Rails - Oct 2005 - generating xml and saving to filesystem

Hi,

I''m working my first small rails app which will allow a user to input
quiz questions and answers, which will then be stored in a database
and output to an xml file which will be loaded into the flash end
product.

I''ve run into a couple of problems. First, I have been trying to use
builder (an rxml file) to generate the xml file. The final xml should
look something like this:

<quiz>
	<title>Snappy Reconcile: Zemplar</title>
	<libraryButtonEnabled>false</libraryButtonEnabled>
	<gamesButtonEnabled>false</gamesButtonEnabled>
	<items>
		<item>
			<question>Which of the following is the reason why it is important
to reconcile Zemplar dosage in Snappy?</question>
			<feedback>The answer is C.</feedback>
			<answer>To comply with the policy and procedure on no re-entry of
medication vials</answer>
			<answer>To satisfy CMS requirement for documentation of Zemplar
vial usage and waste</answer>
			<answer correct="y">Both of the above.</answer>
		</item>
		<item>
			<question>The 5 mcg/ml Zemplar concentration comes in 2 vial sizes,
1 ml and 2 ml vials.</question>
			<feedback>The answer is A.</feedback>
			<answer correct="y">True</answer>
			<answer>False</answer>
		</item>
</quiz>

So, I''ve only gotten this far in my rxml file before getting stuck:

xml.channel{
  for test in @tests
    xml.quiz do
      xml.title(test.course_title)
      xml.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
      xml.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
    end
  end
}

Here I need to cycle through and list each question, but not all
quizzes will have the same number of questions (between 5 & 20) and
not all questions will have the same number of answers (between 1 &
4). So that''s my first problem.

The second issue I am needing help with is saving the output of that
rxml file into an xml file in the file system. My initial effort was
to define buildxml like this:

  def buildxml
    @tests = Test.find(:all)
    file = File.new("testfile.txt", "rw")
       xm = Builder::XmlMarkup.new(STDOUT)
       xm.quiz
       xm.title(test.title)
       xm.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
       xm.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
    file.close
    flash[:notice] = ''XML file was successfully created.''
    redirect_to :action => ''show'', :id => @test
  end

Unfortunately, I wasn''t getting anywhere with that - I would get
redirected and the flash message would appear, but there would be no
saved file.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. You might need to take it slow,
I''m a bit of a noob.

Thanks in advance,

--
--
Ian Kennedy
http://www.fiftymillimeter.com

Hi !

Comments below

2005/10/10, Ian Kennedy <exposure@gmail.com>:
> <quiz>
[snip]
> </quiz>
>
> So, I've only gotten this far in my rxml file before getting stuck:
>
> xml.channel{
>   for test in @tests
>     xml.quiz do
>       xml.title(test.course_title)
>       xml.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
>       xml.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
>     end
>   end
> }
>
> Here I need to cycle through and list each question, but not all
> quizzes will have the same number of questions (between 5 & 20) and
> not all questions will have the same number of answers (between 1 &
> 4). So that's my first problem.
You have an answers model, as well as a questions model, no ?  I am
guessing that your models look like this:

class Quiz
  has_many :questions
end

class Question
  has_many :answers
  belongs_to :quiz
end

class Answer
  belongs_to :question
end

Then, it's a simple matter to simply iterate over each question and answer:

xml.quiz do
  xml.title(test.course_title)
  xml.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
  xml.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
  xml.items do
    test.questions.each do |q|
      xml.item do
        xml.question(q.text)
        xml.feedback(q.feedback)
        q.answers.each do |a|
          xml.answer(a.text, 'correct' => a.correct?)
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

> The second issue I am needing help with is saving the output of that
> rxml file into an xml file in the file system. My initial effort was
> to define buildxml like this:
>
>   def buildxml
>     @tests = Test.find(:all)
>     file = File.new("testfile.txt", "rw")
>        xm = Builder::XmlMarkup.new(STDOUT)
>        xm.quiz
>        xm.title(test.title)
>        xm.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
>        xm.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
>     file.close
>     flash[:notice] = 'XML file was successfully created.'
>     redirect_to :action => 'show', :id => @test
>   end
When creating your Builder, you are telling it to output to STDOUT,
not to your new file.  Here's what you should have done:

def buildxml
  @tests = Test.find(:all)
  File.new("testfile.txt", "rw") do |file|
     xm = Builder::XmlMarkup.new(file)
     xm.quiz
     xm.title(test.title)
     xm.gamesButtonEnabled(test.games_button_enabled)
     xm.libraryButtonEnabled(test.library_button_enabled)
  end

  flash[:notice] = 'XML file was successfully created.'
  redirect_to :action => 'show', :id => @test
end

Enjoy !
François

_______________________________________________
Rails mailing list
Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org
http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails