VisualizeRuby

Write a Ruby code and see method interactions on a flow chart. Works with procedural code, bare methods, and Classes. This is experimental project and does not support all types of code. If you'd like it to support more types of code please pull request.

Demo

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'visualize_ruby'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install visualize_ruby

Install GraphViz

MacOS

$ brew install graphviz

Linux

$ sudo apt-get install graphviz

Usage

Create a graph by statically parsing the code.

require "visualize_ruby"

ruby_code = <<~RUBY
  if hungry?
    eat
  else
    work
  end
RUBY

results = VisualizeRuby::Builder.new(ruby_code: ruby_code).build
VisualizeRuby::Graphviz.new(results).to_graph(path: "example.png")

Add an execution path to graph

require "visualize_ruby"

ruby_code = <<~RUBY
  class Worker
    def initialize(hungry:)
      @hungry = hungry
    end

    def next_action
      if hungry?
        :eat
      else
        :work
      end
    end

    def hungry?
      @hungry
    end
  end
RUBY

calling_code = <<~RUBY
  Worker.new(hungry: true).next_action
RUBY

VisualizeRuby.new do |vb|
  vb.ruby_code = ruby_code # String, File, Pathname
  vb.trace(calling_code)  # String, File, Pathname, Proc - optional
  vb.output_path = "runner_trace.png" # file name with media extension.
end

Visualize Loops

Adds a count if the node is called more than once.

require "visualize_ruby"

ruby_code = <<~RUBY
  class Looping
    def call
      (0..5).each do
        paint_town!
      end
    end

    def paint_town!
      "hello"
    end
  end
RUBY

VisualizeRuby.new do |vb|
  vb.ruby_code = ruby_code # String, File, Pathname
  vb.trace do
    Looping.new.call
  end
  vb.output_path = "loop.png" # file name with media extension.
  # in_line_local_method_calls = true # default, in line method body when calling methods on self. Looks better when tracing execution.
  # only_graphs = ["call"] # When a graph has many sub-graphs only include listed.
  # unique_nodes = true # default, Duplicate nodes with the same description are merged to point single node.
end

Complex unrefactored code example

Gilded Rose

Development

After checking out the repo, run bin/setup to install dependencies. Then, run rake spec to run the tests. You can also run bin/console for an interactive prompt that will allow you to experiment.

To install this gem onto your local machine, run bundle exec rake install. To release a new version, update the version number in version.rb, and then run bundle exec rake release, which will create a git tag for the version, push git commits and tags, and push the .gem file to rubygems.org.

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/zeisler/visualize_ruby. This project is intended to be a safe, welcoming space for collaboration, and contributors are expected to adhere to the Contributor Covenant code of conduct.

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.