Approach: READ Ch 1-8, SELECTIVE remainder
primary
Use The Index, Luke
locked
L5
Read: Essential PostgreSQL
Approach: SELECTIVE: query optimization, advanced indexing
primary
Use The Index, Luke
locked
L6
Module Checklist
Work through each item before the checkpoint.
locked
L7
Checkpoint: Take a slow page in one of your apps. Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE...
Take a slow page in one of your apps. Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to identify the slow queries. Add appropriate indexes (choosing the right index type). Measure the before/after. Write up…
locked
7 lessons. Read in order; spiral back when you need to. By the end you'll have used the core ideas twice — once on the abstract, once on something you'll meet at work next week.