Passing array in params via xhr

Rails
1

Hey all,

I’m writing some functional tests for some drag-sort stuff, and I can’t
seem
to figure out how to pass an array in as part of my params in the xhr
method.

My code is the typical simple stuff that just reorders a set to match
the
order of the ids passed in:

def reorder_stuff
@stuff = Stuff.find(params[:stuff_id])
@stuff.active_widgets.each do |widget|
widget.position = params[:widgets].index(widget.id.to_s) + 1
widget.save
end
render :nothing => true
end

When I try to simulate the post, I’m using the following:

xhr :post, :reorder_stuff, {:stuff_id => 1, :widgets => [3,1]}

I get a nil reference error when I run this, and I get the following
error
if I try to put the contents of params[:widgets] to stdout:

TypeError: can’t convert ActionController::Routing::PathSegment::Result
into
String

So, it seems that the array isn’t making it through routing, which makes
sense. But I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to get an array in any other
way
as part of params. Since it’s a hash, I can’t pass it in the same way
that
it arrives via the request: “widget[]=1&widget[]=3” since it would have
duplicate keys.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com

2

I think this should work:

xhr :post, :reorder_stuff, {:stuff_id => 1,
:widgets => {:a => 1, :b =>3} }

because that should create params[:widgets][]. But there’s probably a
better way

3

Thanks for the idea! It kind of works, and I actually get a hash instead
of
it getting mangled by routing.

Unfortunately I need it as an array so I can call index on it to get the
correct order… I could change the implementation, but then I’m
basically
writing it one way for the test and one way for the real world.

Thanks for the help! Any other ideas? :wink: I’ve spent all afternoon on
this,
and I’m sure I’m missing something really obvious…

Matt

On 11/30/06, jdswift [email protected] wrote:

the

String

Thanks,

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creativehttp://blog.thermalcreative.com

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com

4

I think you could make it behave like an array by tricking it:
xhr :post, :reorder_stuff, {:stuff_id => 1,
:widgets => {0 => 1, 1 =>3} }

5

Matt W. wrote:

Thanks for the idea! It kind of works, and I actually get a hash instead of
it getting mangled by routing.

Unfortunately I need it as an array so I can call index on it to get the
correct order… I could change the implementation, but then I’m basically
writing it one way for the test and one way for the real world.

What’s the view-side code look like?

–
Phlip
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand ← NOT a blog!!

6

Matt W. wrote:

<% @stuff.active_widgets.each do |w| %> <%= render :partial => "account/stuff/widget", :locals => { "w" => w } %>

Is everyone calling partials out of views as a twisted way to
functionalize
a block of stuff that we don’t want to type inline into long blocks?

I only use them when a view and AJAX will re-create the same stretch of
HTML. I use Builder::XmlMarkup to create lots of little functions that
create the intermediate HTML.

I can’t help with the sortable list because I’m only up to page 27 in
/Rails
Recipes/, and I can’t tell if the book explains exactly how all the
monotonically numbered IDs in the HTML list get transferred into the
AJAX
parameters…

<% end %>
<%= sortable_element(“widgetlist”, :tag => “div”, :url => { :controller
=> “stuff”, :action => “reorder_widgets”, :stuff_id => @stuff.id }) %>

The request that makes it to Rails looks like:
“albums%5B%5D=3&albums%5B%5D=1&=", or "albums[]=3&albums[]=1&=”

Thanks but I just meant to → p params ← it, so we see what the
controller sees. Not the raw query string. No worries.

–
Phlip
Redirecting... ← NOT a blog!!!

7

The problem is that it’s obvious enough what the controller sees at the
end.
It’s an array of integer id’s, the same as if you were to use

select “model”, “attribute[]”, choices, :multiple => true

to get params[:attribute] in as an array of values.

The sortable list itself works just fine, so my issue isn’t there…
It’s
how to functionally test it because I can’t see how to pass an array
parameter into the controller via xhr because an array passed in gets
mangled by the routing…

And yeah, I use partials because I re-render that particular bunch all
over
the place. It’s more DRY.

Matt

On 11/30/06, Phlip [email protected] wrote:

Recipes/, and I can’t tell if the book explains exactly how all the

“albums%5B%5D=3&albums%5B%5D=1&=", or "albums[]=3&albums[]=1&=”

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com

8

Phlip,

<% @stuff.active_widgets.each do |w| %> <%= render :partial => "account/stuff/widget", :locals => { "w" => w } %> <% end %> <%= sortable_element("widgetlist", :tag => "div", :url => { :controller => "stuff", :action => "reorder_widgets", :stuff_id => @stuff.id }) %>

The request that makes it to Rails looks like:
“albums%5B%5D=3&albums%5B%5D=1&=", or "albums[]=3&albums[]=1&=”. It’s
the
same thing you do with a HABTM relationship managed via a select tag.
But,
I’ve just never actually tried to test this before.

Thanks!

Matt

On 11/30/06, Phlip [email protected] wrote:

basically

writing it one way for the test and one way for the real world.

What’s the view-side code look like?

–
Phlip
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ZeekLand ← NOT a blog!!

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com

9

Hey all,

I walked away from this one and came back a few days later… I thought
I’d
check the ActionPack test code to see what they do, and in cgi_test I
found
the answer…

When you pass in variables, don’t pass in integers:

xhr :get, :reorder_widgets, {:widget_id => 1, :widgets => [‘1’,‘3’]}

instead of

xhr :get, :reorder_widgets, {:widget_id => 1, :widgets => [1,3]}

All the request parsing code in cgi_test uses strings, no integers.

Matt

On 11/30/06, Matt W. [email protected] wrote:

parameter into the controller via xhr because an array passed in gets

Matt W. wrote:
a block of stuff that we don’t want to type inline into long blocks?
parameters…

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com

–
Matt W.

Thermal Creative
http://blog.thermalcreative.com