ArHelper

These are some common extractions from methods that I consistently use when I write rails apps. I use them for anything Active Record related. They are mainly simplifications of patterns you could otherwise do in plain AR.

DEPENDENCIES

• map_by_method # => sudo gem install map_by_method

ArHelper::Sugar

ArHelper::Sugar adds some convenient abstraction methods to ActionView and ActionController, that makes querying a bit more pleasing and grammatically correct (IMO). This looks beautiful with Dr Nic's map_by_method gem for example instead of User.find(:all).map_by_name, you can do all(:users).map_by_name

all :name_of_model, options={}

An abstraction of Model#find :all, options.

Example:

  all(:users, :order => "created_at") # => User.find :all, :order => "created_at"

first :name_of_model, options={}

An abstraction of Model#find(:all, options).first

Example:

  first(:user, :order => "created_at") # => User.find(:all, :order => "created_at").first

last :name_of_model, options={}

An abstraction of Model#find(:all, options).first

Example:

  last(:user, :order => "created_at") # => User.find(:all, :order => "created_at").last

recent :name_of_model, options={}

An abstraction of Model#find(:all, :order => "created_at DESC", :limit => 5)

Example:

  recent(:users) # => User.find(:all, :order => "created_at DESC", :limit => 5)

Usage in script/console

If you want to use these methods in the console, simply copy and paste this into your .irbrc, I've been have issues using this with Rails > 2.3, will hopefully figure out soon:

  # check to see if the ar_helper plugin is installed
  def ar_helper_exists?; File.exists?("vendor/plugins/ar_helper"); end

  def require_and_load_ar_helper
      require "vendor/plugins/ar_helper/lib/ar_helper"
      extend ArHelper::Sugar if ArHelper.constants.include?("Sugar")
      puts "ArHelper::Sugar methods not loaded ... install ArHelper plugin
            externally..." unless ArHelper.constants.include?("Sugar")
  end
  
  require_and_load_ar_helper if ar_helper_exists?

Model#to_params param_name, options={}

Model#to_params generates a params hash of of filled in values for a model... this is exceptionally useful when writing tests and you need to pass a params hash to an action request, it also automatically removes common unwanted attributes that you might not want automatically this might be the case if you are using authlogic or restful_authentication :

OPTIONS:

- remove : removes an attributes that you don't want in your params hash

EXAMPLES:

# generating the default values
# assuming that you have a model named User with an attribute User#first_name

    User.to_params # => {:params=> {:first_name => "v3CQJNQrrZMSkeSup1UJu9h1T"}}

# you can also pass in a name to change the params name (default is :params)

    User.to_params(:user) # => {:user=> {:first_name => "dAoJr5PpyGMhOwmLuIjpbaBIo"}}

# if you want to pass your own values to the hash, you can 
# simply use #merge

    User.to_params.merge :first_name => "cool" 
    # => {:params=>{:first_name=>"cool"}}

# Here's an example of how to create dummy data:

    User.create User.to_params[:params]
    
# OR

    User.create User.to_params.values

Here's an example of a test suite with the test/spec and test/spec/rails

    require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../test_helper'
    specify "When you manage users, you" do
    
      setup do
        use_controller :users
        @user_params = User.to_params(:user) # => We get params[:user]
      end
      
      it "should create a new user" do
        assert_difference 'User.count' do
          # see how painless this is?
          post :create, @user_params
          has :user
          has_flash :notice
          assigns(:user).should.validate
          response.should.redirect
        end
      end
    
    end

Chained methods

Some chained methods have been provided to help to clean up and customize your params hash:

Model#to_params#remove

Removes additional attributes

Example:

  User.to_params.remove :password, :password_confirmation

Model#to_params#merge

Merges existing hash values

Example:

  User.to_params.merge :password => "sekrit", :password_confirmation => "sekrit"

Model#to_params#values

Returns the values of the hash without the :params parent hash

Example:

User.to_params.values

Model#factory attrs={}

Simple implementation of the factory pattern, used to compliment fixtures.

OPTIONS:

- attrs = a hash of attributes that you want to override

EXAMPLES:

# generate a simple factory named jack

    jack = User.factory

# generate a simple factory named jack with the name attribute as 'jack'

    jack = User.factory :name => "jack"    

Model#search criteria, options={}

Model#search searches a model using the LIKE operator. Please note that this is basically a wrapper around Model#find(:all) with LIKE conditions, I built this simply because I needed a simple method to query my models without typing too much or worry about customization. If you have more advanced needs to search your models I highly recommend: searchlogic. I actually revised this plugin because I was somewhat inspired by the elegance of the searchlogic plugin and for the fact that I could not simply do a simple search in searchlogic with OR operators easily enough.

OPTIONS:

• columns : specify the columns(attributes) that you want to search through, this defaults to all the columns (Model#column_names), multiple attributes are passed with a comma delimited list like "first_name, last_name" NOT "first_name", "last_name"
• conditions : allows you specify additional conditions, NOTE: this is not the same as the AR conditions hash, you CANNOT pass in hash conditions ... (yet)
• modifier : pass in either :or or :and, this defaults to :or
• remove : specify the columns(attributes) that you want to remove from the search, you can also pass remove a comma delimited list of attributes

EXAMPLES :

# default use is searching through all columns

    User.search "something" 
    # => User.find :all, 
    #   :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ? OR last_name LIKE ?",
    #                   '%something%','%something%']
    
# change the modifier to AND    

    User.search "something", :modifier => :and
    # => User.find :all, 
    #   :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ? AND last_name LIKE ?",
    #                   '%something%','%something%']

# what if you want to remove User#last_name?

    User.search "something", :remove => "last_name"
    # => User.find :all, 
    #   :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ?", '%something%']

# searching a single column                        

    User.search "something", :columns => "first_name" 
    # => User.find :all, :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ?", '%something%']

# searching multiple columns                                      

    User.search "something", :columns => "first_name,last_name"
    # => User.find :all, 
    #    :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ? OR last_name = ?",
    #               '%something%','%something%']


# searching with an added condition passed as a string for single conditions

    User.search "something", :conditions => "active = 1"
    # => User.find :all,
    #    :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ? OR last_name = ? AND active = 1",
    #               '%something%','%something%']

# searching with multiple conditions
User.search "something", :conditions => "active = 1,published = 0"

    # => User.find :all,
    #    :conditions => ["first_name LIKE ? OR last_name = ? AND active = 1 AND published = 0",
    #               '%something%','%something%']

# Search also returns added methods for associations on classes, such as :
# Assuming User#has_many :comments

    user = User.search "something", "active = 1"
    user.comments # => returns all related comments
    # the find_many method stores all has_many associations in
    # an array of association hashes
    
    
# You can also use Model#like instead of Model#search
    
    User.like "something" # => User.search "something"

Model#duplicates_on column_name

Model#duplicates_on finds duplicate values for a column on a model

• User.duplicates_on :first_name # => finds all the duplicates for first_name