Similar Gems Comparison

Table of contents

  1. This is Not a Value Judgment
  2. typed_operation Overview
  3. Comparison with Alternatives
    1. Trailblazer
    2. Dry-rb Ecosystem
    3. Interactor
    4. active_interaction
    5. light-service
  4. Quick Decision Guide
  5. What Makes typed_operation Unique
  6. Can You Mix Them?

This is Not a Value Judgment

All of these gems are excellent and well-maintained. The Ruby community benefits from having multiple approaches to the same problem. This comparison helps you understand trade-offs, not to claim one is definitively better than another.

Choose based on your specific needs, team preferences, and project requirements.

typed_operation Overview

typed_operation implements the Command pattern with runtime type checking via the literal gem. It encapsulates business logic into callable, composable operations with strongly typed parameters.

Key features:

  • Runtime type validation at instantiation (before execution)
  • Partial application and currying for functional composition
  • Pattern matching support (Ruby 3+)
  • Optional Dry::Monads integration for railway-oriented programming
  • Framework-agnostic with optional Rails integration
  • Flexible result types (return plain values, monads, or custom objects)

Comparison with Alternatives

Trailblazer

What it is: Comprehensive framework for modeling business logic as visual circuits with automatic error routing on success/failure tracks.

Key differences:

  • Workflow orchestration vs typed_operation’s command encapsulation
  • Contract validation (Reform/Dry-validation) as workflow steps vs runtime type checking at instantiation
  • Opinionated result objects with structured context vs flexible returns
  • Full ecosystem (Cells, Reform, Representable) vs focused gem

Choose Trailblazer if: You want comprehensive architecture, visual circuit debugging, and full-stack guidance for large applications.

Choose typed_operation if: You want focused type safety without framework lock-in and prefer composable operations.

Dry-rb Ecosystem

What it is: Suite of functional programming gems (dry-monads, dry-types, dry-validation) for composable type-safe operations.

Key differences:

  • Functional composition (stateless transformations via monadic chains) vs command objects with typed attributes
  • Sophisticated type system (constraints, coercion strategies, sum/product types) vs simpler runtime checking
  • Explicit railway-oriented programming (Result monads everywhere) vs optional integration
  • Steeper learning curve (monads, FP patterns) vs traditional OOP with type checking

Choose Dry-rb if: Your team embraces functional programming, needs powerful type constraints, or wants maximum composability.

Choose typed_operation if: You want operation patterns with type safety but prefer OOP approaches and simpler setup.

Interactor

What it is: Lightweight service objects with shared context, organizers for sequencing, and automatic rollback.

Key differences:

  • No type safety (hash-based context) vs runtime type checking
  • Implicit parameter contracts vs explicit parameter declarations
  • Shared mutable context across operations vs isolated immutable parameters
  • Built-in rollback for multi-step processes vs manual cleanup
  • Simplicity-focused vs type-safety-focused

Choose Interactor if: You need simple service objects with automatic rollback and prioritize rapid development over type safety.

Choose typed_operation if: Type safety matters, you want explicit contracts, or need functional composition patterns.

active_interaction

What it is: Service objects that behave like ActiveModels with type filters, ActiveModel validations, and form integration.

Key differences:

  • Rails-style coercion (strings to integers automatically) vs strict types
  • ActiveModel validations (declarative) vs manual validation in hooks
  • Rails coupling (ActiveModel/ActiveSupport dependencies) vs framework-agnostic
  • Opinionated outcome pattern (.valid?, .result, .errors) vs flexible returns
  • Seamless form integration vs no form opinions

Choose active_interaction if: Building Rails apps with forms, want ActiveModel validations, and Rails-style coercion matches your needs.

Choose typed_operation if: You need framework independence, strict type checking without coercion, or functional programming patterns.

light-service

What it is: Workflow orchestration through organizers with expect/promise contracts and railway-oriented programming.

Key differences:

  • Expect/promise contracts (runtime presence checking) vs typed parameters (type enforcement)
  • Shared mutable context (accumulates state) vs immutable parameters
  • Built-in rollback with rolled_back blocks vs manual cleanup
  • Rich control flow DSL (reduce_if, reduce_case, iterate, etc.) vs explicit composition
  • Workflow-focused vs operation-focused

Choose light-service if: Building multi-step workflows with conditional logic and need automatic rollback for transaction-like operations.

Choose typed_operation if: Type safety is paramount, you prefer immutable operations, or need functional composition patterns.

Quick Decision Guide

Type safety without framework commitment → typed_operation

  • Runtime type checking, lightweight, composable, framework-agnostic

Comprehensive architecture with visual debugging → Trailblazer

  • Full ecosystem, circuit-based workflows, large applications

Functional programming with powerful types → Dry-rb ecosystem

  • Monads, sophisticated type constraints, maximum composability

Rails simplicity with automatic rollback → Interactor

  • Minimal API, transaction-like operations, rapid development

Rails forms with ActiveModel integration → active_interaction

  • Form objects, familiar validations, Rails conventions

Workflow orchestration with control flow → light-service

  • ETL pipelines, complex multi-step processes, declarative workflows

What Makes typed_operation Unique

  1. Partial application & currying - Build operations incrementally, pass partially-configured operations
  2. Pattern matching - Full Ruby 3+ pattern matching support with deconstruct and deconstruct_keys
  3. Flexible result types - Return plain values, Dry::Monads, or custom objects—your choice
  4. Runtime type safety - Catches type errors at instantiation before execution
  5. Framework-agnostic - Works anywhere, optional Rails integration

Can You Mix Them?

Yes! These gems often work together:

  • typed_operation + Dry::Monads for Result types
  • typed_operation + dry-validation for complex validation
  • Multiple gems in same codebase for different needs (e.g., typed_operation for API handlers, Interactor for simple services)