What is Paperclip?
Paperclip is an open-source Ruby on Rails plugin for managing file attachments. It was created to simplify the process of adding file upload and management functionality to Rails applications.
Some key features of Paperclip include:
- Validation of file attachments - Paperclip allows validating attributes like file size, content type, etc.
- Automatic storage handling - Files can be stored on the filesystem or cloud services like AWS S3. Paperclip handles the uploading and linking.
- Image processing - Comes with built-in image processing using ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick to create thumbnails, watermarks etc.
- Linking attachments to ActiveRecord models - Easy association between file attachments and Rails models.
Overall, Paperclip streamlines what can often be complex file handling processes. It saves developers time by abstracting away much of the boring boilerplate code for working with file uploads in Rails. Its flexibility in storage options, validation and processors makes Paperclip a very useful addition for developers working on file upload features.