Keeping track of validations with a hash
Reported by Matt Darby | August 3rd, 2008 @ 02:48 PM | in 2.x
As it stands, there is no easy way to enumerate which attributes in a model are required.
This patch creates a new attribute #required_attributes which simply holds an array of required attributes as defined via #validates_presence_of
This could be used for dynamically styling form fields based on whether or not the field is mandatory.
Here is an example:
# schema.rb
create_table "people", :force => true do |t|
t.string "first_name"
t.string "last_name"
t.integer "age"
end
# person.rb
class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
validates_presence_of :first_name, :last_name
end
Person.required_attributes
# => [:first_name, :last_name]
# CSS Styles
.mandatory_field {
background-color: red;
}
.form_field {
background-color: grey;
}
# people_helper.rb
module PeopleHelper
def css_class(field_name)
Person.required_attributes.include?(fieldname) ? 'mandatory_field' : 'form_field'
end
end
# new / edit.html.erb
<%= form_for(@person) do |f| %>
<div class = "<%= css_class(:first_name) %>">
<%= f.text_field :first_name %>
</div>
<% end %>
Comments and changes to this ticket
-
Matt Darby August 3rd, 2008 @ 02:49 PM
- no changes were found...
-
Pratik August 3rd, 2008 @ 03:09 PM
- → State changed from “new” to “incomplete”
- Missing tests
- There can be multiple calls to validates_presence_of. So it should append to the required_attributes array.
- Missing documentation
Thanks.
-
Erik Peterson August 3rd, 2008 @ 03:23 PM
+1 for the idea, but I'm not sure that I like this implementation.
I think we generally need some way of looking at what validations are on a model. However, I'm not sure there's an easy way to do this without completely changing the way validations are added right now.
If the patch goes in somewhat like it is now, I think the required_attributes declaration shouldn't go in base. Methods in validations.rb add in attr_accessors, so it shouldn't be a big deal to add one in the module, outside of a method.
-
Michael Gee August 3rd, 2008 @ 03:23 PM
I frequently use validates_format_of and validates_numericality_of to implicitly validate an attribute's presence.
-
Erik Peterson August 3rd, 2008 @ 06:36 PM
- no changes were found...
-
Erik Peterson August 3rd, 2008 @ 06:36 PM
- → Tag changed from “activerecord enhancement patch” to “activerecord enhancement patch tested”
Ok, here's a patch that keeps track of validations in a hash of arrays. It is tested and documented.
Usage:
-
Erik Peterson August 3rd, 2008 @ 06:38 PM
Sorry about that, apparently I can't read the formatting instructions:
class Person < ActiveRecord::Base validates_uniqueness_of :name validates_presence_of :name, :city end Person.validations => {:uniqueness => [:name], :presence => [:name, :city]} -
Matt Darby August 3rd, 2008 @ 06:45 PM
Looks awesome. Having this functionality is huge in DRYing up forms!
-
-
José Valim August 4th, 2008 @ 09:44 PM
- → Title changed from “Patch: ActiveRecord#required_attributes” to “Keeping track of validations with a hash”
Very nice! +1
I changed the title to reflect the changes in discussion.
Wouldn't be nice with validations also store the options sent?
class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
validates_presence_of :name, :city
validates_length_of :name, :within => 3..20,
end
Person.validations
=> {:presence => { :name => {}, :city => {} }, :length => { :name => { :within => 3..20 } }}
I think it would be even more readable if it is "attribute oriented":
Person.validations
=> {:name => { :presence => {}, :length => { :within => 3..20 } }, :city => { :presence => {} }}
Why? This would DRY javascript code generation from our models completely.
-
José Valim August 4th, 2008 @ 09:47 PM
Lighthouse formatting 1 x 0 me. Again:
class Person < ActiveRecord::Base validates_presence_of :name, :city validates_length_of :name, :within => 3..20, end Person.validations => {:presence => { :name => {}, :city => {} }, :length => { :name => { :within => 3..20 } }}I think it would be even more readable if it is "attribute oriented":
Person.validations => {:name => { :presence => {}, :length => { :within => 3..20 } }, :city => { :presence => {} }} -
Erik Peterson August 4th, 2008 @ 09:55 PM
I had originally thought that keeping track of options would require a complete OO approach, with Validation objects and all sorts of nastiness that isn't really necessary.
If it can be done in a hash that's still manageable, I'm OK with that. I'm not sure it can be, though.
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