Rails 3 deserialize array - ruby-on-rails-3

This is my first time serializing. I serialized an array of checkboxes w/ jQuery on the client side, put it into a hidden element, and submitted the form. Now on the server side I want to deserialize into an array I can use. Here is my string on the client side.
someArray%5B%5D=value0&someArray%5B%5D=value1
In Rails 3, I would like to get an array that looks like:
["value0", "value1"]
Thanks!

Rack will automatically parse these values if you submit them as typical post parameters to your request. For example:
curl http://yoursite.com -d "array[]=somevalue&array[]=othervalue"
This will then be available as params[:array] within your application, containing two elements with the values specified.

For serialization i came up with something and i've got working in production for a while.
Lets say i've got a Car model with 3 different type of gadgets. (Lets assume i dont want 3 fields in DB):
in your database must be a field named gadgets as TEXT (ths is very important)
in Car.rb
serialize :gadgets
attr_accessible :alarm, :ac, :tires
ALARM = 0;
AC = 1;
TIRES = 2;
# this is the getter for alarm
def has_alarm
if self.gadgets.nil?
return 0
else
if self.gadgets[ALARM].nil?
return 0
else
return self.gadgets[ALARM]
end
end
# this is the setter for alarm
def has_alarm=(value)
self.gadgets = Array.new if self.gadgets.nil?
self.gadgets[ALARM] = value
end
# getter
def has_ac
if self.gadgets.nil?
return 0
else
if self.gadgets[AC].nil?
return 0
else
return self.gadgets[AC]
end
end
# setter
def has_ac=(value)
self.gadgets = Array.new if self.gadgets.nil?
self.gadgets[AC] = value
end
...
in your _form.rb
<%= f.check_box :has_alarm %> I want alarm in my car
<%= f.check_box :has_ac %> I want AC in my car
<%= f.check_box :has_tires %> I want deluxe tires in my car
I hope you dont have to search by these fields later...

Related

Search for multiple possible param values

At the moment I have a form in which the user can input price per person and/or duration and/or team_size. What I would like to accomplish is to retrieve all records from a table that match the user input and for this I set scope in the model:
scope :filter_by_team_size, -> (team_size) { where("team_size = ?", team_size) }
scope :filter_by_duration, -> (duration) { where("duration = ?", duration) }
scope :filter_by_price, -> (price) { where("price = ?", price) }
And then in the controller use that again to retrieve the records by doing so:
#experiences = policy_scope(Experience).order(team_size: :desc).geocoded.filter_by_team_size(params[:team_size]) if params[:team_size].present?
#experiences = policy_scope(Experience).order(duration: :desc).geocoded.filter_by_duration(params[:duration]) if params[:duration].present?
#experiences = policy_scope(Experience).order(price: :desc).geocoded.filter_by_price(params[:price]) if params[:price].present?
However, this only gives me only the records for which the first input value matches but ignores all other values. Additionally, when you are viewing the search results and use the filter again it should apply the filter only for the records it found already.
Any suggestion on how to solve this would be much appreciated!
One way to handle this is to use a virtual model that handles binding parameters to and from the form:
class SearchQuery
include ActiveModel::Model
include ActiveModel::Attributes
attribute :team_size, :integer
attribute :duration
attribute :price
end
You can then setup the form:
<%= form_with(model: (#search_query || SearchQuery.new), url: '/experiences', method: :get) %>
<div>
<%= f.label :team_size %>
<%= f.number_field :team_size %>
</div>
# ..
<% end %>
And then you can just bind the params to the model with ActionController::Parameters#permit just like you would with a normal ActiveRecord model:
class ExperiencesController
before_action :set_search_query, only: :index, if: ->{ params[:search_query].present? }
# ...
def index
#experiences = if #search_query
#search_query.build_scope(policy_scope(Experience))
else
policy_scope(Experience)
end.geocoded
end
private
def set_search_query
#search_query = SearchQuery.new(search_query_params)
end
def search_query_params
params.fetch(:search_query).permit(:team_size, :duration, :price)
end
end
This loopback will make the form stateful just like your normal CRUD forms. We have not actually implemented #build_scope yes so lets do so:
class SearchQuery
include ActiveModel::Model
include ActiveModel::Attributes
attribute :team_size, :integer
attribute :duration
attribute :price
def build_scope(base_scope)
compacted_attributes = attributes.reject { value.nil? || value.empty? }
compacted_attributes.each_with_object(base_scope) do |(k,v), base|
if base.respond_to? "filter_by_#{k}"
# lets you customize the logic with a scope
base.send("filter_by_#{k}", v) # the scope is responsible for ordering
else
# convention over configuration!
base.where(Hash[k,v]).order(Hash[k,:desc])
end
end
end
end
Since this uses convention over configuration you can get rid of those pointless scopes in your model.

Populating Rails Fields Based on Calculation

In my Rails 3.2 app, I want to populate some fields based on calculations where the field values users enter are the variables. However, with my current code, the calculation seems to only work based on the values already in the database - it doesn't calculate correctly on the initial save, but it will calculate correctly if I go back in the record and save it a second time.
I have these four fields in my model (Trade):
entry_price
exit_price
percent_result
dollar_result
The user creates a trade with an entry price, and then later edits the trade with the exit_price. When the exit_price is entered, the app should calculate percent_result and dollar_result. However, right now, these result fields are not populating correctly on the first update - it seems to be because it doesn't read the exit_price from the field (when a user enters it in the form), only once it is saved in the DB.
What is going wrong in my controller?
my controller:
def update
#trade = Trade.find(params[:id])
exit_price = params[:trade][:exit_price]
if !exit_price.blank?
#trade.percent_result = ((exit_price.to_f - #trade.entry_price)/#trade.entry_price) * 100
#trade.dollar_result = exit_price.to_f - #trade.entry_price
end
params[:trade][:exit_date] = Date.strptime(params[:trade][:exit_date], '%m/%d/%Y') unless params[:trade][:exit_date].blank?
params[:trade][:entry_date] = Date.strptime(params[:trade][:entry_date], '%m/%d/%Y') unless params[:trade][:entry_date].blank?
respond_to do |format|
if #trade.update_attributes(params[:trade])
format.html { redirect_to #trade, :flash => {:share =>"Your trade was successfully updated. Don't forget to share it with your friends, so you can profit together!"} }
format.json { head :no_content }
else
format.html { render action: "edit" }
format.json { render json: #trade.errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
end
end
end
the view
<%= simple_form_for(#trade, :html=>{:class=> "form-horizontal well"}) do |f| %>
<%= f.text_field :entry_price, :class=>"input-small" %>
<%= f.text_field :exit_price, :class=>"input-small" %>
<%= submit_tag "Edit Trade" %>
<% end %>
This would probably be better accomplished with a before_save filter in your model.
Add
before_save :calculate_results
to the top of your model and then define
def calculate_results
unless self.exit_price.blank? || self.entry_price.blank?
self.percent_result = ((self.exit_price - self.entry_price)/self.entry_price) * 100
self.dollar_result = self.exit_price - self.entry_price
end
end
in your model as well. Taking this approach ensures that your results will always be consistent with your values for entry and exit price. Enforcing this in the controller violates the Rails principle of "thick model and thin controller" and may also lead to data consistency issues.
An even more consistent way of doing this would be to define dollar_result and percent_result as methods in your model. As your model is now, you have dollar_result stored in the database even though it is a derived value. As a general rule, you should only have one representation of each piece of data whereas here you have two. A helper method might look something like
def dollar_result
self.exit_price - self.entry_price unless self.exit_price.blank? || self.entry_price.blank?
end
You would define a similar method for percent_result. Using this method, you can guarantee that all of your data is consistent because it only has one, canonical representation in the system.

rails OR query based on multiple checkbox selections

This seems like it should be a common problem but I'm having trouble finding an answer. Basically I want to have a form with 10 or so checkboxes which I'm creating with check_box_tag. When the form is submitted I want to generate a query that return all records that match ANY of the checked selections. So, the number of checked selections will vary.
So, for example, if I have
class Book < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :author
end
I want to generate something like
Book.where("author_id = ? or author_id = ?", params[authors[0]], params[authors[1]]) if there are two boxes checked, etc.
Thanks for any insight.
Will this work for you?
Book.where(author_id: [array_of_author_ids])
You need to collect author_ids from params first
I recently had to do something similar, this is how I achieved this. It's pretty clever (at least I think so. :))
I created a query model that serializes the query column (text field) in JSON. I use a form to get the query data from the user with selection fields.
class BookQuery < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :books
# loop through each foreign key of the Book table and create a hash with empty selection
def self.empty_query
q = {}
Book.column_names.each do |column_name|
next unless column_name.ends_with?("_id")
q.merge column_name => []
end
end
end
I'm using Author as an example below:
<%= form_for #book_query do |f| %>
<% for author in Author.all %>
<%= check_box_tag "book_query[query][author_ids][]", author.id, false%>
<%= author.name %>
<% end %>
<%= f.submit "Save Query" %>
<% end %>
When this form is submitted you ended up with parameters like this:
When the form is submitted it generates this parameter:
Parameters: {"utf8"=>"✓", "authenticity_token"=>"XXXXXXXXXXX", "book_query"=>{"query"=>{"author_ids"=>["2", "3"]}}, "commit"=>"Save Query"}
Now in the BookQuery controller's create action you can just do what create function always does:
def create
#book_query = BookQuery.build(params[:book_query])
if #book_query.save
flash[:success] = "Book query successfully saved."
redirect_to ...
else
flash[:error] = "Failed to save book query."
render :new
end
end
But by default rails serializes the data in hash type:
1.9.3p194 :015 > pp BookQuery.find(9).query
BookQuery Load (0.7ms) SELECT "book_queries".* FROM "book_queries" WHERE "book_queries"."id" = $1 LIMIT 1 [["id", 9]]
"--- !ruby/hash:ActiveSupport::HashWithIndifferentAccess\nauthor_ids:\n- '2'\n- '3'\n"
=> "--- !ruby/hash:ActiveSupport::HashWithIndifferentAccess\nauthor_ids:\n- '2'\n- '3'\n"
In BookQuery model, add the following:
serialize :query, JSON
But rail would change the IDs to string:
1.9.3p194 :018 > query = JSON.parse(BookQuery.find(10).query)
BookQuery Load (0.5ms) SELECT "book_queries".* FROM "book_queries" WHERE "book_queries"."id" = $1 LIMIT 1 [["id", 10]]
=> {"author_ids"=>["2", "3"]}
1.9.3p194 :019 > query["author_ids"]
=> ["2", "3"]
What I did then is override the attribute accessors in BookQuery model:
The below has to be done because the hash returns strings, not ids in integer.
def query=(query)
query.each_pair do |k, v|
if query[k].first.present?
query[k].map!(&:to_i)
else
query.except!(k)
end
end
write_attribute(:query, query)
end
# just want to avoid getting nil query's
def query
read_attribute(:query) || {}
end
To find book with this query, you can simply add this function to your Book model:
def self.find_by_book_query(book_query, options = {})
options[:conditions] = book_query.query
find(:all, options)
end
Now you get a customizable query string based on the model definition Book and everything works like the Rails way. :)

Access a query in Ruby on Rails

I have in my controller this:
#itemsok = Search.where("first_item_id = ?", params["3"])
This is sopposed to be a query in the search table of the database asking for all the searches that have a first_item_id = 3 ...
Question 1 .- The syntax is I found it in http://guides.rubyonrails.org/active_record_querying.html but im not sure if im using it right?
Ok the question 2 is, I have this on the controller, is it ok to have querys in the controller?
In the view im printing the variable <%= #itemsok %> and all I get is a
ActiveRecord::Relation:0x007fd3d3e894d8
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
ActiveRecord 3 lets you chain relations together so you can do something like this:
#itemsok = Search.where("first_item_id = ?", params["3"]).where("foo = ?", "bar")
The where() function returns an ActiveRecord::Relation. Generally this isn't a problem, since if you use the object it'll automatically run the query and return the results on the object so you'll get the database objects. AR doesn't run the query until it's actually needed.
Where will return a list of items (Array), so if you're just debugging, change your view to this:
<%= debug #itemsok.to_a %>
You seem to be constructing the query wrong way.
If you want to search for records with first_item_id = 3, you should do:
Search.where("first_item_id = ?", 3)
This will return an array of matching records, something you can't easily print with <%= #itemsok %>. You should iterate over the elements and print each one:
<% #itemsok.each do |item| %>
<%= item.name %>
<% end %>
I'd also suggest defining to_s method for the objects you want to print.
class Search
def to_s
name
end
end
Then you can simply print the object and to_s method will be automatically called for you:
<% #itemsok.each do |item| %>
<%= item %>
<% end %>
The right way to do is to define a namedscope in the model and then use it in the controller.
Something similar to this :
class Search < ActiveRecord::Base
named_scope:item_ok,lambda {|*args|{:conditions=>["item_id >= ?", args.first]}}
end
and then call the namedscope from the controller like this :
#itemsok = Search.item_ok(params[:value])

Where to set session default value?

guys!
Prior to asking i should mention, that i`m working without ActiveRecord or any self-hosted-database. So thats why i have to store some values in the session.
From the very begining i desided to set session value of the users city in the layout. - i supposed it would be loaded before anything else. So i`ve done something like this:
<% session[:city] ||= {:name => 'City-Name', :lat => '40', :lng => '40'}%>
But when i`m loading directly to inner page it occurs that session[:city is nil *(
How should i set the session properely, so that it wouldn`t be nil???
I had similar needs in one of the applications I worked on. It needed the users data to be loaded on sign-in and stored in the session. So, wrote a module called session_helpers.rb with the following:
module SessionHelpers
def get_value(key)
session[key.to_sym]
end
protected
def store_data(*objects)
objects.each do |object|
if object.is_a?(Hash)
object.each do |key, value|
session[key.to_sym] = value
end
end
end
end
def remove_data(*objects)
objects.each do |object|
if object.is_a?(String)
key = to_id(object)
else
key = to_id(object.class.name)
end
session[key] = nil
end
end
def update_data(key, value)
session[key.to_sym] = value
end
private
def to_id(name)
"#{name.parameterize('_').foreign_key}".to_sym
end
end
You can make any or all the methods available to views as well:
# application_controller.rb
helper_method :get_value
From the model I would retrieve a hash of the data that needs to be put up in the session about the user:
def common_data
#data = Hash.new
#data.merge!( { 'news' => self.news.count } )
...
#data
end
As I wanted to do this after sign-in I overrode the devise method to do this:
def after_sign_in_path_for(resource_or_scope)
store_data( '_count', current_user.common_data )
dashboard_path
end
This way I was able to load important data about the user on sign-in and store it in the session and retrieve whenever I wanted. Hope this helps.