aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/activerecord/lib/active_record/aggregations.rb
blob: 82011018a28167fa8b9047e839d8b6832fd88a90 (plain) (blame)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
module ActiveRecord
  module Aggregations # :nodoc:
    def self.append_features(base)
      super
      base.extend(ClassMethods)
    end

    # Active Record implements aggregation through a macro-like class method called +composed_of+ for representing attributes 
    # as value objects. It expresses relationships like "Account [is] composed of Money [among other things]" or "Person [is]
    # composed of [an] address". Each call to the macro adds a description on how the value objects are created from the 
    # attributes of the entity object (when the entity is initialized either as a new object or from finding an existing) 
    # and how it can be turned back into attributes (when the entity is saved to the database). Example:
    #
    #   class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
    #     composed_of :balance, :class_name => "Money", :mapping => %w(balance amount)
    #     composed_of :address, :mapping => [ %w(address_street street), %w(address_city city) ]
    #   end
    #
    # The customer class now has the following methods to manipulate the value objects:
    # * <tt>Customer#balance, Customer#balance=(money)</tt>
    # * <tt>Customer#address, Customer#address=(address)</tt>
    #
    # These methods will operate with value objects like the ones described below:
    #
    #  class Money
    #    include Comparable
    #    attr_reader :amount, :currency
    #    EXCHANGE_RATES = { "USD_TO_DKK" => 6 }  
    # 
    #    def initialize(amount, currency = "USD") 
    #      @amount, @currency = amount, currency 
    #    end
    #
    #    def exchange_to(other_currency)
    #      exchanged_amount = (amount * EXCHANGE_RATES["#{currency}_TO_#{other_currency}"]).floor
    #      Money.new(exchanged_amount, other_currency)
    #    end
    #
    #    def ==(other_money)
    #      amount == other_money.amount && currency == other_money.currency
    #    end
    #
    #    def <=>(other_money)
    #      if currency == other_money.currency
    #        amount <=> amount
    #      else
    #        amount <=> other_money.exchange_to(currency).amount
    #      end
    #    end
    #  end
    #
    #  class Address
    #    attr_reader :street, :city
    #    def initialize(street, city) 
    #      @street, @city = street, city 
    #    end
    #
    #    def close_to?(other_address) 
    #      city == other_address.city 
    #    end
    #
    #    def ==(other_address)
    #      city == other_address.city && street == other_address.street
    #    end
    #  end
    #  
    # Now it's possible to access attributes from the database through the value objects instead. If you choose to name the
    # composition the same as the attributes name, it will be the only way to access that attribute. That's the case with our
    # +balance+ attribute. You interact with the value objects just like you would any other attribute, though:
    #
    #   customer.balance = Money.new(20)     # sets the Money value object and the attribute
    #   customer.balance                     # => Money value object
    #   customer.balance.exchanged_to("DKK") # => Money.new(120, "DKK")
    #   customer.balance > Money.new(10)     # => true
    #   customer.balance == Money.new(20)    # => true
    #   customer.balance < Money.new(5)      # => false
    #
    # Value objects can also be composed of multiple attributes, such as the case of Address. The order of the mappings will
    # determine the order of the parameters. Example:
    #
    #   customer.address_street = "Hyancintvej"
    #   customer.address_city   = "Copenhagen"
    #   customer.address        # => Address.new("Hyancintvej", "Copenhagen")
    #   customer.address = Address.new("May Street", "Chicago")
    #   customer.address_street # => "May Street" 
    #   customer.address_city   # => "Chicago" 
    #
    # == Writing value objects
    #
    # Value objects are immutable and interchangeable objects that represent a given value, such as a Money object representing
    # $5. Two Money objects both representing $5 should be equal (through methods such == and <=> from Comparable if ranking makes
    # sense). This is unlike a entity objects where equality is determined by identity. An entity class such as Customer can
    # easily have two different objects that both have an address on Hyancintvej. Entity identity is determined by object or
    # relational unique identifiers (such as primary keys). Normal ActiveRecord::Base classes are entity objects.
    #
    # It's also important to treat the value objects as immutable. Don't allow the Money object to have its amount changed after
    # creation. Create a new money object with the new value instead. This is examplified by the Money#exchanged_to method that
    # returns a new value object instead of changing its own values. Active Record won't persist value objects that have been
    # changed through other means than the writer method.
    #
    # The immutable requirement is enforced by Active Record by freezing any object assigned as a value object. Attempting to 
    # change it afterwards will result in a TypeError.
    # 
    # Read more about value objects on http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ValueObject and on the dangers of not keeping value objects
    # immutable on http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ValueObjectsShouldBeImmutable
    module ClassMethods
      # Adds the a reader and writer method for manipulating a value object, so
      # <tt>composed_of :address</tt> would add <tt>address</tt> and <tt>address=(new_address)</tt>.
      #
      # Options are:
      # * <tt>:class_name</tt>  - specify the class name of the association. Use it only if that name can't be infered
      #   from the part id. So <tt>composed_of :address</tt> will by default be linked to the +Address+ class, but
      #   if the real class name is +CompanyAddress+, you'll have to specify it with this option.
      # * <tt>:mapping</tt> - specifies a number of mapping arrays (attribute, parameter) that bind an attribute name
      #   to a constructor parameter on the value class.
      #
      # Option examples:
      #   composed_of :temperature, :mapping => %w(reading celsius)
      #   composed_of :balance, :class_name => "Money", :mapping => %w(balance amount)
      #   composed_of :address, :mapping => [ %w(address_street street), %w(address_city city) ]
      def composed_of(part_id, options = {})
        validate_options([ :class_name, :mapping ], options.keys)

        name        = part_id.id2name
        class_name  = options[:class_name] || name_to_class_name(name)
        mapping     = options[:mapping]

        reader_method(name, class_name, mapping)
        writer_method(name, class_name, mapping)
      end

      private
        # Raises an exception if an invalid option has been specified to prevent misspellings from slipping through 
        def validate_options(valid_option_keys, supplied_option_keys)
          unknown_option_keys = supplied_option_keys - valid_option_keys
          raise(ActiveRecordError, "Unknown options: #{unknown_option_keys}") unless unknown_option_keys.empty?
        end

        def name_to_class_name(name)
          name.capitalize.gsub(/_(.)/) { |s| $1.capitalize }
        end
        
        def reader_method(name, class_name, mapping)
          module_eval <<-end_eval
            def #{name}(force_reload = false)
              if @#{name}.nil? || force_reload
                @#{name} = #{class_name}.new(#{(Array === mapping.first ? mapping : [ mapping ]).collect{ |pair| "read_attribute(\"#{pair.first}\")"}.join(", ")})
              end
              
              return @#{name}
            end
          end_eval
        end        
        
        def writer_method(name, class_name, mapping)
          module_eval <<-end_eval
            def #{name}=(part)
              @#{name} = part.freeze
              #{(Array === mapping.first ? mapping : [ mapping ]).collect{ |pair| "@attributes[\"#{pair.first}\"] = part.#{pair.last}" }.join("\n")}
            end
          end_eval
        end
    end
  end
end