active_model_serializers 0.8.3 → 0.10.0.rc2

data/README.md

@@ -1,655 +1,329 @@
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+# ActiveModel::Serializers
 
-# Purpose
+[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/rails-api/active_model_serializers.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/rails-api/active_model_serializers)
 
-The purpose of `ActiveModel::Serializers` is to provide an object to
-encapsulate serialization of `ActiveModel` objects, including `ActiveRecord`
-objects.
+ActiveModel::Serializers brings convention over configuration to your JSON generation.
 
-Serializers know about both a model and the `current_user`, so you can
-customize serialization based upon whether a user is authorized to see the
-content.
+AMS does this through two components: **serializers** and **adapters**.
+Serializers describe _which_ attributes and relationships should be serialized.
+Adapters describe _how_ attributes and relationships should be serialized.
 
-In short, **serializers replace hash-driven development with object-oriented
-development.**
+By default AMS will use the **Json Adapter**. But we strongly advise you to use JsonApi Adapter that follows 1.0 of the format specified in [jsonapi.org/format](http://jsonapi.org/format).
+Check how to change the adapter in the sections bellow.
 
-# Installing Serializers
+# RELEASE CANDIDATE, PLEASE READ
 
-The easiest way to install `ActiveModel::Serializers` is to add it to your
-`Gemfile`:
+This is the master branch of AMS. It will become the `0.10.0` release when it's
+ready. Currently this is a release candidate. This is **not** backward
+compatible with `0.9.0` or `0.8.0`.
 
-```ruby
-gem "active_model_serializers", "~> 0.8.0"
-```
-
-Then, install it on the command line:
-
-```
-$ bundle install
-```
+`0.10.x` will be based on the `0.8.0` code, but with a more flexible
+architecture. We'd love your help. [Learn how you can help here.](https://github.com/rails-api/active_model_serializers/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
 
-# Creating a Serializer
+## Example
 
-The easiest way to create a new serializer is to generate a new resource, which
-will generate a serializer at the same time:
+Given two models, a `Post(title: string, body: text)` and a
+`Comment(name:string, body:text, post_id:integer)`, you will have two
+serializers:
 
-```
-$ rails g resource post title:string body:string
-```
+```ruby
+class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
+  cache key: 'posts', expires_in: 3.hours
+  attributes :title, :body
 
-This will generate a serializer in `app/serializers/post_serializer.rb` for
-your new model. You can also generate a serializer for an existing model with
-the serializer generator:
+  has_many :comments
 
+  url :post
+end
 ```
-$ rails g serializer post
-```
-
-### Support for PORO's and other ORM's.
-
-Currently `ActiveModel::Serializers` adds serialization support to all models
-that descend from `ActiveRecord` or include `Mongoid::Document`. If you are
-using another ORM, or if you are using objects that are `ActiveModel`
-compliant but do not descend from `ActiveRecord` or include
-`Mongoid::Document`, you must add an include statement for
-`ActiveModel::SerializerSupport` to make models serializable. If you
-also want to make collections serializable, you should include
-`ActiveModel::ArraySerializerSupport` into your ORM's
-relation/criteria class.
-
-# ActiveModel::Serializer
 
-All new serializers descend from ActiveModel::Serializer
+and
 
-# render :json
+```ruby
+class CommentSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
+  attributes :name, :body
 
-In your controllers, when you use `render :json`, Rails will now first search
-for a serializer for the object and use it if available.
+  belongs_to :post
 
-```ruby
-class PostsController < ApplicationController
-  def show
-    @post = Post.find(params[:id])
-    render :json => @post
-  end
+  url [:post, :comment]
 end
 ```
 
-In this case, Rails will look for a serializer named `PostSerializer`, and if
-it exists, use it to serialize the `Post`.
-
-This also works with `respond_with`, which uses `to_json` under the hood. Also
-note that any options passed to `render :json` will be passed to your
-serializer and available as `@options` inside.
-
-To specify a custom serializer for an object, there are 2 options:
-
-#### 1. Specify the serializer in your model:
+Generally speaking, you as a user of AMS will write (or generate) these
+serializer classes. If you want to use a different adapter, such as a JsonApi, you can
+change this in an initializer:
 
 ```ruby
-class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
-  def active_model_serializer
-    FancyPostSerializer
-  end
-end
+ActiveModel::Serializer.config.adapter = ActiveModel::Serializer::Adapter::JsonApi
 ```
 
-#### 2. Specify the serializer when you render the object:
+or
 
 ```ruby
-render :json => @post, :serializer => FancyPostSerializer
+ActiveModel::Serializer.config.adapter = :json_api
 ```
 
-## Arrays
+You won't need to implement an adapter unless you wish to use a new format or
+media type with AMS.
 
-In your controllers, when you use `render :json` for an array of objects, AMS will
-use `ActiveModel::ArraySerializer` (included in this project) as the base serializer,
-and the individual `Serializer` for the objects contained in that array.
+If you would like the key in the outputted JSON to be different from its name in ActiveRecord, you can use the :key option to customize it:
 
 ```ruby
 class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :title, :body
-end
+  attributes :id, :body
 
-class PostsController < ApplicationController
-  def index
-    @posts = Post.all
-    render :json => @posts
-  end
+  # look up :subject on the model, but use +title+ in the JSON
+  attribute :subject, :key => :title
+  has_many :comments
 end
 ```
 
-Given the example above, the index action will return
-
-```json
-{
-  "posts":
-    [
-      { "title": "Post 1", "body": "Hello!" },
-      { "title": "Post 2", "body": "Goodbye!" }
-    ]
-}
-```
-
-By default, the root element is the name of the controller. For example, `PostsController`
-generates a root element "posts". To change it:
+In your controllers, when you use `render :json`, Rails will now first search
+for a serializer for the object and use it if available.
 
 ```ruby
-render :json => @posts, :root => "some_posts"
-```
-
-You may disable the root element for arrays at the top level, which will result in
-more concise json. See the next section for ways on how to do this. Disabling the
-root element of the array with any of those methods will produce
-
-```json
-[
-  { "title": "Post 1", "body": "Hello!" },
-  { "title": "Post 2", "body": "Goodbye!" }
-]
-```
-
-To specify a custom serializer for the items within an array:
+class PostsController < ApplicationController
+  def show
+    @post = Post.find(params[:id])
 
-```ruby
-render :json => @posts, :each_serializer => FancyPostSerializer
+    render json: @post
+  end
+end
 ```
 
-## Disabling the root element
-
-You have 4 options to disable the root element, each with a slightly different scope:
-
-#### 1. Disable root globally for all, or per class
+In this case, Rails will look for a serializer named `PostSerializer`, and if
+it exists, use it to serialize the `Post`.
 
-In an initializer:
+### Specify a serializer
 
-```ruby
-ActiveSupport.on_load(:active_model_serializers) do
-  # Disable for all serializers (except ArraySerializer)
-  ActiveModel::Serializer.root = false
-  
-  # Disable for ArraySerializer
-  ActiveModel::ArraySerializer.root = false
-end
-```
+If you wish to use a serializer other than the default, you can explicitly pass it to the renderer.
 
-#### 2. Disable root per render call in your controller
+#### 1. For a resource:
 
 ```ruby
-render :json => @posts, :root => false
+  render json: @post, serializer: PostPreviewSerializer
 ```
 
-#### 3. Subclass the serializer, and specify using it
+#### 2. For an array resource:
 
 ```ruby
-class CustomArraySerializer < ActiveModel::ArraySerializer
-  self.root = false
-end
+# Use the default `ArraySerializer`, which will use `each_serializer` to
+# serialize each element
+render json: @posts, each_serializer: PostPreviewSerializer
 
-# controller:
-render :json => @posts, :serializer => CustomArraySerializer
+# Or, you can explicitly provide the collection serializer as well
+render json: @posts, serializer: PaginatedSerializer, each_serializer: PostPreviewSerializer
 ```
 
-#### 4. Define default_serializer_options in your controller
+### Meta
 
-If you define `default_serializer_options` method in your controller,
-all serializers in actions of this controller and it's children will use them.
-One of the options may be `root: false`
+If you want a `meta` attribute in your response, specify it in the `render`
+call:
 
 ```ruby
-def default_serializer_options
-  {
-    root: false
-  }
-end
+render json: @post, meta: { total: 10 }
 ```
 
-## Getting the old version
-
-If you find that your project is already relying on the old rails to_json
-change `render :json` to `render :json => @your_object.to_json`.
-
-# Attributes and Associations
-
-Once you have a serializer, you can specify which attributes and associations
-you would like to include in the serialized form.
+The key can be customized using `meta_key` option.
 
 ```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_many :comments
-end
+render json: @post, meta: { total: 10 }, meta_key: "custom_meta"
 ```
 
-## Attributes
+`meta` will only be included in your response if there's a root. For instance,
+it won't be included in array responses.
 
-For specified attributes, a serializer will look up the attribute on the
-object you passed to `render :json`. It uses
-`read_attribute_for_serialization`, which `ActiveRecord` objects implement as a
-regular attribute lookup.
+### Root key
 
-Before looking up the attribute on the object, a serializer will check for the
-presence of a method with the name of the attribute. This allows serializers to
-include properties beyond the simple attributes of the model. For example:
+If you want to define a custom root for your response, specify it in the `render`
+call:
 
 ```ruby
-class PersonSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :first_name, :last_name, :full_name
-
-  def full_name
-    "#{object.first_name} #{object.last_name}"
-  end
-end
+render json: @post, root: "articles"
 ```
 
-Within a serializer's methods, you can access the object being
-serialized as `object`.
-
-You can also access the `current_user` method, which provides an
-authorization context to your serializer. By default, the context
-is the current user of your application, but this
-[can be customized](#customizing-scope).
+### Overriding association methods
 
-Serializers will check for the presence of a method named
-`include_[ATTRIBUTE]?` to determine whether a particular attribute should be
-included in the output. This is typically used to customize output
-based on `current_user`. For example:
+If you want to override any association, you can use:
 
 ```ruby
 class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body, :author
-
-  def include_author?
-    current_user.admin?
-  end
-end
-```
-
-The type of a computed attribute (like :full_name above) is not easily
-calculated without some sophisticated static code analysis. To specify the
-type of a computed attribute:
+  attributes :id, :body
 
-```ruby
-class PersonSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :first_name, :last_name, {:full_name => :string}
+  has_many :comments
 
-  def full_name
-    "#{object.first_name} #{object.last_name}"
+  def comments
+    object.comments.active
   end
 end
 ```
 
-If you would like the key in the outputted JSON to be different from its name
-in ActiveRecord, you can use the `:key` option to customize it:
+### Overriding attribute methods
+
+If you want to override any attribute, you can use:
 
 ```ruby
 class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
   attributes :id, :body
 
-  # look up :subject on the model, but use +title+ in the JSON
-  attribute :subject, :key => :title
   has_many :comments
-end
-```
-
-If you would like to add meta information to the outputted JSON, use the `:meta`
-option:
 
-```ruby
-render :json => @posts, :serializer => CustomArraySerializer, :meta => {:total => 10}
+  def body
+    object.body.downcase
+  end
+end
 ```
 
-The above usage of `:meta` will produce the following:
+### Built in Adapters
 
-```json
-{
-  "meta": { "total": 10 },
-  "posts": [
-    { "title": "Post 1", "body": "Hello!" },
-    { "title": "Post 2", "body": "Goodbye!" }
-  ]
-}
-```
+#### JSONAPI
 
-If you would like to change the meta key name you can use the `:meta_key` option:
+This adapter follows RC4 of the format specified in
+[jsonapi.org/format](http://jsonapi.org/format). It will include the associated
+resources in the `"included"` member when the resource names are included in the
+`include` option.
 
 ```ruby
-render :json => @posts, :serializer => CustomArraySerializer, :meta => {:total => 10}, :meta_key => 'meta_object'
+  render @posts, include: ['authors', 'comments']
+  # or
+  render @posts, include: 'authors,comments'
 ```
 
-The above usage of `:meta_key` will produce the following:
-
-```json
-{
-  "meta_object": { "total": 10 },
-  "posts": [
-    { "title": "Post 1", "body": "Hello!" },
-    { "title": "Post 2", "body": "Goodbye!" }
-  ]
-}
-```
+## Installation
 
-If you would like direct, low-level control of attribute serialization, you can
-completely override the `attributes` method to return the hash you need:
+Add this line to your application's Gemfile:
 
-```ruby
-class PersonSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :first_name, :last_name
-
-  def attributes
-    hash = super
-    if current_user.admin?
-      hash["ssn"] = object.ssn
-      hash["secret"] = object.mothers_maiden_name
-    end
-    hash
-  end
-end
+```
+gem 'active_model_serializers'
 ```
 
-## Associations
+And then execute:
 
-For specified associations, the serializer will look up the association and
-then serialize each element of the association. For instance, a `has_many
-:comments` association will create a new `CommentSerializer` for each comment
-and use it to serialize the comment.
+```
+$ bundle
+```
 
-By default, serializers simply look up the association on the original object.
-You can customize this behavior by implementing a method with the name of the
-association and returning a different Array. Often, you will do this to
-customize the objects returned based on the current user.
+## Creating a Serializer
 
-```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_many :comments
+The easiest way to create a new serializer is to generate a new resource, which
+will generate a serializer at the same time:
 
-  # only let the user see comments he created.
-  def comments
-    object.comments.where(:created_by => current_user)
-  end
-end
+```
+$ rails g resource post title:string body:string
 ```
 
-As with attributes, you can change the JSON key that the serializer should
-use for a particular association.
-
-```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
+This will generate a serializer in `app/serializers/post_serializer.rb` for
+your new model. You can also generate a serializer for an existing model with
+the serializer generator:
 
-  # look up comments, but use +my_comments+ as the key in JSON
-  has_many :comments, :key => :my_comments
-end
+```
+$ rails g serializer post
 ```
 
-Also, as with attributes, serializers will check for the presence
-of a method named `include_[ASSOCIATION]?` to determine whether a particular association
-should be included in the output. For example:
+The generated seralizer will contain basic `attributes` and
+`has_many`/`has_one`/`belongs_to` declarations, based on the model. For example:
 
 ```ruby
 class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
+  attributes :title, :body
+
   has_many :comments
+  has_one :author
 
-  def include_comments?
-    !object.comments_disabled?
-  end
+  url :post
 end
 ```
 
-If you would like lower-level control of association serialization, you can
-override `include_associations!` to specify which associations should be included:
+and
 
 ```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_one :author
-  has_many :comments
+class CommentSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
+  attributes :name, :body
 
-  def include_associations!
-    include! :author if current_user.admin?
-    include! :comments unless object.comments_disabled?
-  end
-end
-```
-
-You may also use the `:serializer` option to specify a custom serializer class and the `:polymorphic` option to specify an association that is polymorphic (STI), e.g.:
+  belongs_to :post_id
 
-```ruby
-  has_many :comments, :serializer => CommentShortSerializer
-  has_one :reviewer, :polymorphic => true
+  url [:post, :comment]
+end
 ```
 
-Serializers are only concerned with multiplicity, and not ownership. `belongs_to` ActiveRecord associations can be included using `has_one` in your serializer.
+The attribute names are a **whitelist** of attributes to be serialized.
 
-## Embedding Associations
+The `has_many`, `has_one`, and `belongs_to` declarations describe relationships between
+resources. By default, when you serialize a `Post`, you will get its `Comment`s
+as well.
 
-By default, associations will be embedded inside the serialized object. So if
-you have a post, the outputted JSON will look like:
+You may also use the `:serializer` option to specify a custom serializer class, for example:
 
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comments": [
-      { "id": 1, "body": "what a dumb post" }
-    ]
-  }
-}
+```ruby
+  has_many :comments, serializer: CommentPreviewSerializer
 ```
 
-This is convenient for simple use-cases, but for more complex clients, it is
-better to supply an Array of IDs for the association. This makes your API more
-flexible from a performance standpoint and avoids wasteful duplication.
+The `url` declaration describes which named routes to use while generating URLs
+for your JSON. Not every adapter will require URLs.
 
-To embed IDs instead of associations, simply use the `embed` class method:
+## Caching
 
-```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  embed :ids
+To cache a serializer, call ```cache``` and pass its options.
+The options are the same options of ```ActiveSupport::Cache::Store```, plus
+a ```key``` option that will be the prefix of the object cache
+on a pattern ```"#{key}/#{object.id}-#{object.updated_at}"```.
 
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_many :comments
-end
-```
+The cache support is optimized to use the cached object in multiple request. An object cached on a ```show``` request will be reused at the ```index```. If there is a relationship with another cached serializer it will also be created and reused automatically.
 
-Now, any associations will be supplied as an Array of IDs:
-
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comment_ids": [ 1, 2, 3 ]
-  }
-}
-```
+**[NOTE] Every object is individually cached.**
 
-Alternatively, you can choose to embed only the ids or the associated objects per association:
+**[NOTE] The cache is automatically expired after update an object but it's not deleted.**
 
 ```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-
-  has_many :comments, embed: :objects
-  has_many :tags, embed: :ids
-end
-```
-
-The JSON will look like this:
-
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comments": [
-      { "id": 1, "body": "what a dumb post" }
-    ],
-    "tag_ids": [ 1, 2, 3 ]
-  }
-}
+cache(options = nil) # options: ```{key, expires_in, compress, force, race_condition_ttl}```
 ```
 
-In addition to supplying an Array of IDs, you may want to side-load the data
-alongside the main object. This makes it easier to process the entire package
-of data without having to recursively scan the tree looking for embedded
-information. It also ensures that associations that are shared between several
-objects (like tags), are only delivered once for the entire payload.
-
-You can specify that the data be included like this:
+Take the example bellow:
 
 ```ruby
 class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  embed :ids, :include => true
+  cache key: 'post', expires_in: 3.hours
+  attributes :title, :body
 
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
   has_many :comments
-end
-```
-
-Assuming that the comments also `has_many :tags`, you will get a JSON like
-this:
-
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comment_ids": [ 1, 2 ]
-  },
-  "comments": [
-    { "id": 1, "body": "what a dumb post", "tag_ids": [ 1, 2 ] },
-    { "id": 2, "body": "i liked it", "tag_ids": [ 1, 3 ] },
-  ],
-  "tags": [
-    { "id": 1, "name": "short" },
-    { "id": 2, "name": "whiny" },
-    { "id": 3, "name": "happy" }
-  ]
-}
-```
 
-You can also specify a different root for the embedded objects than the key
-used to reference them:
-
-```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  embed :ids, :include => true
-
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_many :comments, :key => :comment_ids, :root => :comment_objects
+  url :post
 end
 ```
 
-This would generate JSON that would look like this:
-
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comment_ids": [ 1 ]
-  },
-  "comment_objects": [
-    { "id": 1, "body": "what a dumb post" }
-  ]
-}
-```
-
-You can also specify a different attribute to use rather than the ID of the
-objects:
-
-```ruby
-class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
-  embed :ids, :include => true
-
-  attributes :id, :title, :body
-  has_many :comments, :embed_key => :external_id
-end
-```
+On this example every ```Post``` object will be cached with
+the key ```"post/#{post.id}-#{post.updated_at}"```. You can use this key to expire it as you want,
+but in this case it will be automatically expired after 3 hours.
 
-This would generate JSON that would look like this:
-
-```json
-{
-  "post": {
-    "id": 1,
-    "title": "New post",
-    "body": "A body!",
-    "comment_ids": [ "COMM001" ]
-  },
-  "comments": [
-    { "id": 1, "external_id": "COMM001", "body": "what a dumb post" }
-  ]
-}
-```
+### Fragmenting Caching
 
-**NOTE**: The `embed :ids` mechanism is primary useful for clients that process
-data in bulk and load it into a local store. For these clients, the ability to
-easily see all of the data per type, rather than having to recursively scan the
-data looking for information, is extremely useful.
+If there is some API endpoint that shouldn't be fully cached, you can still optimise it, using Fragment Cache on the attributes and relationships that you want to cache.
 
-If you are mostly working with the data in simple scenarios and manually making
-Ajax requests, you probably just want to use the default embedded behavior.
+You can define the attribute by using ```only``` or ```except``` option on cache method.
 
-## Customizing Scope
+**[NOTE] Cache serializers will be used at their relationships**
 
-In a serializer, `current_user` is the current authorization scope which the controller
-provides to the serializer when you call `render :json`. By default, this is
-`current_user`, but can be customized in your controller by calling
-`serialization_scope`:
+Example:
 
 ```ruby
-class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
-  serialization_scope :current_admin
-end
-```
-
-The above example will also change the scope name from `current_user` to
-`current_admin`.
-
-Please note that, until now, `serialization_scope` doesn't accept a second
-object with options for specifying which actions should or should not take a
-given scope in consideration.
+class PostSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
+  cache key: 'post', expires_in: 3.hours, only: [:title]
+  attributes :title, :body
 
-To be clear, it's not possible, yet, to do something like this:
+  has_many :comments
 
-```ruby
-class SomeController < ApplicationController
-  serialization_scope :current_admin, :except => [:index, :show]
+  url :post
 end
 ```
 
-So, in order to have a fine grained control of what each action should take in
-consideration for its scope, you may use something like this:
+## Getting Help
 
-```ruby
-class CitiesController < ApplicationController
-  serialization_scope nil
+If you find a bug, please report an [Issue](https://github.com/rails-api/active_model_serializers/issues/new).
 
-  def index
-    @cities = City.all
+If you have a question, please [post to Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/active-model-serializers).
 
-    render :json => @cities, :each_serializer => CitySerializer
-  end
+Thanks!
 
-  def show
-    @city = City.find(params[:id])
-
-    render :json => @city, :scope => current_admin, :scope_name => :current_admin
-  end
-end
-```
+# Contributing
 
-Assuming that the `current_admin` method needs to make a query in the database
-for the current user, the advantage of this approach is that, by setting
-`serialization_scope` to `nil`, the `index` action no longer will need to make
-that query, only the `show` action will.
+See [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/rails-api/active_model_serializers/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)