How we've migrated from globalize to hstore-translate

Description and use

Migrating translations from Globalize to hstore-translate in Rails 3.2 improved performance and simplified the codebase.

Problem

The Rails application used Globalize for translations but needed a more efficient, database‑native solution.

Outcome

The migration reduced database complexity, improved query speed, and simplified the codebase by consolidating translations into a single hstore column.

Workflow

• Identify models using Globalize
• Add an hstore column to each model
• Create a migration to copy existing translations into the hstore column
• Remove Globalize configuration and translation tables
• Update model code to use hstore-translate methods
• Run tests and verify data integrity

Evidence

We migrated from Globalize to hstore-translate

Globalize stores translations in separate tables