Shared models between two Rails apps - what is the ideal solution for Workflow?

Question

I am currently working on a Rails 3 project that is divided up into four parts:

• The public facing website
• The administration website/backend

Answer 1

Does your project have enough code coverage? If it does, I would try to separate the logic where it makes sense, and if a model is used in different projects, just pick one that fits best and write an API on top of that.

Then you could use that API to access those models (preferably using something like ActiveModel) on the other project. You would still have a simple CRUD, but all the core model logic would be handled externally.

Be sure to think well before splitting them up, though. You want to keep your domain tight on each app you create out of the Behemoth you want to torn apart.

Regarding engines:

I have used Engines for the same issue and it does help, but I also had to change my Gemfile to either point to a local path when developing, pushing the gem, then pulling it on the current project, which is the behavior you're not fond of.