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Writebook (37signals)

ONCE brand publishing tool — textbook for delegated_type and edit history management

GitHub: projectcues/writebook (ONCE official code)

Writebook is a web-based publishing tool released under 37signals' ONCE brand. You can write books, manage chapters, and publish online.

Please refer to the Korean version for the detailed directory structure and pattern analysis, including: delegated_type for polymorphic content management (Page/Section/Picture), Edit records for tracking edit history, Access records for permission management (reader/editor), DB-based Session model, the same Authentication concern pattern as Campfire, and CRUD mapping patterns for Publication, Bookmark, and Move resources.

Architecture Diagram

delegated_type Structure (ERD)

📚 Book ↗

title, theme, published, slug

has_many :leaves

↓

🍃 Leaf delegated_type :leafable ↗

book_id, title, position, status, leafable_type, leafable_id

delegated_type :leafable, types: [Page, Section, Picture]

Key point: Unlike STI (single table), each type has its own table
Leaf serves as common interface (title, position, status)

State = Record (Edit / Access / Session)

✏️ Edit ↗

leaf_id

action (revision|trash)

leafable_type, leafable_id

created_at

Record created on each edit
Browse history with previous / next

🔑 Access ↗

user_id

book_id

level (reader|editor)

Exists = Access granted
Authorization without Pundit

🔐 Session ↗

user_id

token (secure_token)

user_agent, ip_address

last_active_at

Sessions are also DB records
Session management without Devise

Authentication Flow (Same as Campfire)

🌐 Browser Request

↓

Authentication concern

before_action :require_authentication

authentication.rb ↗

↓ session_token in cookie

↓ No cookie

restore_authentication

Session.find_by(token:)

→ session.resume

→ Current.user = session.user

request_authentication

redirect_to new_session_url

Key point: Exact same pattern as Campfire — auth structure reused internally at 37signals

Campfire vs Writebook

Campfire ↗

Writebook ↗

Purpose

Real-time chat

Web publishing

Auth

Authentication

Same

Polymorphism

STI (Room)

delegated_type

History

None

Edit records

Access control

Membership

Access (reader/editor)

Real-time

Action Cable 6 channels

None

Job queue

Solid Queue

Resque + Redis

Key Points

Open projectcues/writebook repository on GitHub

config/routes.rb → check resource structure and nesting patterns

app/models/leaf.rb → understand delegated_type pattern

app/models/leafable.rb → analyze polymorphic interface module

app/models/edit.rb → check edit history management pattern

app/models/access.rb → check access permission record pattern

app/models/session.rb → check DB-based session management

app/controllers/concerns/authentication.rb → compare with Campfire pattern

app/controllers/books/publications_controller.rb → check CRUD mapping

Pros

✓ Learn real-world delegated_type pattern usage
✓ See edit history management implemented as records
✓ Understand consistent 37signals patterns by comparing with Campfire
✓ Access control implemented as records (without Pundit)
✓ Production implementation of DB-based session management
✓ Elegant slug-based URL routing implementation

Cons

✗ Uses Resque+Redis — older stack, not Solid Queue
✗ No Action Cable — Campfire is better for learning real-time features
✗ Writebook is a relatively simple app (CRUD-centric)
✗ Private ONCE license — fork/modification restrictions

Use Cases

delegated_type: Leaf → Page/Section/Picture (polymorphic content) Edit record: track edit history as records (previous/next navigation) Access record: User-Book permission management (reader/editor) Session record: DB-based session management (user_agent, ip tracking) Publication CRUD: publish = Publication resource update Move CRUD: page reorder = Move resource create Authentication concern: same auth pattern reused from Campfire

🔥

Campfire (37signals)

The DHH style textbook — real-time chat built with only Rails built-ins

→

← 🔥 Campfire (37signals) 📋 Solid Queue (Rails) →