Ruby precedence of methods in objects extended with multiple modules - ruby

Given the following:
class User; attr_accessor :roles; end
module RegisteredUser
def default_context
Submission
end
end
module Admin
def default_context
Review
end
end
current_user = User.new
current_user.roles = ["registered_user", "admin"]
current_user.roles.each do |role|
role_module = role.gsub(/ /, '_').camelize
if module_exists?(role_module)
current_user.extend role_module.constantize
end
end
context = self.extend current_user.default_context
Is there a way to set the priority of User#default_context? That is, can I say that the Admin#default_context always takes priority over RegisteredUser#default_context regardless of the order in which current_user is extended?

method_added is in Module.
I actually meant included, not extended, but both are also in Module.
The mechanism would revolve around doing something like this:
module Foo
def self.included(base)
base.extend(FooMethods)
end
module FooMethods
def bar
# Whatever
end
end
end
Inside Foo.included you can determine, based on arbitrary criteria, whether or not the methods in question should be added to base (the entity including the module).
In your case, you could check to see if a "higher priority" module was already included, or see if the module is the "higher priority" module. Based on that you'd decide whether or not to add the methods.

Since an Admin is also a RegisteredUser, I would do
module Admin
include RegisteredUser
...
end
and then only
current_user.extend Admin
I am not sure if this is the correct way. If Admin and RegisteredUser were classes, it would make sense making Admin inherit from RegisteredUser. In case of modules, dunno.

You cannot; in Ruby the order of module inclusion is the order in which modules are searched (after the current class, before parent classes). The only way to change the 'priority' is to include the modules in the order you want, or to move them to a parent class.
Although not pure Ruby, you can use the Remix library by banisterfiend to change module ordering (or unmixin a module, or...other things).

Related

Is it dangerous to mix ActiveSupport::Concern modules with vanilla modules?

I know there's a dependency management system hidden behind ActiveSupport::Concern. I do not understand it completely (and I'm not sure I am ready to yet), but in a nutshell : is it possible to mix ActiveSupport::Concern with vanilla (non ActiveSupport::Concern) modules, or are there pitfalls ?
Here are some examples of the different usages I can think of
module Vanilla
module ModuleIncludedInASC
# Vanilla module
end
module ModuleIncludedInClass
# Vanilla module
end
module ASC
module ConcernIncludedInClass
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
...
end
module ConcernIncludedInASC
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
...
end
module ConcernIncludingVanillaModulesIncludedInClass
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
include Vanilla::VanillaConcernIncludedInASC
end
module ConcernIncludingASCConcernIncludedInASC
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
include ConcernIncludedInASC
end
end
class MyFoo
include Vanilla::ModuleIncludedInClass
include ASC::ConcernIncludedInClass
include ASC::ConcernIncludingVanillaModulesIncludedInClass
end
# Ans also possibly, ActiveSupport::Concern modules included in vanilla modules...?
Could that potentially lead to problems ?
It shouldn't be a problem.
I can't speak to the deep technical details, but I've never seen anyone mention it's risky, and I do this all the time. I have some models with 10+ includes. Some of those modules are using ActiveSupport::Concern, some aren't. Never encountered any issue.
I'd suggest trying it and post a new question if it does cause problems.
I haven't had any problem yet, but yes, theoretically there is a potential problem.
The methods that are defined in a normal module are appended to the method lookup chain if you include that module in a class. So the methods defined in the class will override the methods in the normal module.
The methods that are defined in a concern's included block will be added directly to the class that includes the concern.
The result is, even if you include concern earlier than a normal module, the methods in a concern will always override the methods in a normal module.
Example
module Normal
def foo
'normal'
end
end
module Concern
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
included do
def foo
'concern'
end
end
end
class Bar
include Concern # include concern first
include Normal # then include normal
end
Bar.new.foo #=> "concern"
Maybe you would expect "normal" to be returned, but that's never gonna happen.

Ruby: How to Work With Class Vars in a Module

I always have a brain cramp when it comes to this. I'm creating a module to mix in to model-like classes but it needs to keep exactly one copy of serializable attributes per class. So here is the code (that doesn't work).
module Checkin
module Model
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
##serialiable_attrs = [] <== really not the right place
module ClassMethods
def serializable(*attrs)
attrs.each{|attr| ##serializable_attrs << attr} # Is this ## or just #?
end
end
def serialize!
##serializable_attrs.each{|a| do_something_with(a)} # <== Will this work?
end
end
end
class Person
include Checkin::Model
serializable :first_name, :original_name, :last_name, :checked_in, :people_attending
# etc., etc.
end
What I'm wrangling with are two things:
How to define my mix-in such that a class variable magically springs into existence; and
How to access that variable both in my ClassMethods module and in the (for lack of a better term) instance methods part of the module.
Note that I've settled on a mix-in technique rather than inheritance because I will have Validatable, Persistable, Serializable and so on. Also, I know there are all sorts of validation and persistence layers available that are well tested and heavily used. This is a different beast and I really should know who to do this in my sleep, right?
Any Ruby wizards who can help me understand how to do this or suggest a different direction to approach this problem from, I appreciate the help!
Try removing the class variable, and adding this to the module ClassMethod:
def self.extended(klass)
klass.instance_variable_set("#serializable_attrs", [])
end
And changing the double-# to single in serializable. And change serialize! to this:
self.class.instance_variable_get("#serializable_attrs").each{|a| do_something_with(a)}

Rails equivalent of ApplicationController for models

I understand that application_controller.rb is the place to put all the methods, etc that you would like made available in all your controllers since they all inherit from this class. Great.
But what is the equivalent for Models? In other words, I want a place where I can create a couple of super classes that my models will inherit from.
For example, I have a method that searches different tables for entries in all CAPS via REGEXP in Mysql. I'd like to be able to create the method only once and call it for different tables/models.
What is the Rails way of doing this?
I thought I could create a class that would inherit from ActiveRecord::Base (as all models do) , put the methods in there and then inherit all my models from that class. But thought there would surely be a better way to do it.
Thanks.
Edit
Per Semyon's answer I'm editing the post to show the routes I am using. It works now:
# models/dvd.rb
require 'ModelFunctions'
class Dvd < ActiveRecord::Base
extend ModelFunctions
...
end
# lib/ModelFunctions.rb
module ModelFunctions
def detect_uppercase(object)
case object
...
where("(#{field} COLLATE utf8_bin) REGEXP '^[\w[:upper:]]{5,}' ").not_locked.reorder("LENGTH(#{field}), #{table}.#{field} ASC")
end
end
In config/application.rb
config.autoload_paths += %W(#{config.root}/lib)
Take a look at mixins, for example here:
http://ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/html/tut_modules.html
In a Rails app you could create a module in the lib directory that defines your methods and then include it in your models.
EDIT: To be specific for your example, you're trying to define a class method. You can do this in a mixin like this:
module Common
module ClassMethods
def detect_uppercase(object)
case object
when 'dvd'
field = 'title'
...
end
where("(#{field} COLLATE utf8_bin) REGEXP '^[\w[:upper:]] {5,}').not_locked.reorder('LENGTH(title), title ASC')"
end
end
def self.included(base)
base.extend(ClassMethods)
end
end
Now when you include Common in your model, that model's class will be extended to include the new class methods, and you should be able to call Dvd.detect_uppercase.
Put the reusable method in some module next to your Dvd class. You can move it in a separate file later.
# app/models/dvd.rb
module CaseInsensitiveSearch
def case_insensitive_search(field, value)
# searching field for value goes here
end
end
class Dvd
end
After extending a class with the module you can use case_insensitive_search on the class. Including the module will make case_insensitive_search an instance method which is not what you want.
class Dvd
extend CaseInsensitiveSearch
end
Dvd.case_insensitive_search("title", "foo")
And of course you can use it inside Dvd class.
class Dvd
def self.search(query)
case_insensitive_search("title", query)
end
end
Dvd.search("foo")
Now when you made sure it works, you will probably want to move it in a separate file and use it across multiple classes. Place it in lib/case_insensitive_search.rb and make sure you have this line in config/application.rb:
config.autoload_paths += %W(#{config.root}/lib)
Now you can require it anywhere you want to use it:
require 'case_insensitive_search'
class Dvd
extend CaseInsensitiveSearch
end
The last thing I'd like to suggest. Create multiple modules with meaningful names. So instead of CommonModel have CaseInsensitiveSearch and so on.

How can I choose which version of a module to include dynamically in Ruby?

I'm writing a small Ruby command-line application that uses fileutils from the standard library for file operations. Depending on how the user invokes the application, I will want to include either FileUtils, FileUtils::DryRun or FileUtils::Verbose.
Since include is private, though, I can't put the logic to choose into the object's initialize method. (That was my first thought, since then I could just pass the information about the user's choice as a parameter to new.) I've come up with two options that seem to work, but I'm not happy with either:
Set a global variable in the app's namespace based on the user's choice, and then do a conditional include in the class:
class Worker
case App::OPTION
when "dry-run"
include FileUtils::DryRun
etc.
Create sub-classes, where the only difference is which version of FileUtils they include. Choose the appropriate one, depending on the user's choice.
class Worker
include FileUtils
# shared Worker methods go here
end
class Worker::DryRun < Worker
include FileUtils::DryRun
end
class Worker::Verbose < Worker
include FileUtils::Verbose
end
The first method seems DRY-er, but I'm hoping that there's something more straightforward that I haven't thought of.
So what if it's private?
class Worker
def initialize(verbose=false)
if verbose
(class <<self; include FileUtils::Verbose; end)
else
(class <<self; include FileUtils; end)
end
touch "test"
end
end
This includes FileUtils::something in particular's Worker's metaclass - not in the main Worker class. Different workers can use different FileUtils this way.
Conditionally including the module through the send methods works for me as in the below tested example:
class Artefact
include HPALMGenericApi
# the initializer just sets the server name we will be using ans also the 'transport' method : Rest or OTA (set in the opt parameter)
def initialize server, opt = {}
# conditionally include the Rest or OTA module
self.class.send(:include, HPALMApiRest) if (opt.empty? || (opt && opt[:using] opt[:using] == :Rest))
self.class.send(:include, HPALMApiOTA) if (opt && opt[:using] opt[:using] == :OTA)
# ... rest of initialization code
end
end
If you would like to avoid the "switch" and inject the module, the
def initialize(injected_module)
class << self
include injected_module
end
end
syntax won't work (the injected_module variable is out of scope). You could use the self.class.send trick, but per object instance extending seems more reasonable to me, not only because it is shorter to write:
def initialize(injected_module = MyDefaultModule)
extend injected_module
end
but also it minimizes the side effects - the shared and easily changable state of the class, which can result in an unexpected behavior in a larger project. In Ruby the is no real "privacy" so to say, but some methods are marked private not without a reason.

ruby inheritance vs mixins

In Ruby, since you can include multiple mixins but only extend one class, it seems like mixins would be preferred over inheritance.
My question: if you're writing code which must be extended/included to be useful, why would you ever make it a class? Or put another way, why wouldn't you always make it a module?
I can only think of one reason why you'd want a class, and that is if you need to instantiate the class. In the case of ActiveRecord::Base, however, you never instantiate it directly. So shouldn't it have been a module instead?
I just read about this topic in The Well-Grounded Rubyist (great book, by the way). The author does a better job of explaining than I would so I'll quote him:
No single rule or formula always results in the right design. But it’s useful to keep a
couple of considerations in mind when you’re making class-versus-module decisions:
Modules don’t have instances. It follows that entities or things are generally best
modeled in classes, and characteristics or properties of entities or things are
best encapsulated in modules. Correspondingly, as noted in section 4.1.1, class
names tend to be nouns, whereas module names are often adjectives (Stack
versus Stacklike).
A class can have only one superclass, but it can mix in as many modules as it wants. If
you’re using inheritance, give priority to creating a sensible superclass/subclass
relationship. Don’t use up a class’s one and only superclass relationship to
endow the class with what might turn out to be just one of several sets of characteristics.
Summing up these rules in one example, here is what you should not do:
module Vehicle
...
class SelfPropelling
...
class Truck < SelfPropelling
include Vehicle
...
Rather, you should do this:
module SelfPropelling
...
class Vehicle
include SelfPropelling
...
class Truck < Vehicle
...
The second version models the entities and properties much more neatly. Truck
descends from Vehicle (which makes sense), whereas SelfPropelling is a characteristic of vehicles (at least, all those we care about in this model of the world)—a characteristic that is passed on to trucks by virtue of Truck being a descendant, or specialized
form, of Vehicle.
I think mixins are a great idea, but there's another problem here that nobody has mentioned: namespace collisions. Consider:
module A
HELLO = "hi"
def sayhi
puts HELLO
end
end
module B
HELLO = "you stink"
def sayhi
puts HELLO
end
end
class C
include A
include B
end
c = C.new
c.sayhi
Which one wins? In Ruby, it turns out the be the latter, module B, because you included it after module A. Now, it's easy to avoid this problem: make sure all of module A and module B's constants and methods are in unlikely namespaces. The problem is that the compiler doesn't warn you at all when collisions happen.
I argue that this behavior does not scale to large teams of programmers-- you shouldn't assume that the person implementing class C knows about every name in scope. Ruby will even let you override a constant or method of a different type. I'm not sure that could ever be considered correct behavior.
My take: Modules are for sharing behavior, while classes are for modeling relationships between objects. You technically could just make everything an instance of Object and mix in whatever modules you want to get the desired set of behaviors, but that would be a poor, haphazard and rather unreadable design.
The answer to your question is largely contextual. Distilling pubb's observation, the choice is primarily driven by the domain under consideration.
And yes, ActiveRecord should have been included rather than extended by a subclass. Another ORM - datamapper - precisely achieves that!
I like Andy Gaskell's answer very much - just wanted to add that yes, ActiveRecord should not use inheritance, but rather include a module to add the behavior (mostly persistence) to a model/class. ActiveRecord is simply using the wrong paradigm.
For the same reason, I very much like MongoId over MongoMapper, because it leaves the developer the chance to use inheritance as a way of modelling something meaningful in the problem domain.
It's sad that pretty much nobody in the Rails community is using "Ruby inheritance" the way it's supposed to be used - to define class hierarchies, not just to add behavior.
The best way I understand mixins are as virtual classes. Mixins are "virtual classes" that have been injected in a class's or module's ancestor chain.
When we use "include" and pass it a module, it adds the module to the ancestor chain right before the class that we are inheriting from:
class Parent
end
module M
end
class Child < Parent
include M
end
Child.ancestors
=> [Child, M, Parent, Object ...
Every object in Ruby also has a singleton class. Methods added to this singleton class can be directly called on the object and so they act as "class" methods. When we use "extend" on an object and pass the object a module, we are adding the methods of the module to the singleton class of the object:
module M
def m
puts 'm'
end
end
class Test
end
Test.extend M
Test.m
We can access the singleton class with the singleton_class method:
Test.singleton_class.ancestors
=> [#<Class:Test>, M, #<Class:Object>, ...
Ruby provides some hooks for modules when they are being mixed into classes/modules. included is a hook method provided by Ruby which gets called whenever you include a module in some module or class. Just like included, there is an associated extended hook for extend. It will be called when a module is extended by another module or class.
module M
def self.included(target)
puts "included into #{target}"
end
def self.extended(target)
puts "extended into #{target}"
end
end
class MyClass
include M
end
class MyClass2
extend M
end
This creates an interesting pattern that developers could use:
module M
def self.included(target)
target.send(:include, InstanceMethods)
target.extend ClassMethods
target.class_eval do
a_class_method
end
end
module InstanceMethods
def an_instance_method
end
end
module ClassMethods
def a_class_method
puts "a_class_method called"
end
end
end
class MyClass
include M
# a_class_method called
end
As you can see, this single module is adding instance methods, "class" methods, and acting directly on the target class (calling a_class_method() in this case).
ActiveSupport::Concern encapsulates this pattern. Here's the same module rewritten to use ActiveSupport::Concern:
module M
extend ActiveSupport::Concern
included do
a_class_method
end
def an_instance_method
end
module ClassMethods
def a_class_method
puts "a_class_method called"
end
end
end
Right now, I'm thinking about the template design pattern. It just wouldn't feel right with a module.

Resources