# Design Question: Where should I put this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777 "2006-10-26T23:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/1 "2006-10-26T23:30:56Z")
Hi you all, I’m starting an application with some internal functionalities such as “converters” and “analyzers”. Basically, my app is a wiki, but semantically enhanced (I’ve already said that in this forum :D). The semantic annotations are kind of “parsed” with converters and analysers of my own, but I don’t really know where do I have to set these conv. and analy. on my architectural design. Should they be at the model layer? Or are they kind of controllers? (BTW, I don’t wanna put this stuff in the lib/ directory. Or even though I did that, I would like to “draw” them somewhere in my pretty architectural design diagram :D) Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/2 "2006-10-27T01:15:09Z")
Damaris F. wrote: > Hi you all, > I’m starting an application with some internal functionalities such as > “converters” and “analyzers”. Basically, my app is a wiki, but > semantically enhanced (I’ve already said that in this forum :D). The > semantic annotations are kind of “parsed” with converters and analysers > of my own, but I don’t really know where do I have to set these conv. > and analy. on my architectural design. Should they be at the model > layer? Or are they kind of controllers? > > (BTW, I don’t wanna put this stuff in the lib/ directory. Or even though > I did that, I would like to “draw” them somewhere in my pretty > architectural design diagram :D) > > Thanks. Models represent data. They might be global helpers if they are only used in the view. But most likely, they are libraries or plugins. ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/3 "2006-10-27T01:23:24Z")
Alex W. wrote: > Damaris F. wrote: > > > Hi you all, > > I’m starting an application with some internal functionalities such as > > “converters” and “analyzers”. Basically, my app is a wiki, but > > semantically enhanced (I’ve already said that in this forum :D). The > > semantic annotations are kind of “parsed” with converters and analysers > > of my own, but I don’t really know where do I have to set these conv. > > and analy. on my architectural design. Should they be at the model > > layer? Or are they kind of controllers? > > > > (BTW, I don’t wanna put this stuff in the lib/ directory. Or even though > > I did that, I would like to “draw” them somewhere in my pretty > > architectural design diagram :D) > > > > Thanks. > > Models represent data. They might be global helpers if they are only > used in the view. > > But most likely, they are libraries or plugins. um…but I thought in MVC, model layer represented the persistent data AND the business logic… Anyway, you are right about the helpers, cause I will use data stored in models, and I will render them somehow. Buut… I also have the other way round; I have some annotations in the view (plain text), and I want to transform these ann. into RDF statements, and then stored them in the repository (the model). Where should I put this transformer? Cause even though I put this transformer as a plugin or lib, where do I do the transformation? At the controller, don’t I? Lots of thanks. ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/4 "2006-10-27T12:05:20Z")
Alex W. wrote: > Models represent data. Lets not devalue the model. Its more than just data (and persistance, in the case of the ActiveRecord pattern). Its most importantly about behaviour, and about modelling your core domain in the software. It is your app’s business logic - the “meat” of your app, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/5 "2006-10-28T19:42:18Z")
unknown wrote: > Alex W. wrote: > > > Models represent data. > > Lets not devalue the model. Its more than just data (and persistance, > in the case of the ActiveRecord pattern). Its most importantly about > behaviour, and about modelling your core domain in the software. It is > your app’s business logic - the “meat” of your app, as it were. Ummmm… so, perhaps it wouldn’t be so baaaaad letting and analyzer as part of the model, cause the analyzer takes an input of the user and transform it to store it persistently… ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/6 "2006-10-29T22:13:57Z")
I always visualized the model as one of those shape-pegboards that only let square pegs in the square hole, and so on. (like this: [http://www.educationallearninggames.com/images/shapes-chucky-puzzle.jpg](http://www.educationallearninggames.com/images/shapes-chucky-puzzle.jpg)) So the model / pegboard sits between the controller (and the world) and your database. It is the model’s job to do whatever transformations are necessary to enable the data to fit through the hole. (business logic, sanitizing, etc) ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/7 "2006-10-29T23:01:33Z")
Oook, thank you all! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@damaris](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/damaris)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/design-question-where-should-i-put-this/73777/8 "2006-10-29T21:17:46Z")
It sounds like part of your model to me.