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Keeping track of validations with a hash
Reported by Matt Darby | August 3rd, 2008 @ 02:48 PM | in 3.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.
-
Maxim Chernyak April 30th, 2009 @ 08:38 AM
+1 What's the hold up here?
This will make testing validations a breeze. Things like should_validate_inclusion_of only need to assert that it's declared in the validations hash.
-
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Erik Peterson May 5th, 2009 @ 04:18 PM
I hadn't been following up because there were a couple of projects out there to refactor Rails validations in a much more major way, and I didn't want to step on anybody's toes.
However, I don't think that any of those projects have gotten anywhere. I'm not sure where we stand from a Rails 3 perspective, but taking another look at Validations makes too much sense.
I've implemented a full object-based validation system for another framework (which hasn't been released quite yet). I'd be happy to port it for Rails 3, but I'm not sure how much it meshes, philosophy-wise.
-
Maxim Chernyak May 5th, 2009 @ 04:40 PM
In my opinion
Cons: * Increased code complexity
Pros: * Easier introspection * Straightforward testing * Flexible inheritance (undoing validations in subclasses) * Form styling/logic (knowing required fields, etc)
I've needed all of these pros, so I'd say go for it.
-
Matt Darby May 5th, 2009 @ 04:42 PM
I posted this ticket nearly a year ago and I'd still love to have this feature. I'd update my attempt, but it sounds like Erik is on the case.
-
Maxim Chernyak May 5th, 2009 @ 04:43 PM
Stupid formatting. Reposting lists (after previewing markdown in textmate).
Cons:
- Increased code complexity
Pros:
- Easier introspection
- Straightforward testing
- Flexible inheritance (undoing validations in subclasses)
- Form styling/logic (knowing required fields, etc)
-
-
rails April 5th, 2011 @ 01:00 AM
- State changed from “incomplete” to “open”
This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not been commented on for at least three months.
The resources of the Rails core team are limited, and so we are asking for your help. If you can still reproduce this error on the 3-0-stable branch or on master, please reply with all of the information you have about it and add "[state:open]" to your comment. This will reopen the ticket for review. Likewise, if you feel that this is a very important feature for Rails to include, please reply with your explanation so we can consider it.
Thank you for all your contributions, and we hope you will understand this step to focus our efforts where they are most helpful.
-
rails April 5th, 2011 @ 01:00 AM
- State changed from “open” to “stale”
-
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People watching this ticket
Damian Jones
Erik Peterson
José Valim
Matt Darby
Maxim Chernyak
Michael Gee
Paweł Kondzior
Pratik
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