Removing a subdoc using AJAX & Mongoose - ajax

Question

How do you properly delete a subdoc (a task in this case) with AJAX in Mongoose?
Everything seems to be working up until the ajax in the file that's loaded into the page. Or could the problem be in the controller? I have read that you can't perform a .remove on a child element and I'm unclear on how to handle a delete.
Here is the schema:
//new user model
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
var Schema = mongoose.Schema;
var ObjectId = Schema.ObjectId;
// Task schema
var taskSchema = mongoose.Schema({
clientEasyTask : { type: String },
clientHardTask : { type: String },
clientStupidTask : { type: String }
});
var userSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
email: { type: String, unique: true, lowercase: true },
password: String,
task : [taskSchema]
});
module.exports = mongoose.model('Task', taskSchema);
module.exports = mongoose.model('User', userSchema);
The JS loaded into the page:
// Delete
$(document).ready(function() {
console.log('called del function');
var $alert = $('.alert');
$alert.hide();
$alert.on('error', function(event, data){
$alert.html(data)
$alert.addClass('alert-danger');
$alert.show();
});
$alert.on('success', function(event, data) {
$alert.html(data);
$alert.addClass('alert-info');
$alert.show();
})
$('.task-delete').click(function(event) {
console.log('click event occurred');
$target = $(event.target)
$.ajax({
type: 'DELETE',
url: apiDeleteTask + $target.attr('data-task-id'),
success: function(response) {
$target.parent.children.id(id).remove();
$alert.trigger('success', 'Task was removed.');
},
error: function(error) {
$alert.trigger('error', error);
}
})
});
})
Routes, which matches the working update route:
var tasks = require('./controllers/tasks-controller'),
var User = require('./models/user');
var Task = require('./models/user');
module.exports = function (app, passport) {
// Delete Task
app.delete('/api/tasks/:id', tasks.del);
};
And the tasks-controller.js
var User = require('../models/user');
var Task = require('../models/user');
exports.del = function(req, res, next) {
return User.update({ 'task._id': req.params.id }, { $set: { 'task.$.clientEasyTask': req.body.clientEasyTask }},
(function(err, user) {
if(!user) {
res.statusCode = 404;
return res.send({ error: 'Not phound' });
}
if(!err) {
console.log("Updated Existing Task with ID: " + req.params.id + " to read: " + req.body.clientEasyTask ),
res.redirect('/dashboard');
} else {
res.statusCode = 500;
console.log('Internal error(%d): %s', res.statusCode, err.message);
return res.send({ error: 'Server error' });
}
})
);
};
And last but not least I'm getting this error, that gives the task_id string & line 0:
[Error] Failed to load resource: the server responded with a status of 404 (Not Found) (54c55ac0443873db1eb8c00c, line 0)

Answer 1

In order to remove an entire field from the child array (tasks) the solution is to use $unset. I was wanting to use $set to update the field with a null value, but this is exactly what $unset does.
Here is the line in question that now works:
return User.update({ 'task._id': req.params.id }, { $unset: { 'task.$.clientEasyTask': req.body.clientEasyTask }},
Read more about field operators here: http://docs.mongodb.org/manual/reference/operator/update-field/
$pull would work if you want to remove the array elements without leaving behind a null value, but you must have a specific, matching query. Read about $pull and other array update options here:
http://docs.mongodb.org/manual/reference/operator/update-array/
Also, if you are struggling with a problem I can't stress how important it is to read the documentation. I can guarantee you that everyone on here that is answering problems is doing this, or has learned from someone who does.
Do the work. You'll figure it out. Don't give up.