# Draftsman v0.1.1 (alpha) Draftsman is a Ruby gem that lets you create draft versions of your database records. If you're developing a system in need of simple drafts or a publishing approval queue, then Draftsman just might be what you need. **This gem is still considered experimental**, so proceed with caution. * The largest risk at this time is functionality that assists with publishing or reverting dependencies through associations (for example, "publishing" a child also publishes its parent if it's a new item). I'll be putting this functionality through its paces in the coming months. * The RSpec tests are lacking in some areas, so I will be adding to those over time as well. (Unfortunately, this gem was not developed with TDD best practices because it was lifted from PaperTrail and modified from there.) This gem is inspired by the [Kentouzu][1] gem, which is based heavily on [PaperTrail][2]. In fact, much of the structure for this gem emulates PaperTrail (because it works beautifully). You should definitely check out PaperTrail and its source: it's a nice clean example of a gem that hooks into Rails and Sinatra. ## Features - Provides API for storing drafts of creations, updates, and destroys. - A max of one draft per record (via `belongs_to` association). - Does not store drafts for updates that don't change anything. - Allows you to specify attributes (by inclusion or exclusion) that must change for a draft to be stored. - Ability to query drafts based on the current drafted item, or query all drafts polymorphically on the `drafts` table. - `publish!` and `revert!` methods for drafts also handle any dependent drafts so you don't end up with orphaned records. - Allows you to get at every draft, even if the schema has since changed. - Automatically records who was responsible via your controller. Draftsman calls `current_user` by default if it exists, but you can have it call any method you like. - Allows you to store arbitrary model-level metadata with each draft (useful for filtering). - Allows you to store arbitrary controller-level information with each draft (e.g., remote IP, current account ID). - Only saves drafts when you explicitly tell it to via instance methods like `draft_creation`, `draft_update`, and `draft_destroy`. - Stores everything in a single database table by default (generates migration for you), or you can use separate tables for separate models. - Supports custom draft classes so different models' drafts can have different behavior. - Supports custom name for `draft` association. - Threadsafe. ## Compatibility Compatible with ActiveRecord 3 and 4. Works well with Rails, Sinatra, or any other application that depends on ActiveRecord. ## Installation ### Rails 3 & 4 Add Draftsman to your `Gemfile`. ```ruby gem 'draftsman', '0.1.1' ``` Or if you want to grab the latest from `master`: ```ruby gem 'draftsman', :github => 'minimalorange/draftsman' ``` Generate a migration which will add a `drafts` table to your database. rails g draftsman:install You can pass zero, one, or both of these options to the generator: $ rails g draftsman:install --skip-initializer # Skip generation of the boilerplate initializer at # `config/initializers/draftsman.rb`. $ rails g draftsman:install --with-changes # Store changeset (diff) with each draft Run the migration(s). $ rake db:migrate Add `draft_id`, `published_at`, and `trashed_at` attributes to the models you want to have drafts on. `trashed_at` is optional if you don't want to store drafts for destroys. $ rails g migration add_drafts_to_widgets draft_id:integer published_at:timestamp trashed_at:timestamp $ rake db:migrate Add `has_drafts` to the models you want to have drafts on. ### Sinatra In order to configure Draftsman for usage with [Sinatra][5], your Sinatra app must be using `ActiveRecord` 3 or greater. It is also recommended to use the [Sinatra ActiveRecord Extension][6] or something similar for managing your application's ActiveRecord connection in a manner similar to the way Rails does. If using the aforementioned Sinatra ActiveRecord Extension, steps for setting up your app with Draftsman will look something like this: Add Draftsman to your `Gemfile`. ```ruby gem 'draftsman', :github => 'minimalorange/draftsman' ``` Generate a migration to add a `drafts` table to your database. $ rake db:create_migration NAME=create_drafts Copy contents of [`create_drafts.rb`][7] into the `create_drafts` migration that was generated into your `db/migrate` directory. Run the migration(s). $ rake db:migrate Add `draft_id`, `published_at`, and `trashed_at` attributes to the models you want to have drafts on. (`trashed_at` is optional if you don't want to store drafts for destroys.) Add `has_drafts` to the models you want to have drafts on. Draftsman provides a helper extension that acts similar to the controller mixin it provides for Rails applications. It will set `Draftsman.whodunnit` to whatever is returned by a method named `user_for_paper_trail`, which you can define inside your Sinatra Application. (By default, it attempts to invoke a method named `current_user`.) If you're using the modular [`Sinatra::Base`][8] style of application, you will need to register the extension: ```ruby # my_app.rb require 'sinatra/base' class MyApp < Sinatra::Base register Draftsman::Sinatra end ``` ## API Summary ### `has_draft` Options To get started, add a call to `has_drafts` to your model. `has_drafts` accepts the following options: ##### `:class_name` The name of a custom `Draft` class. This class should inherit from `Draftsman::Draft`. A global default can be set for this using `Draftsman.draft_class_name=` if the default of `Draftsman::Draft` needs to be overridden. ##### `:ignore` An array of attributes for which an update to a `Draft` will not be stored if they are the only ones changed. ##### `:only` Inverse of `ignore` - a new `Draft` will be created only for these attributes if supplied. It's recommended that you only specify optional attributes for this (that can be empty). ##### `:skip` Fields to ignore completely. As with `ignore`, updates to these fields will not create a new `Draft`. In addition, these fields will not be included in the serialized versions of the object whenever a new `Draft` is created. ##### `:meta` A hash of extra data to store. You must add a column to the `drafts` table for each key. Values are objects or `proc`s (which are called with `self`, i.e. the model with the `has_drafts`). See `Draftsman::Controller.info_for_draftsman` for an example of how to store data from the controller. ##### `:draft` The name to use for the `draft` association shortcut method. Default is `:draft`. ##### `:published_at` The name to use for the method which returns the published timestamp. Default is `published_at`. ##### `:trashed_at` The name to use for the method which returns the soft delete timestamp. Default is `trashed_at`. ### Drafted Item Class Methods When you install the Draftsman gem, you get these methods on each model class: ```ruby # Returns whether or not `has_draft` has been called on the model. Widget.draftable? # Returns whether or not a `trashed_at` timestamp is set up on this model. Widget.trashable? ``` ### Drafted Item Instance Methods When you call `has_drafts` in your model, you get the following methods. See the "Basic Usage" section below for more context on where these methods fit into your data's lifecycle. ```ruby # Returns this widget's draft. You can customize the name of this association. widget.draft # Returns whether or not this widget has a draft. widget.draft? # Creates object and records a draft for the object's creation. Returns `true` or `false` depending on whether or not # the objects passed validation and the save was successful. widget.draft_creation # Updates object and records a draft for an `update` event. If the draft is being updated to the object's original # state, the draft is destroyed. Returns `true` or `false` depending on if the object passed validation and the save # was successful. widget.draft_update # Trashes object and records a draft for a `destroy` event. (The `trashed_at` attribute must be set up on your model for # this to work.) widget.draft_destroy # Returns whether or not this item has been published at any point in its lifecycle. widget.published? # Sets `:published_at` attribute to now and saves to the database immediately. widget.publish! # Returns whether or not this item has been trashed via `draft_destroy` widget.trashed? ``` ### Drafted Item Scopes You also get these scopes added to your model for your querying enjoyment: ```ruby Widget.drafted # Limits to items that have drafts. Best used in an "admin" area in your application. Widget.published # Limits to items that have been published at some point in their lifecycles. Best used in a "public" area in your application. Widget.trashed # Limits to items that have been drafted for deletion (but not fully committed for deletion). Best used in an "admin" area in your application. Widget.live # Limits to items that have not been drafted for deletion. Best used in an "admin" area in your application. ``` ### Draft Class Methods The `Draftsman::Draft` class has the following methods: ```ruby # Returns all drafts created by the `create` event. Draftsman::Draft.creates # Returns all drafts created by the `update` event. Draftsman::Draft.updates # Returns all drafts created by the `destroy` event. Draftsman::Draft.destroys ``` ### Draft Instance Methods And a `Draftsman::Draft` instance has these methods: ```ruby # Return the associated item in its state before the draft. draft.item # Return the object held by the draft. draft.reify # Returns what changed in this draft. Similar to `ActiveModel::Dirty#changes`. # Returns `nil` if your `drafts` table does not have an `object_changes` text column. draft.changeset # Returns whether or not this is a `create` event. draft.create? # Returns whether or not this is an `update` event. draft.update? # Returns whether or not this is a `destroy` event. draft.destroy? # Publishes this draft's associated `item`, publishes its `item`'s dependencies, and destroys itself. # - For `create` drafts, adds a value for the `published_at` timestamp on the item and destroys the draft. # - For `update` drafts, applies the drafted changes to the item and destroys the draft. # - For `destroy` drafts, destroys the item and the draft. draft.publish! # Reverts this draft's associated `item` to its previous state, reverts its `item`'s dependencies, and destroys itself. # - For `create` drafts, destroys the draft and the item. # - For `update` drafts, destroys the draft only. # - For `destroy` drafts, destroys the draft and undoes the `trashed_at` timestamp on the item. If a draft was drafted # for destroy, restores the draft. draft.revert! # Returns related draft dependencies that would be along for the ride for a `publish!` action. draft.draft_publication_dependencies # Returns related draft dependencies that would be along for the ride for a `revert!` action. draft.draft_reversion_dependencies ``` ## Basic Usage A basic `widgets` admin controller in Rails that saves all of the user's actions as drafts would look something like this. It also presents all data in its drafted form, if a draft exists. ```ruby class Admin::WidgetsController < Admin::BaseController before_filter :find_widget, :only => [:show, :edit, :update, :destroy] before_filter :reify_widget, :only => [:show, :edit] def index # The `live` scope gives us widgets that aren't in the trash. # It's also strongly recommended that you eagerly-load the `draft` association via `includes` so you don't keep # hitting your database for each draft. @widgets = Widget.live.includes(:draft).order(:title) # Load drafted versions of each widget @widgets.map! { |widget| widget.draft.reify if widget.draft? } end def show end def new @widget = Widget.new end def create @widget = Widget.new(widget_params) # Instead of calling `save`, you call `draft_creation` to save it as a draft if @widget.draft_creation flash[:success] = 'A draft of the new widget was saved successfully.' redirect_to admin_widgets_path else flash[:error] = 'There was an error creating the widget. Please review the errors below and try again.' render :new end end def edit end def update @widget.attributes = widget_params # Instead of calling `update_attributes`, you call `draft_update` to save it as a draft if @widget.draft_update flash[:success] = 'A draft of the widget update was saved successfully.' redirect_to admin_widgets_path else flash[:error] = 'There was an error updating the widget. Please review the errors below and try again.' render :edit end end def destroy # Instead of calling `destroy`, you call `draft_destroy` to "trash" it as a draft @widget.draft_destroy flash[:success] = 'The widget was moved to the trash.' redirect_to admin_widgets_path end private # Finds non-trashed widget by `params[:id]` def find_widget @widget = Widget.live.find(params[:id]) end # If the widget has a draft, load that version of it def reify_widget @widget = @widget.draft.reify if @widget.draft? end # Strong parameters in Rails 4+ def widget_params params.require(:widget).permit(:title) end end ``` And "public" controllers (let's say read-only for this simple example) would ignore drafts entirely via the `published` scope. This also allows items to be "trashed" for admins but still accessible to the public until that deletion is committed. ```ruby class WidgetsController < ApplicationController def index # The `published` scope gives us widgets that have been committed to be viewed by non-admin users. @widgets = Widget.published.order(:title) end def show @widget = Widget.published.find(params[:id]) end end ``` Obviously, you can use the scopes that Draftsman provides however you would like in any case. Lastly, a `drafts` controller could be provided for admin users to see all drafts, no matter the type of record (thanks to ActiveRecord's polymorphic associations). From there, they could choose to revert or publish any draft listed, or any other workflow action that you would like for your application to provide for drafts. ```ruby class Admin::DraftsController < Admin::BaseController before_filter :find_draft, :only => [:show, :update, :destroy] def index @drafts = Draftsman::Draft.includes(:item).order('updated_at DESC') end def show end # Post draft ID here to publish it def update # Call `draft_publication_dependencies` to check if any other drafted records should be published along with this # `@draft`. @dependencies = @draft.draft_publication_dependencies # If you would like to warn the user about dependent drafts that would need to be published along with this one, you # would implement an `app/views/drafts/update.html.erb` view template. In that view template, you could list the # `@dependencies` and show a button posting back to this action with a name of `commit_publication`. (The button's # being clicked indicates to your application that the user accepts that the dependencies should be published along # with the `@draft`, thus avoiding orphaned records). if @dependencies.empty? || params[:commit_publication] @draft.publish! flash[:success] = 'The draft was published successfully.' redirect_to admin_drafts_path else # Renders `app/views/drafts/update.html.erb` end end # Post draft ID here to revert it def destroy # Call `draft_reversion_dependencies` to check if any other drafted records should be reverted along with this # `@draft`. @dependencies = @draft.draft_reversion_dependencies # If you would like to warn the user about dependent drafts that would need to be reverted along with this one, you # would implement an `app/views/drafts/destroy.html.erb` view template. In that view template, you could list the # `@dependencies` and show a button posting back to this action with a name of `commit_reversion`. (The button's # being clicked indicates to your application that the user accepts that the dependencies should be reverted along # with the `@draft`, thus avoiding orphaned records). if @dependencies.empty? || params[:commit_reversion] @draft.revert! flash[:success] = 'The draft was reverted successfully.' redirect_to admin_drafts_path else # Renders `app/views/drafts/destroy.html.erb` end end private # Finds draft by `params[:id]`. def find_draft @draft = Draftsman::Draft.find(params[:id]) end end ``` ## Differences from PaperTrail If you are familiar with the PaperTrail gem, some parts of the Draftsman gem will look very familiar. However, there are some differences: * PaperTrail hooks into ActiveRecord callbacks so that versions can be saved automatically with your normal CRUD operations (`save`, `create`, `update_attributes`, `destroy`, etc.). Draftsman requires that you explicitly call its own CRUD methods in order to save a draft (`draft_creation`, `draft_update`, and `draft_destroy`). * PaperTrail's `Version#object` column looks "backwards" and records the object's state _before_ the changes occurred. Because drafts record changes as they will look in the future, they must work differently. Draftsman's `Draft#object` records the object's state _after_ changes are applied to the master object. *But* `destroy` drafts record the object as it was _before_ it was destroyed (in case you want the option of reverting the destroy later and restoring the drafted item back to its original state). ## Contributing If you feel like you can add something useful to Draftsman, then don't hesitate to contribute! To make sure your fix/feature has a high chance of being included, please do the following: 1. Fork the repo. 2. Run `bundle install`. 3. `cd spec/dummy` and run `RAILS_ENV=test rake db:migrate` to apply test database migrations. 4. Add at least one test for your change. Only refactoring and documentation changes require no new tests. If you are adding functionality or fixing a bug, you need a test! 5. Make all tests pass by running `rspec spec`. 6. Push to your fork and submit a pull request. I can't guarantee that I will accept the change, but if I don't, I will be sure to let you know why. Here are some things that will increase the chance that your pull request is accepted, taken straight from the Ruby on Rails guide: * Use Rails idioms * Because this gem is currently designed to run with Rails 3, use Ruby 1.8-supported syntax (e,g., `item.where(:foo => :bar)`, instead of the newer Ruby 1.9-style `item.where(foo: :bar)`) * Include tests that fail without your code, and pass with it * Update the documentation, guides, or whatever is affected by your contribution This gem is a work in progress. I am adding specs as I need features in my application. Please add missing ones as you work on features or find bugs! ## License Draftsman is released under the [MIT License][9]. [1]: https://github.com/seaneshbaugh/kentouzu [2]: https://github.com/airblade/paper_trail [4]: http://railscasts.com/episodes/416-form-objects [5]: http://www.sinatrarb.com/ [6]: https://github.com/janko-m/sinatra-activerecord [7]: https://raw.github.com/minimalorange/draftsman/master/lib/generators/draftsman/templates/create_drafts.rb [8]: http://www.sinatrarb.com/intro.html#Modular%20vs.%20Classic%20Style [9]: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/MIT