Hi, I''m looking into using RoR to develop a front end for an existing system - one which is accessible via JSON-RPC. As such, there won''t be any data management performed directly by the web application itself, all would be done via these RPC calls. Is this possible? I assume that it is, so the next question is whether it''s appropriate or not to chop off the model part of Rails. From tutorials and the like Rails seems quite dependent on convention (and even boasts of this). Will I get into trouble later on, or will decoupling the model part be more trouble than it''s worth? Thanks, Shak --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
You are most likely going to have models. Those models are your
business objects. In your case you''re not going to be talking to a
database, so the conventional "model" that is backed by a database
will not be needed.
However, a Model in Rails can just be a simple Ruby class. Typically
you''d have data models that did the RPC calls, so that the controllers
interacted with them. The models then do the RPC calls to your
backend, keeping each piece of code separated and easy to test. For
example, say you were making a new front-end to Twitter. A skeleton
model might look like this:
class Twitter
def initialize(user, password)
@user = user
@password = password
end
# returns timeline for the user
def posts
end
# creates a new post
def post(message)
....
end
private
end
Heck, you might even break this down farther and have a Post model,
which you''d use to hold the Post you retrieved from Twitter, or even
to have the Post class handle the creation of posts.
class Post
attr_accessor :message, :username, :posted_at
end
The basic idea here is that you''d use models to encapsulate your
logic, and controllers just to route requests around and show views.
So, you''ll have "models". just not ActiveRecord models.
On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 7:30 AM, Shak
<sshaikh-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org>
wrote:>
> Hi,
>
> I''m looking into using RoR to develop a front end for an existing
> system - one which is accessible via JSON-RPC. As such, there
won''t be
> any data management performed directly by the web application itself,
> all would be done via these RPC calls.
>
> Is this possible? I assume that it is, so the next question is whether
> it''s appropriate or not to chop off the model part of Rails. From
> tutorials and the like Rails seems quite dependent on convention (and
> even boasts of this). Will I get into trouble later on, or will
> decoupling the model part be more trouble than it''s worth?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Shak
>
> >
>
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you can have a look at the active_record_base_without_table plugin... On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 11:30 PM, Shak <sshaikh-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > Hi, > > I''m looking into using RoR to develop a front end for an existing > system - one which is accessible via JSON-RPC. As such, there won''t be > any data management performed directly by the web application itself, > all would be done via these RPC calls. > > Is this possible? I assume that it is, so the next question is whether > it''s appropriate or not to chop off the model part of Rails. From > tutorials and the like Rails seems quite dependent on convention (and > even boasts of this). Will I get into trouble later on, or will > decoupling the model part be more trouble than it''s worth? > > Thanks, > > Shak > > > >-- Greg http://blog.gregnet.org/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Shak wrote:> I''m looking into using RoR to develop a front end for an existing > system - one which is accessible via JSON-RPC. As such, there won''t be > any data management performed directly by the web application itself, > all would be done via these RPC calls.Models are thin wrappers on external entities. Rails offers ActiveRecord as the One True Best external object to wrap. That''s the convention. To bypass the convention, simply do not use script/generate model. Just write the .rb file you want in app/models, put a class inside with the same name, and make it use whatever external entities you want to link to. All the rest of Rails will work the same... -- Phlip --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
I''m assuming you are meaning you don''t want ActiveRecord
models. If
thats'' the case, then yes it is possible. In fact, I currently do that
in a couple apps that access objects through XML RPC calls. Here is how
I do it, which will give you validations on errors.
class ModelWithoutDatabase
def save() raise NotImplementedError end
def save!() raise NotImplementedError end
def update_attribute() raise NotImplementedError end
def new_record?() true end
include ActiveRecord::Validations
# include ActiveRecord::Errors
def initialize(attributes = nil)
self.attributes = attributes
end
def attributes=(new_attributes)
return unless new_attributes
new_attributes.each do |k, v|
k = "#{k}="
send(k, v) if respond_to?(k)
end
end
def self.human_attribute_name(attribute_key_name) #:nodoc:
attribute_key_name.humanize
end
# Rails 2.2.2 fixes
def self.self_and_descendents_from_active_record; [self]; end
def self.human_name; self.name; end
end
The cool thing about this is that I can still call Model.valid? and use
the validation stuff of ActiveRecord. Then I have my RPC objects that
are Models inherit from the class above so:
class Contact < ModelWithoutDatabase
def method1
rpc calls
end
def method2
rpc calls
end
end
I hope that helps.
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On Jan 21, 10:58 pm, Nate Leavitt <rails-mailing-l...-ARtvInVfO7ksV2N9l4h3zg@public.gmane.org> wrote:> I''m assuming you are meaning you don''t want ActiveRecord models. If > thats'' the case, then yes it is possible. In fact, I currently do that > in a couple apps that access objects through XML RPC calls. Here is how > I do it, which will give you validations on errors. > > class ModelWithoutDatabase > endThanks for all the replies guys! Just what I wanted to her. Is there a list of what methods my new models must implement in order to work well with the rest of Rails? Or does your ModelWithoutDatabase cover it all (via the include)?> > The cool thing about this is that I can still call Model.valid? and use > the validation stuff of ActiveRecord. Then I have my RPC objects that > are Models inherit from the class above so: > > class Contact < ModelWithoutDatabase > def method1 > rpc calls > end > > def method2 > rpc calls > end > end > > I hope that helps.It does, thanks! Shak --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
All you''ll need to do is inherit from the ModelWithoutDatabase. This
should allow you to do normal validations if needed.
for example:
class Contact < ModelWithoutDatabase
attr_accessors :first_name, :last_name, :email, etc...
def method1
do stuff
end
end
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Yes that will work. I''ve been working on something very similar for an opensocial container, where I use models not tied to a database. I use something similar to this, although I also overrite save so you can validate on save. http://svn.viney.net.nz/things/rails/plugins/active_record_base_without_table/ Also, the built in json serializer has really bad performance, especially in it''s association handling. I used the json gem and wrote my own code for serializing associations. Chris On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 5:30 AM, Shak <sshaikh-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > Hi, > > I''m looking into using RoR to develop a front end for an existing > system - one which is accessible via JSON-RPC. As such, there won''t be > any data management performed directly by the web application itself, > all would be done via these RPC calls. > > Is this possible? I assume that it is, so the next question is whether > it''s appropriate or not to chop off the model part of Rails. From > tutorials and the like Rails seems quite dependent on convention (and > even boasts of this). Will I get into trouble later on, or will > decoupling the model part be more trouble than it''s worth? > > Thanks, > > Shak > > > >--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On Jan 22, 7:31 pm, snacktime <snackt...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> Yes that will work. I''ve been working on something very similar for an > opensocial container, where I use models not tied to a database. I use > something similar to this, although I also overrite save so you can validate > on save. > > http://svn.viney.net.nz/things/rails/plugins/active_record_base_witho... > > Also, the built in json serializer has really bad performance, especially in > it''s association handling. I used the json gem and wrote my own code for > serializing associations. >Chris, I''ve been trying to use the active_record_base_without_table and it seems to work okay, until I try to dynamically create the model objects. At the moment I assign variables like so: obj.instance_variable_set("@#{varname}", val) However it seems that ActiveRecords don''t hold values in variables, but in an attribute hash. This seems to get set like so: obj.method_missing("@#{varname}=", [val], nil) But this doesn''t seem to work at all. Is there a way of programatically assigning values to ActiveRecord columns? Shak --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On 16 Feb 2009, at 12:32, Shak wrote:> > But this doesn''t seem to work at all. > > Is there a way of programatically assigning values to ActiveRecord > columns?You need to call the accessor methods. Fred> > > Shak > >--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On Feb 16, 2:22 pm, Frederick Cheung <frederick.che...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> On 16 Feb 2009, at 12:32,Shakwrote: > > > > > But this doesn''t seem to work at all. > > > Is there a way of programatically assigning values to ActiveRecord > > columns? > > You need to call the accessor methods.Thanks for the heads up, I managed to figure it out. However I''m now starting to think that using AR (without tables) is more trouble than its worth for non-trivial models - is it possible to define relationships if there''s no tables to refer to? For example, if the RPC returns a Post with a list of Comments, how would I write a table-less Post model which puts the Comments in the right place, and then doesn''t let Rails go off and try to complete the model anyway? Shak --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---