how to find a hash key with one of the predefined names? - ruby

I have a hash with an arbitrary key:
{'GET': [1,2,3]}
or
{'POST': ['my data 0', 'my data 1']}
The hash is generated from JSON which is sent in the request body. There is just one key, or rather, I ignore any keys but one.
I want to find which key it is, and this is the code that I wrote:
items = data['GET'] || data['get'] || data['POST'] || data['post']
this does not look neat. If the number of keys that I want to process grows the expression will be long. I want it to be short. I am new to Ruby, is there a better way?

If you think it might grow, you may want to separate the HTTP methods from the finding of that method in the data:
methods = [:get, :post]
def find_method(data)
keys = methods.map{|m| [m.to_s.upcase, m.to_s]}.flatten
data.values_at(keys).first
end

You could just get the first value (assuming there's only one) like this:
item = data.values.first

You could use the Hash#values_at method.
http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.3/Hash.html#method-i-values_at
data.values_at('GET','get', 'POST','post').first

Related

ruby - calling a method on a dynamically named object

I have an array of strings, that represent existing object names.
JoesDev = Dev.new
MarksDev = Dev.new
SamsDev = Dev.new
devices=['JoesDev', 'MarksDev', 'SamsDev' ]
i'd like to iterate over the devices array, while calling a method on the objects that each item in the array is named after.
i.e;
JoesDev.method_name
MarksDev.method_name
SamsDev.method_name
how can i do this? thx.
devices.each{|name| self.class.const_get(name).method_name}
You can use the const_get method from Module to have Ruby return the constant with the given name. In your case, it will return the Dev instance for whatever device name you give it.
Using .each to iterate the items, your code could look like
devices.each do |device_name|
device = self.class.const_get(device_name)
device.method_name
end
# Which can be shortened to
devices.each{ |dev| self.class.const_get(dev).method_name }
However, there are better ways to implement this type of thing. The most common way is using a Hash. In your example, the list of devices could look something like
devices = {
joe: Dev.new,
mark: Dev.new,
sam: Dev.new
}
Then, iterating over the devices is as simple as
devices.each do |dev|
dev.method_name
end
# Or
devices.each{ |dev| dev.method_name }
Extra: If you want to get a little fancy, you can use the block version of Hash::new to make adding new devices extremely simple.
# Create the hash
devices = Hash.new{ |hash, key| hash[key] = Dev.new }
# Add the devices
devices['joe']
devices['mark']
devices['sam']
This kind of hash works exactly the same as the one shown above, but will create a new entry if the given key cannot be found in the hash. A potential problem with this design, then, is that you can accidentally add new devices if you make a typo. For example
devices['jon'] # This would make a new Dev instance, which may be undesirable.
Well one way is surely to use eval, a method that allows you to execute arbitrary strings as if they were code.
So, in your example:
var_names.each{ |var_name| eval("#{var_name}.some_method") }
Needless to say, it is very dangerous to let unfiltered strings to be used as code, very bad thingsā„¢ may happen!

Create an object if one is not found

How do I create an object if one is not found? This is the query I was running:
#event_object = #event_entry.event_objects.find_all_by_plantype('dog')
and I was trying this:
#event_object = EventObject.new unless #event_entry.event_objects.find_all_by_plantype('dog')
but that does not seem to work. I know I'm missing something very simple like normal :( Thanks for any help!!! :)
find_all style methods return an array of matching records. That is an empty array if no matching records are found. And an empty is truthy. Which means:
arr = []
if arr
puts 'arr is considered turthy!' # this line will execute
end
Also, the dynamic finder methods (like find_by_whatever) are officially depreacted So you shouldn't be using them.
You probably want something more like:
#event_object = #event_entry.event_objects.where(plantype: 'dog').first || EventObject.new
But you can also configure the event object better, since you obviously want it to belong to #event_entry.
#event_object = #event_entry.event_objects.where(plantype: 'dog').first
#event_object ||= #event_entry.event_objects.build(plantype: dog)
In this last example, we try to find an existing object by getting an array of matching records and asking for the first item. If there are no items, #event_object will be nil.
Then we use the ||= operator that says "assign the value on the right if this is currently set to a falsy value". And nil is falsy. So if it's nil we can build the object form the association it should belong to. And we can preset it's attributes while we are at it.
Why not use built in query methods like find_or_create_by or find_or_initialize_by
#event_object = #event_entry.event_objects.find_or_create_by(plantype:'dog')
This will find an #event_entry.event_object with plantype = 'dog' if one does not exist it will then create one instead.
find_or_initialize_by is probably more what you want as it will leave #event_object in an unsaved state with just the association and plantype set
#event_object = #event_entry.event_objects.find_or_initialize_by(plantype:'dog')
This assumes you are looking for a single event_object as it will return the first one it finds with plantype = 'dog'. If more than 1 event_object can have the plantype ='dog' within the #event_entry scope then this might not be the best solution but it seems to fit with your description.

Converting multiple arrays into a single hash

I'm working on a configuration file parser and I need help parsing key: value pairs into a hash.
I have data in the form of: key: value key2: value2 another_key: another_value.
So far I have code in form of
line = line.strip!.split(':\s+')
which returns an array in the form of
["key:value"]["key2: value2"]["another_key: another_value"]
How can I turn these arrays into a single hash in the form of
{key=>value, key2=>value2, another_key=>another_value}
I'm not sure if the key:value pairs need to be in the form of a string or not. Whatever is easiest to work with.
Thanks for your help!
This is the solution I found:
line = line.strip.split(':')
hash = Hash[*line]
which results in the output{"key"=>"value"}, {"key2"=>"value2"}
Very very close to Cary's solution:
Hash[*line.delete(':').split]
Even simpler:
Hash[*line.gsub(':',' ').split]
# => {"key"=>"value", "key2"=>"value2", "another_key"=>"another_value"}
Assuming the key and value are single words, I'd probably do something like this:
Hash[line.scan(/(\w+):\s?(\w+)/)]
You can change the regex if it's not quite what you are looking for.

How do I extract a value from this Ruby hash?

I'm using the Foursquare API, and I want to extract the "id" value from this hash
[{"id"=>"4fe89779e4b09fd3748d3c5a", "name"=>"Hitcrowd", "contact"=>{"phone"=>"8662012805", "formattedPhone"=>"(866) 201-2805", "twitter"=>"hitcrowd"}, "location"=>{"address"=>"1275 Glenlivet Drive", "crossStreet"=>"Route 100", "lat"=>40.59089895083072, "lng"=>-75.6291255071468, "postalCode"=>"18106", "city"=>"Allentown", "state"=>"Pa", "country"=>"United States", "cc"=>"US"}, "categories"=>[{"id"=>"4bf58dd8d48988d125941735", "name"=>"Tech Startup", "pluralName"=>"Tech Startups", "shortName"=>"Tech Startup", "icon"=>"https://foursquare.com/img/categories/shops/technology.png", "parents"=>["Professional & Other Places", "Offices"], "primary"=>true}], "verified"=>true, "stats"=>{"checkinsCount"=>86, "usersCount"=>4, "tipCount"=>0}, "url"=>"http://www.hitcrowd.com", "likes"=>{"count"=>0, "groups"=>[]}, "beenHere"=>{"count"=>0}, "storeId"=>""}]
When I try to extract it by using ['id'], I get this error can't convert Symbol into Integer. How do I extract the value using ruby? Also, how do I do this for multiple hashes extracting the "id" value each time?
Please pardon my inexperience. Thanks!
It's wrapped in an array, that's what the [ and ] mean on the start and end. But it also looks like this array only one object in it, which is the hash you really want.
So assuming you want the first object in this array:
mydata[0]['id'] # or mydata.first['id'] as Factor Mystic suggests
But usually when an API returns an Array there is a reason (it might return many results instead of just one), and naively plucking the first item from it my not be what you want. So be sure you are getting the kind of data you really expect before hard coding this into your application.
For multiple hashes, if you want to do something with the id (run a procedure of some kind) then
resultsArray.each do |person|
id = person["id"] #then do something with the id
end
If you want to just get an array containing the ids then
resultsArray.map{|person| person["id"]}
# ["4fe89779e4b09fd3748d3c5a", "5df890079e4b09fd3748d3c5a"]
To just grab the one item from the array, see Alex Wayne's answer
To get an array of ids, try: resultsArray.map { |result| result["id"] }

What is the proper way to define an array of values for the IN operator in Active Record

I need to search my data for rows who's value is contained in an array of strings. What is the proper way to do this in Active Record?
For example, say I have this array:
["fluffy", "spot"]
I want the SQL to look something like this:
select * FROM Pets WHERE name IN ('fluffy', 'spot')
The following works:
list = ["fluffy", "spot"].map { |x| "'#{x}'" }.join(', ')
Pet.where("name in (#{list})")
Obviously this is a bad idea. What is the correct method to do this? Is there a way to use parameters in this way, or does Active Record have a special method for this?
list = ["fluffy", "spot"]
Pet.where(:name => list)

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