Routes Refactoring Evaluation - Phase 20.03.03

Date: 2025-10-14 Task: Evaluate refactoring non-RESTful custom member actions to nested resource controllers

Current Implementation

resources :sources do
  post :fetch, on: :member
  post :retry, on: :member
  post :scrape_all, on: :member
end

This creates:

• POST /sources/:id/fetch → SourcesController#fetch
• POST /sources/:id/retry → SourcesController#retry
• POST /sources/:id/scrape_all → SourcesController#scrape_all

Proposed RESTful Alternative

Create three nested resource controllers:

resources :sources do
  resource :fetch, only: [:create], controller: 'source_fetches'
  resource :retry, only: [:create], controller: 'source_retries'
  resource :bulk_scrape, only: [:create], controller: 'source_bulk_scrapes'
end

This would create:

• POST /sources/:source_id/fetch → SourceFetchesController#create
• POST /sources/:source_id/retry → SourceRetriesController#create
• POST /sources/:source_id/bulk_scrape → SourceBulkScrapesController#create

Effort Analysis

Required Changes

1. New Controllers (3 files):

   • app/controllers/source_monitor/source_fetches_controller.rb
   • app/controllers/source_monitor/source_retries_controller.rb
   • app/controllers/source_monitor/source_bulk_scrapes_controller.rb

2. Controller Code Migration:

   • Extract SourcesController#fetch → SourceFetchesController#create
   • Extract SourcesController#retry → SourceRetriesController#create
   • Extract SourcesController#scrape_all → SourceBulkScrapesController#create
   • Move before_action filters and helper methods

3. Routes Update:

   • Update config/routes.rb
   • Update all route helpers throughout the codebase

4. View Updates (estimated 10+ files):

   • Update all link_to and button_to calls
   • Update all Turbo Stream rendering
   • Update all redirect paths

5. Test Updates (estimated 15+ files):

   • Controller tests for 3 new controllers
   • Integration tests
   • System tests
   • Update all route helper references

Estimated Effort

• Controller extraction: 2 hours
• Route and helper updates: 1 hour
• View updates: 2 hours
• Test updates: 2 hours
• Testing and debugging: 1 hour
• Total: 8 hours

Benefit Analysis

Pros of RESTful Refactor

1. Strict REST Compliance: Controllers would follow textbook RESTful patterns
2. Separation of Concerns: Each action type would have its own controller
3. Easier Testing: Controller tests would be more focused

Cons of RESTful Refactor

1. Increased Complexity: 3 additional controller files to maintain
2. More Indirection: Developers need to know which controller handles which action
3. No Functional Improvement: Same behavior, just different file organization
4. Cognitive Overhead: Less intuitive than simple member actions
5. Breaking Change: Would require updating all existing code and tests

Current Approach Benefits

1. Simple and Clear: All source-related actions in one controller
2. Well-Named: Actions like fetch, retry, scrape_all are self-documenting
3. Rails-Conventional: Member actions are an accepted Rails pattern
4. Easy to Locate: Developers know where to find source actions
5. Working Well: No performance or maintenance issues

Decision

REFACTOR TO PURE RESTFUL CONTROLLER CONVENTIONS ✋