Y24-279 - [BUG] Fix children_count out of sync issue of ancestry gem

[seenanair]

Describe the bug
Some Labwhere locations are showing child count incorrectly.
The original bug is described in tis story Y24-225

As part of the research done on Y24-225, it appears that this is a known issue with the Ancestry gem where children_count is getting out of sync with the actual value.
This issue is raised in the Ancestry repository and the suggested solution is to use rebuild_counter_cache

This fix has already merged (as shown in the CHANGELOG) but has not yet been released. It is expected to be released soon, as mentioned in this comment.

Once the next Ancestry gem release is out, rebuild_counter_cache can be used, which will hopefully fix this issue

Additional context
Original story - #813

[TWJW-SANGER]

Still unfixed in ancestry.
I'd also note that the last tagged release was Apr 11, 2023....

[TWJW-SANGER]

I cannot see any new gem releases from the maintainer.

@seenanair @stevieing I'm going to to move this particular bug off the board. We can put it back on if we think it is worth resolving ourselves.

Is the the lack of updates on what I assume is a core dependency worth worrying about more generally?

[seenanair]

I cannot see any new gem releases from the maintainer.

@seenanair @stevieing I'm going to to move this particular bug off the board. We can put it back on if we think it is worth resolving ourselves.

Is the the lack of updates on what I assume is a core dependency worth worrying about more generally?

Hi @TWJW-SANGER , Thanks for the update.
Yes, as you mentioned, it hasn’t been updated for a while, which is a concern since we’re currently using it.

Here are a few options I can think of:

• Since it looks like the fix has already been merged but not yet released, forking the ancestry gem and releasing our own patched version if the fix is needed urgently.

• Implement our own custom counter cache logic to maintain the children_count column. It would require extra code to handle updates, and may not be as robust as a dedicated gem but may be sufficient for our needs.

• Looking for other actively maintained gems that offer similar functionality and are in active development.

[stevieing]

I cannot see any new gem releases from the maintainer.
@seenanair @stevieing I'm going to to move this particular bug off the board. We can put it back on if we think it is worth resolving ourselves.
Is the the lack of updates on what I assume is a core dependency worth worrying about more generally?

Hi @TWJW-SANGER , Thanks for the update. Yes, as you mentioned, it hasn’t been updated for a while, which is a concern since we’re currently using it.

Here are a few options I can think of:

* Since it looks like the fix has already been merged but not yet released, forking the ancestry gem and releasing our own patched version if the fix is needed urgently.

* Implement our own custom counter cache logic to maintain the children_count column. It would require extra code to handle updates, and may not be as robust as a dedicated gem but may be sufficient for our needs.

* Looking for other actively maintained gems that offer similar functionality and are in active development.

When I originally created Labwhere I created the logic to manage ancestry. It worked fine. I was miffed when someone decided to replace it with the ancestry gem. If we really needed to we could revert to that code. Personally I think we can wait and see. If it becomes a real problem then we could look again. I think we need to sort JSON API resource first which is more critical.

Rails does have some core functionality for counter cache. I am sure it is much better than it was a few years ago.

[kbrock]

Hi, please reach out if you are still having trouble with ancestry. and open any issues you need.

Sorry for the delayed release.
Please open any issues you are still seeing and hopefully we can clear it up

[kbrock]

It is smarter to use built-in functionality than an external gem (aka ancestry), so that sounds like a good course of action. Especially when the author of said gem leaves it unattended for a year or two.

Please keep in mind that Rails doesn't handle the case when you move nodes around, and the counters change. They completely punted on this. So add tests and edge cases to your suite to make sure you are covered.

I've looked into a few gems like counter_culture, but they seem to have an update process to clear up bad cached values via a periodic process. This may be viable for you as well.

If you decide to stick with the ancestry gem, please reach out with any other concerns. Hopefully, I can find a way to help you with your issues.

Best of luck and happy hacking.