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https://github.com/drnic/dr-nic-magic-models

Dr Nic Magic Models - Ultra-thin, invisible models for ActiveRecord
https://github.com/drnic/dr-nic-magic-models

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Dr Nic Magic Models - Ultra-thin, invisible models for ActiveRecord

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README 

        
See http://magicmodels.rubyforge.org/dr_nic_magic_models for pretty README



Ugly README (from website/index.txt in Textile format):

h1. Dr Nic's Magic Models



If you've used Ruby on Rails you'll have written at least one model class like this:




class Person < ActiveRecord::Base

  has_many :memberships

  has_many :groups, :through => :memberships

  belongs_to :family

  validates_presence_of :firstname, :lastname, :email

end




A few minutes later you'll have wondered to yourself,





Why do I have write my own has_many, belongs_to, and validates_presence_of 

commands if all the data is in the database schema?




Now, for the very first time, your classes can look like this:




class Person < ActiveRecord::Base

end




or, if you are lazy...




class Person < ActiveRecord::Base; end




or, if you read right to the end of this page, this...




# Go fish.




Magic and mystery abound. All for you. Impress your friends, amaze your mother.



NOTE: The gratuitous use of *Dr Nic's* in the name should only enhance the mystical magikery,

for magic needs a magician; and I love magic. I always wanted to create my own magic trick.

So I shall be the magician for the sake of magic itself. I look a bit like Harry Potter too,

if Harry were 32 and better dressed.



h2. Installation



To install the Dr Nic's Magic Models gem you can run the following command to 

fetch the gem remotely from RubyForge:


gem install dr_nic_magic_models




or "download the gem manually":http://rubyforge.org/projects/magicmodels and 

run the above command in the download directory.



Now you need to require the gem into your Ruby/Rails app. Insert the following

line into your script (use config/environment.rb for your Rails apps):




require 'dr_nic_magic_models'




Your application is now blessed with magical mystery.



h2. David Copperfield eat your Ruby-crusted heart out



Let's demonstrate the magical mystery in all its full-stage glory. Create a Ruby on Rails app (example uses sqlite3, but use your favourite databas):




rails magic_show -d sqlite3

cd magic_show

ruby script/generate model Person

ruby script/generate model Group

ruby script/generate model Membership




Update the migration 001_create_people.rb with:


class CreatePeople < ActiveRecord::Migration

  def self.up

    create_table :people do |t|

      t.column :firstname, :string, :null => false

      t.column :lastname, :string, :null => false

      t.column :email, :string, :null => false

    end

  end



  def self.down

    drop_table :people

  end

end




Similarly, update the def self.up method of 002_create_groups.rb

with:


    create_table :groups do |t|

      t.column :name, :string, :null => false

      t.column :description, :string

    end




and 003_create_memberships.rb with:


    create_table :memberships do |t|

      t.column :person_id, :integer, :null => false

      t.column :group_id, :integer, :null => false

    end




And run your migrations to create the three tables:


rake db:migrate




h3. And now for some "woofle dust":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conjuring_terms ...



At the end of config/environment.rb add the following line:




require 'dr_nic_magic_models'




Now, let's do a magic trick. First, let's check our model classes (app/models/person.rb etc):




class Person < ActiveRecord::Base

end

class Group < ActiveRecord::Base

end

class Membership < ActiveRecord::Base

end




Nothing suspicious here. We have no validations and no associations. Just some plain old model classes.



UPDATE: To turn on magic validations, you now need to invoke generate_validations on defined classes. So, update your model classes:




class Person < ActiveRecord::Base

  generate_validations

end

class Group < ActiveRecord::Base

  generate_validations

end

class Membership < ActiveRecord::Base

  generate_validations

end




For this trick, we'll need an ordinary console session. Any old one lying around the house will do.




ruby script/console




Now a normal model class is valid until you explicitly add validates_xxx commands.

With Dr Nic's Magic Models:




person = Person.new

=> #"", "firstname"=>"", "email"=>""}, @new_record=true>

person.valid?

=> false

person.errors

=> #["can't be blank", "is too long (maximum is 255 characters)"], 

	"lastname"=>["can't be blank", "is too long (maximum is 255 characters)"], 

	"email"=>["can't be blank", "is too long (maximum is 255 characters)"]},

	 @base=#, @new_record=true, 

		@attributes={"lastname"=>nil, "firstname"=>nil, "email"=>nil}>>




*Kapoow!* Instant validation! (NOTE: not as instant as it used to be - remember - you need to call generate_validations on each class as required)



Because you specified the three columns as :null => false,

your ActiveRecord models will now automagically generated validates_presence_of 

for each non-null field, plus several other validations (since version 0.8.0).



Ok, we're just warming up.



Your models normally require association commands (has_many, belongs_to, etc, as 

demonstrated above) to have the brilliantly simple support that Rails/ActiveRecords are known for.



Let's just watch what Dr Nic's Magic Models can do without any effort at all...




person = Person.create(:firstname => "Nic", :lastname => "Williams", :email => "[email protected]")

group = Group.create(:name => "Magic Models Forum", :description => "http://groups.google.com/magicmodels")

membership = Membership.create(:person => person, :group => group)

person.memberships.length

=> 1

membership.person

=> "Williams", "firstname"=>"Nic", 

"id"=>"1", "email"=>"[email protected]"}>

group.memberships

=> ["1", "id"=>"1", "person_id"=>"1"}>]




The final association trick is a ripper. Automatic generation of has_many :through associations...




>> person.groups

=> ["Magic Models Forum", "id"=>"1", "description"=>nil}>]

>> group.people

=> ["Williams", "firstname"=>"Nic", 

"id"=>"1", "email"=>"[email protected]"}>]




h3. Drum roll...



Ladies and gentlemen. For my final feat of magical mastery, I'll ask you to do

something you've never done before. This illusion is akin to the "floating lady":http://www.toytent.com/Posters/985.html

illusion that has been passed down through generations of magicians.



Exit your console session.



DELETE your three model classes: person.rb, group.rb, and membership.rb from the 

app/models folder. (You can always get them back via the model generator... be fearless!)



rm app/models/*.rb



Re-launch your console.



*drums are still rolling...*



Be prepared to applaud loudly...




>> Person

=> Person




You applaud loudly, but watch for more...




>> Person.new.valid?

=> false

>> person = Person.find(1)

=> "Williams", "firstname"=>"Nic", 

"id"=>"1", "email"=>"[email protected]"}>

>> person.valid?

=> true

>> person.memberships

=> ["1", "id"=>"1", "person_id"=>"1"}>]

>> person.groups

=> ["Magic Models Forum", "id"=>"1", "description"=>nil}>]




h3. Tada!



The end.



h3. Use modules to scope your magic



Only want to pick up tables starting with blog_?



module Blog

  magic_module :table_name_prefix => 'blog_'

end



Blog::Post.table_name #	=> 'blog_posts'




h2. Dr Nic's Blog



"http://www.drnicwilliams.com":http://www.drnicwilliams.com - for future announcements and

other stories and things.



h2. Articles about Magic Models



* "Announcement":http://drnicwilliams.com/2006/08/07/ann-dr-nics-magic-models/

* "BTS - Class creation":http://drnicwilliams.com/2006/08/10/bts-magic-models-class-creation/



h2. Forum



"http://groups.google.com/group/magicmodels":http://groups.google.com/group/magicmodels



h2. Licence



This code is free to use under the terms of the MIT licence. 



h2. Contact



Comments are welcome. Send an email to "Dr Nic Williams":mailto:[email protected]

or via his blog at "http://www.drnicwilliams.com":http://www.drnicwilliams.com