# Attribeauty

I just wanted a quick, simple way to initialize mutable objects. This is it.
There are so many of these (notably rails Attributes api), but none were what I wanted.

## Installation

Install the gem and add to the application's Gemfile by executing:

    $ bundle add attribeauty

If bundler is not being used to manage dependencies, install the gem by executing:

    $ gem install attribeauty

## Base

Inherit from `Attribeauty::Base` and then add attribute with the type you want.
Initialize with these and they will be cast to that attribute.
Use `assign_attributes` to update the object.


```
class MyClass < Attribeauty::Base
  attribute :first, :string
  attribute :second, :integer
  attribute :third, :float
  attribute :forth, :boolean
  attribute :fifth, :time
  attribute :sixth, :koala
end

instance = MyClass.new(first: 456)
instance.first # => "456"
instance.assign_attributes(second: "456")
instance.second # => 456
instance.first = 9000
instance.first # => "9000"
```

To add your own types, simply have a class that handles `MyClassName.new.cast(value)`:

```
Attribeauty.configure do |config|
  config.types[:koala] = MyTypes::Koala
end

module MyTypes
  class Koala
    def cast(value)
      value.inspect.to_s << "_koalas"
    end
  end
end

class MyClass < Attribeauty::Base
  attribute :wild_animal, :koala
end

instance = MyClass.new(wild_animal: "the_wildest_animals_are")
instance.wild_animal # => "the_wildest_animals_are_koalas"

```

To use rails types add to your config:
```
# config/initializers/attribeauty.rb

Rails.application.reloader.to_prepare do
  Attribeauty.configure do |config|
    config.types[:string] = ActiveModel::Type::String
    config.types[:boolean] = ActiveModel::Type::Boolean
    config.types[:date] = ActiveModel::Type::Date
    config.types[:time] = ActiveModel::Type::Time
    config.types[:datetime] = ActiveModel::Type::DateTime
    config.types[:float] = ActiveModel::Type::Float
    config.types[:integer] = ActiveModel::Type::Integer
  end
end

```

## Params

Experimental params sanitizer is now available. This will cast your params, and remove elements you want to exclude if `nil` or `empty`

Why is this needed? Params arrive into the controller in a messy state. Booleans are not ready for caparison, integers are often strings, empty strings, and nils abound. Rails does the casting of params at the model, which is simple and elegant, but in many cases, these params are used for a multitude of things before hitting the database. I truly believe we need to cast them before they do anything.

```
# app/controllers/my_controller.rb
class MyController
  def update
    MyRecord.update(update_params)
   
    redirect_to index_path
  end

  private

  def params_filter
    Attribeauty::Params.with(request.params)
  end

  def update_params
    params_filter.accept do
      attribute :title, :string, required: true
      attribute :email do
        attribute :address, :string
        attribute :valid, :boolean
        attribute :ip_address, :string, exclude_if: :empty?
      end
    end
  end
```

If you have a "head" param, like in rails, you can exclude it, also note the `exclude_if` option, this will exclude the value completely, if it evaluates to true.
`exclude_if` will accept a single method call (`:nil?`) or an array (`[:nil?, :empty?]`)

```
class MyController
  def update
    MyRecord.update(update_params)
   
    redirect_to index_path
  end

  private

  # your params look like this:
  # { user: { title: "woo", email: { address: "hmm@yep.com", ip_address: "" } } }
  #
  def params_filter
    Attribeauty::Params.with(request.params)
  end

  # using root will exclude the value and yield:
  # { title: "woo", email: { address: "hmm@yep.com" } } 
  #
  def update_params
    params_filter.accept do
      root :user do
        attribute :title, :string, required: true
        attribute :email do
          attribute :address, :string, exclude_if: [:empty?, :nil?]
          attribute :valid, :boolean
          attribute :ip_address, :string, exclude_if: :empty?
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

```

If you want to raise an error, rather than just return the errors in an array, use the `accept!` method. Will raise `Attribeauty::MissingAttributeError` with the required elements:


```
class MyController
  def update
    MyRecord.update(update_params)
   
    redirect_to index_path
  end

  private

  # your params look like this:
  # { user: { profile: [{ address: { street_name: "Main St" } }] } }
  #
  def params_filter
    Attribeauty::Params.with(request.params)
  end

  # This following with the accept! method
  # will raise: Attribeauty::MissingAttributeError, "title required, email required"
  #
  def update_params
    params_filter.accept! do
      root :user do
        attribute :title, :string, exclude_if: :nil?, required: true
        attribute :email do
          attribute :address, :string
          attribute :valid, :boolean
          attribute :ip_address, :string
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

```

what if you want to require all attributes? If you pass the `required: true` or `exclude_if: :nil?` with the `accept`, it will be applied to all attributes. 
You can also exclude a value from this by useing the `allows` option.

```
class MyController
  def update
    MyRecord.update(update_params)
   
    redirect_to index_path
  end

  private

  # your params look like this:
  # { user: { profile: [{ address: { street_name: "Main St" } }] } }
  #
  def params_filter
    Attribeauty::Params.with(request.params)
  end

  # exclude_if and required will be passed onto all attributes
  #
  def update_params
    params_filter.accept exclude_if: :nil?, required: true do
      root :user do
        attribute :title, :string, 
        attribute :email do
          attribute :address, :string
          attribute :valid, :boolean
          attribute :ip_address, :string, allows: :nil?
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

```

See `test/test_params.rb` for more examples


## Development

After checking out the repo, run `bin/setup` to install dependencies. Then, run `rake test` to run the tests. You can also run `bin/console` for an interactive prompt that will allow you to experiment.

To install this gem onto your local machine, run `bundle exec rake install`. To release a new version, update the version number in `version.rb`, and then run `bundle exec rake release`, which will create a git tag for the version, push git commits and the created tag, and push the `.gem` file to [rubygems.org](https://rubygems.org).

## Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/tobyond/attribeauty.

## License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the [MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).