abort in rails loop function - ruby-on-rails-3.1

I've got a function in my rails controller (I know, not the rails way, but I find it easier to write in the controller when I have something big like this and then move to the model).
I have an error in a array that I'm looping through, unfortunately, the error is being added somewhere in the loop. It is a big array with lots of properties, and I'm trying to figure out where the error is being caused.
I think I can isolate which object in the array is causing the error, but I can't get it to print.
Aparently ruby has an abort('message') function, but that returns an error in rails.
return render isn't working, it gives me an error that render and/or redirect is being called multiple times. How can I do a php type die in this situation?

This SO Post makes an excellent suggestion.
raise RuntimeError, 'Message goes here'
In the 'Message goes here' section you could even add in the array element:
array.each do |array_element|
<logic>
raise RuntimeError, "#{array_element.inspect}; Message goes here"
end

Related

Ruby Sinatra Upload Form params Disturbed

Upon submitting a form in Sinatra, I'm coming up with the following error:
App 40327 output: 2018-06-28 02:59:17 - NoMethodError - undefined method `[]' for nil:NilClass:
App 40327 output: /Library/WebServer/Documents/blammo/routes/publish.rb:87:in `block in <class:MyApp>'
The form is a file upload form, and a single text field. Simple. The file goes through, as does the text field. They are both captured just fine.
I submit the params to a method, which is ultimately responsible for generating the error on the following line down the page:
fname = params[:s_single_file_upload][:filename]
The method in question returns fine with a boolean. I've rewritten it a couple of ways and flushed out anything that might trip something I'm
unfamiliar with.
So the params is messed up if this method mentioned above is being called. So fname can't be assigned. I expect the params to be intact
at this point in the code. Is there any destruction if the params are perused before this point? In another language, I've seen params destroyed
in one way or another for some reason, but I'm not sure about Ruby.
I'm not finding any nil:NilClass, but that's exactly what it's reporting. Here's the trigger of this method:
result = Alpha::rf_alpha_sniff(params)
And the module::method:
module Alpha
def self.rf_alpha_sniff(incoming)
qualifiers = %w(alpha bravo charlie delta echo foxtrot)
incoming.delete('captures')
incoming.delete('splat') # take out Mustermann's 'captures' and 'splat'
incoming.delete('s_single_file_upload') # non-perusal 'single_file_upload'
incoming.values.each do |item|
item = item.gsub(" ","_")
Dev::hq_log("item: #{ qualifiers.include?(item.downcase) }")
return true if qualifiers.include?(item.downcase)
end
return false
end
end
So the page progresses fine without this method. When the method is induced any way, the params seem to get screwed up, so the file is pretty much
gone.
How is this method interfering with the params so that it's unavailable later on down the script? I'm expecting it to be fully available everywhere.
Turns out, using incoming.delete was deleting items from the params hash, as it was a reference to the original, instead of using a copy.
So, I have to copy the params by using params.dup (duplicate) so they are not the same object.
Having a view of the params hash post-testing-method, showed me that objects were indeed deleted. Another one solved.

Ruby .include? method is not accepted as a valid method

I have this Ruby code in a script:
$dev_input=gets.chomp.downcase!
if $dev_input.include? "/"
check_developer_commands()
else
puts ">>Invalid Command<<"
continuing_dev_mode()
end
The problem is, whenever I try and run the script containing this, I get an error spat back at me that says :
dev_continue_main.rb:3:in 'continuing_dev_mode': undefined method 'include?' for nil:NilClass (NoMethodError)
Any idea what this error might be? I'm pretty sure that this is the proper way to use the .include? method. I've done some research, looked at tutorialspoint.com and some other sites, but they agree that this is the proper way to use this method.
I checked the error message and it confirmed that the third line in this script/my example is the source of the problem, so it's not some other instance of this method throwing an error.
Any thoughts? Please Help!
The problem is that $dev_input is nil. That stems from applying downcase! in defining $dev_input. I don't know why you want to possibly assign nil to $dev_input, and at the same time claim that calling include? on it is the right way. I don't get your intention for doing that, but if you instead had $dev_input = gets.chomp.downcase, then it wouldn't cause such error.

Error handling using aspects in Ruby

I see myself handling similar exceptions in a rather similar fashion repeatedly and would like to use aspects to keep this error handling code outside of the core business logic. A quick search online pulled up a couple of ruby gems (aquarium, aspector, etc) but I don't see a whole lot of downloads for those gems in rubygems. Given that, I want to believe there are probably other nicer ways to deal with this in Ruby.
get '/products/:id' do
begin
product = find_product params[:id]
rescue Mongoid::Errors::DocumentNotFound
status 404
end
end
get '/users/:id' do
begin
user = find_user params[:id]
rescue Mongoid::Errors::DocumentNotFound
status 404
end
end
In the above example, there are 2 Sinatra routes that look for a requested object by ID in MongoDB and throw a 404 if the object were not to be found. Clearly, the code is repetitive and I am looking to find a Ruby way to make it DRY.
You can see answer in this guide.
You code example:
error Mongoid::Errors::DocumentNotFound do
status 404
end

Ruby Koans about_methods line 123 object loop

Each time I add in the correct code, it gives me the same error due to AboutMethods:0x00000101841a28 number changing each time. It's like its stuck and I don't know how to get out this loop. It worked once, then I went on to the next step, but then it triggered an error after that.
I must not be inputting the correct line of code given from the console?
def test_calling_private_methods_with_an_explicit_receiver
exception = assert_raise(NoMethodError) do
self.my_private_method
end
assert_match "private method `my_private_method' called for #<AboutMethods:0x000001008debf8>", exception.message
end
The AboutMethods:0x000001008debf8 changes each time, not sure how to approach this problem?
AboutMethods:0x... is the output of the inspect method, which usually (and in this case) includes the class name (AboutMethods) and the object id (0x...). The object id is related to the objects location in memory, so it will change every time.
In my experience, there is very little value to checking the string from an exception (it's brittle). However, if you feel the need, use a regex:
assert_match /private method `my_private_method' called for \#\<AboutMethods:.*/

Raise custom exceptions, return constants, or return symbols? Why?

Assuming I have a WebCrawler class. There are several errors it can encounter. How should I propagate the errors upward?
Using exceptions:
class WebCrawler
class UrlBadFormatError < StandardError; end
class PageNotFoundError < StandardError; end
class UnauthorizedError < StandardError; end
def crawl(url)
if(! url =~ /some_format/)
raise UrlBadFormatError
response = get(url)
if(response.code == 404)
raise PageNotFoundError
if(response.code == 403)
raise UnauthorizedError
...
end
end
or constants:
class WebCrawler
URL_BAD_FORMAT = 1
PAGE_NOT_FOUND = 2
UNAUTHORZIED = 3
def crawl(url)
if(! url =~ /some_format/)
return URL_BAD_FORMAT
response = get(url)
if(response.code == 404)
return PAGE_NOT_FOUND
if(response.code == 403)
return UNAUTHORZIED
...
end
end
or symbols:
class WebCrawler
def crawl(url)
if(! url =~ /some_format/)
return :url_bad_format
response = get(url)
if(response.code == 404)
return :page_not_found
if(response.code == 403)
return :unauthorized
...
end
end
which is best? or it depends(on what?)
For something which indicates programmer error, such as the wrong type of argument passed to a method, definitely throw an exception. The exception will crash the program, drawing the programmer's attention to the fact that they are using your class incorrectly, so they can fix the problem. In this case, returning an error code wouldn't make sense, because the program will have to include code to check the return value, but after the program is debugged, such errors shouldn't ever happen.
In your WebCrawler class, is it expected that crawl will receive a bad URL as an argument sometimes? I think the answer is probably no. So raising an exception would be appropriate when a bad URL is passed.
When an exception is raised, the flow of execution suddenly "jumps" to the innermost handler. This can be a useful way to structure code when the exception is not expected to happen most of the time, because you can write the "main flow" of your method as simple, straight-line code without including a lot of details about what will happen when some rare error condition occurs. Those details can be separated from the "main flow" code, and put in an exception handler. When an error condition is expected to happen under normal conditions, though, it can be better to put the error handling code inline with the "main flow", to make it clearer what is going on. If the control flow of your program "jumps around" (as is the case when exceptions are used for normal flow control), that means the reader also has to "jump around" in the program text as they are figuring out how it works.
For the other two, I think it is expected that at least sometimes, the HTTP request will return an error code. To determine whether an exception or special return value is the best way to indicate such a condition, I would think about how often those conditions are going to happen under normal usage. Think also about how the client code will read either way. If you use exceptions, they will have to write something like:
urls.map do |url|
begin
crawl(url)
rescue PageNotFoundError
""
rescue UnauthorizedError
""
end
end
(By the way, I think this code example shows something: it might be a good idea if both of your custom exceptions inherit from a common superclass, so you can catch both of them with a single rescue clause if desired.) Or if you use error codes, it would look something like:
urls.map do |url|
response = crawl(url)
if [:page_not_found, :unauthorized].include? response
""
else
response
end
end
Which do you think reads better? It's really up to you. The one thing which you do not want to do is use integer constants for errors. Why use integers? When you print them in a debug trace, you'll have to go look at the list of constants to see what each one means. And using symbols is just as efficient computationally.
Why wouldn't you throw exceptions? They can encapsulate additional information besides just the type, are trivially rescued, and if you're using an IDE, are first-class citizens.
If it's an exception then by all means raises an exception! All three of those cases are, in my opinion, exceptions. While some may argue that 4xx status codes aren't exception-worthy since you may expect them to happen, they are still client errors.
You may also read about Ruby's throw/catch, which offer exception-like behavior for cases where "don't use exceptions for control flow" applies (though I don't think that's the case here).
You should raise errors. If you encounter a malformed URL, or if the page isn't found, or if you weren't authorized to access the page, it means you cannot continue crawling. Raising an error or exception returns from the method and lets the caller deal with the unusual situation.
It should also include information about the error, such as error codes, the URL which resulted in an error and any other relevant information. It can help in deciding how best to handle the error and can later be formatted into a helpful message for the user.
What you should not do, ever, is return numeric error codes. Ruby is not C. Just use symbols instead.
I am against the use of exceptions upon encountering 403s, 404s, malformed urls and similar common occurences on the web. Exceptions are meant for "internal" errors. In the World Wild Web, bad URLs are entirely unexceptional. There should be a method(s) for handling each different URL disease. I would personally return special values as symbols, or some "SpecialCase" objects recording what happened. There is also underused catch...throw statement.

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