module Sequel::Model::Associations::ClassMethods

  1. lib/sequel/model/associations.rb

Each kind of association adds a number of instance methods to the model class which are specialized according to the association type and optional parameters given in the definition. Example:

class Project < Sequel::Model
  many_to_one :portfolio
  # or: one_to_one :portfolio
  one_to_many :milestones
  # or: many_to_many :milestones
end

The project class now has the following instance methods:

portfolio

Returns the associated portfolio.

portfolio=(obj)

Sets the associated portfolio to the object, but the change is not persisted until you save the record (for many_to_one associations).

portfolio_dataset

Returns a dataset that would return the associated portfolio, only useful in fairly specific circumstances.

milestones

Returns an array of associated milestones

add_milestone(obj)

Associates the passed milestone with this object.

remove_milestone(obj)

Removes the association with the passed milestone.

remove_all_milestones

Removes associations with all associated milestones.

milestones_dataset

Returns a dataset that would return the associated milestones, allowing for further filtering/limiting/etc.

If you want to override the behavior of the add_/remove_/remove_all_/ methods or the association setter method, use the :adder, :remover, :clearer, and/or :setter options. These options override the default behavior.

By default the classes for the associations are inferred from the association name, so for example the Project#portfolio will return an instance of Portfolio, and Project#milestones will return an array of Milestone instances. You can use the :class option to change which class is used.

Association definitions are also reflected by the class, e.g.:

Project.associations
=> [:portfolio, :milestones]
Project.association_reflection(:portfolio)
=> #<Sequel::Model::Associations::ManyToOneAssociationReflection Project.many_to_one :portfolio>

Associations should not have the same names as any of the columns in the model’s current table they reference. If you are dealing with an existing schema that has a column named status, you can’t name the association status, you’d have to name it foo_status or something else. If you give an association the same name as a column, you will probably end up with an association that doesn’t work, or a SystemStackError.

For a more in depth general overview, as well as a reference guide, see the Association Basics guide. For examples of advanced usage, see the Advanced Associations guide.

Attributes

association_reflections [R]

All association reflections defined for this model (default: {}).

autoreloading_associations [R]

Hash with column symbol keys and arrays of many_to_one association symbols that should be cleared when the column value changes.

cache_associations [RW]

Whether association metadata should be cached in the association reflection. If not cached, it will be computed on demand. In general you only want to set this to false when using code reloading. When using code reloading, setting this will make sure that if an associated class is removed or modified, this class will not have a reference to the previous class.

default_association_options [RW]

The default options to use for all associations. This hash is merged into the association reflection hash for all association reflections.

default_association_type_options [RW]

The default options to use for all associations of a given type. This is a hash keyed by association type symbol. If there is a value for the association type symbol key, the resulting hash will be merged into the association reflection hash for all association reflections of that type.

default_eager_limit_strategy [RW]

The default :eager_limit_strategy option to use for limited or offset associations (default: true, causing Sequel to use what it considers the most appropriate strategy).

Public Instance methods

all_association_reflections()

Array of all association reflections for this model class

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1610 def all_association_reflections
1611   association_reflections.values
1612 end
associate(type, name, opts = OPTS, &block)

Associates a related model with the current model. The following types are supported:

:many_to_one

Foreign key in current model’s table points to associated model’s primary key. Each associated model object can be associated with more than one current model objects. Each current model object can be associated with only one associated model object.

:one_to_many

Foreign key in associated model’s table points to this model’s primary key. Each current model object can be associated with more than one associated model objects. Each associated model object can be associated with only one current model object.

:one_through_one

Similar to many_to_many in terms of foreign keys, but only one object is associated to the current object through the association. Provides only getter methods, no setter or modification methods.

:one_to_one

Similar to one_to_many in terms of foreign keys, but only one object is associated to the current object through the association. The methods created are similar to many_to_one, except that the one_to_one setter method saves the passed object.

:many_to_many

A join table is used that has a foreign key that points to this model’s primary key and a foreign key that points to the associated model’s primary key. Each current model object can be associated with many associated model objects, and each associated model object can be associated with many current model objects.

The following options can be supplied:

Multiple Types

:adder

Proc used to define the private add* method for doing the database work to associate the given object to the current object (*_to_many assocations). Set to nil to not define a add_* method for the association.

:after_add

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call after a new item is added to the association.

:after_load

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call after the associated record(s) have been retrieved from the database.

:after_remove

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call after an item is removed from the association.

:after_set

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call after an item is set using the association setter method.

:allow_eager

If set to false, you cannot load the association eagerly via eager or eager_graph

:allow_eager_graph

If set to false, you cannot load the association eagerly via eager_graph.

:allow_filtering_by

If set to false, you cannot use the association when filtering

:before_add

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call before a new item is added to the association.

:before_remove

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call before an item is removed from the association.

:before_set

Symbol, Proc, or array of both/either specifying a callback to call before an item is set using the association setter method.

:cartesian_product_number

the number of joins completed by this association that could cause more than one row for each row in the current table (default: 0 for many_to_one, one_to_one, and one_through_one associations, 1 for one_to_many and many_to_many associations).

:class

The associated class or its name as a string or symbol. If not given, uses the association’s name, which is camelized (and singularized unless the type is :many_to_one, :one_to_one, or one_through_one). If this is specified as a string or symbol, you must specify the full class name (e.g. “::SomeModule::MyModel”).

:class_namespace

If :class is given as a string or symbol, sets the default namespace in which to look for the class. class: 'Foo', class_namespace: 'Bar' looks for ::Bar::Foo.)

:clearer

Proc used to define the private remove_all* method for doing the database work to remove all objects associated to the current object (*_to_many assocations). Set to nil to not define a remove_all_* method for the association.

:clone

Merge the current options and block into the options and block used in defining the given association. Can be used to DRY up a bunch of similar associations that all share the same options such as :class and :key, while changing the order and block used.

:conditions

The conditions to use to filter the association, can be any argument passed to where. This option is not respected when using eager_graph or association_join, unless it is hash or array of two element arrays. Consider also specifying the :graph_block option if the value for this option is not a hash or array of two element arrays and you plan to use this association in eager_graph or association_join.

:dataset

A proc that is used to define the method to get the base dataset to use (before the other options are applied). If the proc accepts an argument, it is passed the related association reflection. It is a best practice to always have the dataset accept an argument and use the argument to return the appropriate dataset.

:distinct

Use the DISTINCT clause when selecting associating object, both when lazy loading and eager loading via .eager (but not when using .eager_graph).

:eager

The associations to eagerly load via eager when loading the associated object(s).

:eager_block

If given, use the block instead of the default block when eagerly loading. To not use a block when eager loading (when one is used normally), set to nil.

:eager_graph

The associations to eagerly load via eager_graph when loading the associated object(s). many_to_many associations with this option cannot be eagerly loaded via eager.

:eager_grapher

A proc to use to implement eager loading via eager_graph, overriding the default. Takes an options hash with at least the entries :self (the receiver of the eager_graph call), :table_alias (the alias to use for table to graph into the association), and :implicit_qualifier (the alias that was used for the current table). Should return a copy of the dataset with the association graphed into it.

:eager_limit_strategy

Determines the strategy used for enforcing limits and offsets when eager loading associations via the eager method.

:eager_loader

A proc to use to implement eager loading, overriding the default. Takes a single hash argument, with at least the keys: :rows, which is an array of current model instances, :associations, which is a hash of dependent associations, :self, which is the dataset doing the eager loading, :eager_block, which is a dynamic callback that should be called with the dataset, and :id_map, which is a mapping of key values to arrays of current model instances. In the proc, the associated records should be queried from the database and the associations cache for each record should be populated.

:eager_loader_key

A symbol for the key column to use to populate the key_hash for the eager loader. Can be set to nil to not populate the key_hash.

:extend

A module or array of modules to extend the dataset with.

:filter_limit_strategy

Determines the strategy used for enforcing limits and offsets when filtering by limited associations. Possible options are :window_function, :distinct_on, or :correlated_subquery depending on association type and database type.

:graph_alias_base

The base name to use for the table alias when eager graphing. Defaults to the name of the association. If the alias name has already been used in the query, Sequel will create a unique alias by appending a numeric suffix (e.g. alias_0, alias_1, …) until the alias is unique.

:graph_block

The block to pass to join_table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph.

:graph_conditions

The additional conditions to use on the SQL join when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph. Should be a hash or an array of two element arrays. If not specified, the :conditions option is used if it is a hash or array of two element arrays.

:graph_join_type

The type of SQL join to use when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph. Defaults to :left_outer.

:graph_only_conditions

The conditions to use on the SQL join when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph, instead of the default conditions specified by the foreign/primary keys. This option causes the :graph_conditions option to be ignored.

:graph_order

the order to use when using eager_graph, instead of the default order. This should be used in the case where :order contains an identifier qualified by the table’s name, which may not match the alias used when eager graphing. By setting this to the unqualified identifier, it will be automatically qualified when using eager_graph.

:graph_select

A column or array of columns to select from the associated table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph. Defaults to all columns in the associated table.

:graph_use_association_block

Makes eager_graph consider the association block. Without this, eager_graph ignores the bock and only use the :graph_* options.

:instance_specific

Marks the association as instance specific. Should be used if the association block uses instance specific state, or transient state (accessing current date/time, etc.).

:limit

Limit the number of records to the provided value. Use an array with two elements for the value to specify a limit (first element) and an offset (second element).

:methods_module

The module that methods the association creates will be placed into. Defaults to the module containing the model’s columns.

:no_association_method

Do not add a method for the association. This can save memory if the association method is never used.

:no_dataset_method

Do not add a method for the association dataset. This can save memory if the dataset method is never used.

:order

the column(s) by which to order the association dataset. Can be a singular column symbol or an array of column symbols.

:order_eager_graph

Whether to add the association’s order to the graphed dataset’s order when graphing via eager_graph. Defaults to true, so set to false to disable.

:read_only

Do not add a setter method (for many_to_one or one_to_one associations), or add_/remove_/remove_all_ methods (for one_to_many and many_to_many associations).

:reciprocal

the symbol name of the reciprocal association, if it exists. By default, Sequel will try to determine it by looking at the associated model’s assocations for a association that matches the current association’s key(s). Set to nil to not use a reciprocal.

:remover

Proc used to define the private remove* method for doing the database work to remove the association between the given object and the current object (*_to_many assocations). Set to nil to not define a remove_* method for the association.

:select

the columns to select. Defaults to the associated class’s table_name.* in an association that uses joins, which means it doesn’t include the attributes from the join table. If you want to include the join table attributes, you can use this option, but beware that the join table attributes can clash with attributes from the model table, so you should alias any attributes that have the same name in both the join table and the associated table.

:setter

Proc used to define the private _*= method for doing the work to setup the assocation between the given object and the current object (*_to_one associations). Set to nil to not define a setter method for the association.

:subqueries_per_union

The number of subqueries to use in each UNION query, for eager loading limited associations using the default :union strategy.

:validate

Set to false to not validate when implicitly saving any associated object.

:many_to_one

:key

foreign key in current model’s table that references associated model’s primary key, as a symbol. Defaults to :“#{name}_id”. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:key_column

Similar to, and usually identical to, :key, but :key refers to the model method to call, where :key_column refers to the underlying column. Should only be used if the model method differs from the foreign key column, in conjunction with defining a model alias method for the key column.

:primary_key

column in the associated table that :key option references, as a symbol. Defaults to the primary key of the associated table. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:primary_key_method

the method symbol or array of method symbols to call on the associated object to get the foreign key values. Defaults to :primary_key option.

:qualify

Whether to use qualified primary keys when loading the association. The default is true, so you must set to false to not qualify. Qualification rarely causes problems, but it’s necessary to disable in some cases, such as when you are doing a JOIN USING operation on the column on Oracle.

:one_to_many and :one_to_one

:key

foreign key in associated model’s table that references current model’s primary key, as a symbol. Defaults to :“#{self.name.underscore}_id”. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:key_method

the method symbol or array of method symbols to call on the associated object to get the foreign key values. Defaults to :key option.

:primary_key

column in the current table that :key option references, as a symbol. Defaults to primary key of the current table. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:primary_key_column

Similar to, and usually identical to, :primary_key, but :primary_key refers to the model method call, where :primary_key_column refers to the underlying column. Should only be used if the model method differs from the primary key column, in conjunction with defining a model alias method for the primary key column.

:raise_on_save_failure

Do not raise exceptions for hook or validation failures when saving associated objects in the add/remove methods (return nil instead) [one_to_many only].

:many_to_many and :one_through_one

:graph_join_table_block

The block to pass to join_table for the join table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph.

:graph_join_table_conditions

The additional conditions to use on the SQL join for the join table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph. Should be a hash or an array of two element arrays.

:graph_join_table_join_type

The type of SQL join to use for the join table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph. Defaults to the :graph_join_type option or :left_outer.

:graph_join_table_only_conditions

The conditions to use on the SQL join for the join table when eagerly loading the association via eager_graph, instead of the default conditions specified by the foreign/primary keys. This option causes the :graph_join_table_conditions option to be ignored.

:join_table

name of table that includes the foreign keys to both the current model and the associated model, as a symbol. Defaults to the name of current model and name of associated model, pluralized, underscored, sorted, and joined with ‘_’.

:join_table_block

proc that can be used to modify the dataset used in the add/remove/remove_all methods. Should accept a dataset argument and return a modified dataset if present.

:join_table_db

When retrieving records when using lazy loading or eager loading via eager, instead of a join between to the join table and the associated table, use a separate query for the join table using the given Database object.

:left_key

foreign key in join table that points to current model’s primary key, as a symbol. Defaults to :“#{self.name.underscore}_id”. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:left_primary_key

column in current table that :left_key points to, as a symbol. Defaults to primary key of current table. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:left_primary_key_column

Similar to, and usually identical to, :left_primary_key, but :left_primary_key refers to the model method to call, where :left_primary_key_column refers to the underlying column. Should only be used if the model method differs from the left primary key column, in conjunction with defining a model alias method for the left primary key column.

:right_key

foreign key in join table that points to associated model’s primary key, as a symbol. Defaults to :“#{name.to_s.singularize}_id”. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:right_primary_key

column in associated table that :right_key points to, as a symbol. Defaults to primary key of the associated table. Can use an array of symbols for a composite key association.

:right_primary_key_method

the method symbol or array of method symbols to call on the associated object to get the foreign key values for the join table. Defaults to :right_primary_key option.

:uniq

Adds a after_load callback that makes the array of objects unique.

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1849 def associate(type, name, opts = OPTS, &block)
1850   raise(Error, 'invalid association type') unless assoc_class = Sequel.synchronize{ASSOCIATION_TYPES[type]}
1851   raise(Error, 'Model.associate name argument must be a symbol') unless name.is_a?(Symbol)
1852 
1853   # dup early so we don't modify opts
1854   orig_opts = opts.dup
1855 
1856   if opts[:clone]
1857     cloned_assoc = association_reflection(opts[:clone])
1858     remove_class_name = orig_opts[:class] && !orig_opts[:class_name]
1859     orig_opts = cloned_assoc[:orig_opts].merge(orig_opts)
1860     orig_opts.delete(:class_name) if remove_class_name
1861   end
1862 
1863   opts = Hash[default_association_options]
1864   if type_options = default_association_type_options[type]
1865     opts.merge!(type_options)
1866   end
1867   opts.merge!(orig_opts)
1868   opts.merge!(:type => type, :name => name, :cache=>({} if cache_associations), :model => self)
1869 
1870   opts[:block] = block if block
1871   opts[:instance_specific] = true if orig_opts[:dataset]
1872   if !opts.has_key?(:instance_specific) && (block || orig_opts[:block])
1873     # It's possible the association is instance specific, in that it depends on
1874     # values other than the foreign key value.  This needs to be checked for
1875     # in certain places to disable optimizations.
1876     opts[:instance_specific] = _association_instance_specific_default(name)
1877   end
1878   if (orig_opts[:instance_specific] || orig_opts[:dataset]) && !opts.has_key?(:allow_eager) && !opts[:eager_loader]
1879     # For associations explicitly marked as instance specific, or that use the
1880     # :dataset option, where :allow_eager is not set, and no :eager_loader is
1881     # provided, disallow eager loading.  In these cases, eager loading is
1882     # unlikely to work.  This is not done for implicit setting of :instance_specific,
1883     # because implicit use is done by default for all associations with blocks,
1884     # and the vast majority of associations with blocks use the block for filtering
1885     # in a manner compatible with eager loading.
1886     opts[:allow_eager] = false
1887   end
1888   opts = assoc_class.new.merge!(opts)
1889 
1890   if opts[:clone] && !opts.cloneable?(cloned_assoc)
1891     raise(Error, "cannot clone an association to an association of different type (association #{name} with type #{type} cloning #{opts[:clone]} with type #{cloned_assoc[:type]})")
1892   end
1893 
1894   opts[:use_placeholder_loader] = !opts[:instance_specific] && !opts[:eager_graph]
1895   opts[:eager_block] = opts[:block] unless opts.include?(:eager_block)
1896   opts[:graph_join_type] ||= :left_outer
1897   opts[:order_eager_graph] = true unless opts.include?(:order_eager_graph)
1898   conds = opts[:conditions]
1899   opts[:graph_alias_base] ||= name
1900   opts[:graph_conditions] = conds if !opts.include?(:graph_conditions) and Sequel.condition_specifier?(conds)
1901   opts[:graph_conditions] = opts.fetch(:graph_conditions, []).to_a
1902   opts[:graph_select] = Array(opts[:graph_select]) if opts[:graph_select]
1903   [:before_add, :before_remove, :after_add, :after_remove, :after_load, :before_set, :after_set].each do |cb_type|
1904     opts[cb_type] = Array(opts[cb_type]) if opts[cb_type]
1905   end
1906 
1907   if opts[:extend]
1908     opts[:extend] = Array(opts[:extend])
1909     opts[:reverse_extend] = opts[:extend].reverse
1910   end
1911 
1912   late_binding_class_option(opts, opts.returns_array? ? singularize(name) : name)
1913   
1914   # Remove :class entry if it exists and is nil, to work with cached_fetch
1915   opts.delete(:class) unless opts[:class]
1916 
1917   def_association(opts)
1918       
1919   orig_opts.delete(:clone)
1920   opts[:orig_class] = orig_opts[:class] || orig_opts[:class_name]
1921   orig_opts.merge!(:class_name=>opts[:class_name], :class=>opts[:class], :block=>opts[:block])
1922   opts[:orig_opts] = orig_opts
1923   # don't add to association_reflections until we are sure there are no errors
1924   association_reflections[name] = opts
1925 end
association_reflection(name)

The association reflection hash for the association of the given name.

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1928 def association_reflection(name)
1929   association_reflections[name]
1930 end
associations()

Array of association name symbols

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1933 def associations
1934   association_reflections.keys
1935 end
eager_load_results(opts, eo, &block)

Eager load the association with the given eager loader options.

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1938 def eager_load_results(opts, eo, &block)
1939   opts.eager_load_results(eo, &block)
1940 end
finalize_associations()

Finalize all associations such that values that are looked up dynamically in associated classes are set statically. As this modifies the associations, it must be done before calling freeze.

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1957 def finalize_associations
1958   @association_reflections.each_value(&:finalize)
1959 end
freeze()

Freeze association related metadata when freezing model class.

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1943 def freeze
1944   @association_reflections.freeze.each_value(&:freeze)
1945   @autoreloading_associations.freeze.each_value(&:freeze)
1946   @default_association_options.freeze
1947   @default_association_type_options.freeze
1948   @default_association_type_options.each_value(&:freeze)
1949 
1950   super
1951 end
many_to_many(name, opts=OPTS, &block)

Shortcut for adding a many_to_many association, see associate

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1962 def many_to_many(name, opts=OPTS, &block)
1963   associate(:many_to_many, name, opts, &block)
1964 end
many_to_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)

Shortcut for adding a many_to_one association, see associate

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1967 def many_to_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)
1968   associate(:many_to_one, name, opts, &block)
1969 end
one_through_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)

Shortcut for adding a one_through_one association, see associate

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1972 def one_through_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)
1973   associate(:one_through_one, name, opts, &block)
1974 end
one_to_many(name, opts=OPTS, &block)

Shortcut for adding a one_to_many association, see associate

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1977 def one_to_many(name, opts=OPTS, &block)
1978   associate(:one_to_many, name, opts, &block)
1979 end
one_to_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)

Shortcut for adding a one_to_one association, see associate

[show source]
     # File lib/sequel/model/associations.rb
1982 def one_to_one(name, opts=OPTS, &block)
1983   associate(:one_to_one, name, opts, &block)
1984 end