Resource#sorted_attributes behaves differently across Ruby versions

[robinboening]

Summary

I’ve encountered inconsistent behavior in Resource#sorted_attributes based on the Ruby version being used. This method relies on Array#sort_by, and the sorting results vary with arrays of certain sizes when using different Ruby versions.

Observed Behavior

I tested the behavior with three different Ruby versions and got the following results:

Ruby Version	Array Size 15	Array Size 16	Array Size 17	Array Size 20
Ruby 3.2.3	✅ sorts as expected	✅ sorts as expected	✅ sorts as expected	✅ sorts as expected
Ruby 3.3.1	✅ sorts as expected	✅ sorts as expected	❌ does not sort as expected	❌ does not sort as expected
Ruby 3.4.1	✅ sorts as expected	✅ sorts as expected	❌ does not sort as expected	❌ does not sort as expected

Existing RSpec Test Case

The existing RSpec test case for Resource#sorted_attributes is valid, but only includes 4 elements, which does not detect the discrepancy observed with larger arrays. The test case can be found here.

Script to Reproduce

# 20 elements
ar20=[{:name=>"foo", :type=>:string},
 {:name=>"bar", :type=>:text},
 {name: "baz", type: :string},
 {:name=>"foo 2", :type=>:datetime},
 {:name=>"bar 2", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"baz 2", :type=>:text},
 {:name=>"foo 3", :type=>:text},
 {:name=>"bar 3", :type=>:string},
 {:name=>"baz 3", :type=>:string},
 {:name=>"foo 4", :type=>:string},
 {:name=>"bar 4", :type=>:integer},
 {:name=>"baz 4", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"foo 5", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"bar 5", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"baz 5", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"foo 6", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"bar 6", :type=>:date},
 {:name=>"updated_at", :type=>:datetime},
 {:name=>"name", :type=>:string},
 {:name=>"bool", :type=>:boolean}]

ar17 = ar20.drop(3) # 17 elements
ar16 = ar20.drop(4) # 16 elements
ar15 = ar20.drop(5) # 15 elements

# Original method from Alchemy
def sorted_attributes(arr)
  arr.
    sort_by  { |attr| attr[:name] == "name" ? 0 : 1 }.
    sort_by! { |attr| attr[:type] == :boolean ? 1 : 0 }.
    sort_by! { |attr| attr[:name] == "updated_at" ? 1 : 0 }
end

def test_sorted_attributes(*args)
  args.each do |a|
    res = sorted_attributes(a)

    puts "Array with #{res.size} elements"
    if res.first[:name] == "name" && res.last[:name] == "updated_at" && res[-2][:name] == "bool"
      puts "\tValid order"
    else
      puts "\tInvalid order"
    end
  end

  nil # avoid printing the array in console
end

test_sorted_attributes(ar15, ar16, ar17, ar20)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run the provided script and switch between the listed Ruby versions.
2. Compare the results.

Expected Behavior

Resource#sorted_attributes should sort the attributes in a specific order:

• The name attribute should be listed first.
• The updated_at attribute should appear at the very last.
• Boolean type attributes should be listed before updated_at.

The sorting behavior should remain consistent across all Ruby versions, regardless of array size.

Additional Notes

• It appears the behavior change might be linked to Ruby's internal implementation of Array#sort_by.
• Not directly related, but it’s worth mentioning that Array#sort_by is known for inconsistencies, as noted in this Ruby issue.