Update: This is post should be considered outdated.
This started with the help of this Rails Messaging Tutorial which I borrowed a used a couple lines of code from this tutorial to extend this project. So many thanks to manitoba98 and the guys at PingMe for writing acts_as_network.
There are so many things acts_as_network can be used for. So far I have used acts_as_network to allow users to be able to invite friends as well as receive friend requests from other members. It was also used to implement a way for users to block other users and I am using it for my messaging system. So I thought I would put this out there just to kind of show anyone who might be interested to see just how great acts_as_network is.
So I will assume you have installed the plugin. Follow the link above if you cannot find it otherwise. I am also using restful_authentication but you can use whatever.
After you install the plugin create a new model and controller
script/generate model Mail user_id:integer user_id_target:integer subject:string body:text recipient_deleted:boolean author_deleted:boolean
script/generate controller Messages index show new edit
In the migration setup
t.boolean :author_deleted, :default => ‘false’
t.boolean :recipient_deleted, :default => ‘false’
Now in your User Model add the association
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
acts_as_network :messages, :through => :mails,
end
Now in the Mail Model
class Mail < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :user
belongs_to :user_target, :class_name => ‘User’, :foreign_key => ‘user_id_target’
validates_presence_of :user, :user_target, :body
Setup your Controller to look something like this…
class MessagesController < ApplicationController
before_filter :login_requireddef index
@messages = (params[:folder] != ‘sent’) ? current_user.mails_in : current_user.mails_out
@folder = params[:folder]
end
def show
@message = Mail.find(params[:id])
@user = User.find(@message.user_id)
enddef new
@message = Mail.new
@target = User.find(params[:user_target])
end
def edit
@message = Mail.find(params[:id])
@subject = @message.subject.sub(/^(Re: )?/, “Re: “)
@target = User.find(@message.user_id)
end
def create
@message = Mail.new(:user => current_user, :user_target => User.find(params[:user_target]), :subject => params[:subject], :body => params[:body])
@message.save ? redirect_to(inbox_path) : render(:action => ‘new’, :user_targer => params[:user_target])
end
def update
@message = Mail.find(params[:id])
@message.toggle!(:recipient_deleted) ? redirect_to(inbox_path) : redirect_to(:action => ‘show’, :id => params[:id])
end
def destroy
@message = Mail.find(params[:id])
if @message.user_id == current_user.id
@message.update_attribute(“author_deleted”, true)
elsif @message.user_id_target == current_user.id
@message.update_attribute(“recipient_deleted”, true)
elsif @message.user_id == current_user.id && @message.user_id_target == current_user.id
@message.update_attributes(“recipient_deleted” => true, “author_deleted” => true)
end
redirect_to inbox_path
endend
The index.html.erb I am about to show you is for an example only. It’s wasn’t written with DRY in mind. I’ll post some better looking code at some later point but for now this is what it is.
<table width=”100%” border=”0″>
<tr>
<th>Login</th>
<th>Subject</th>
<th>Sent</th>
</tr>
<% @messages.each do |message| %>
<% user = (@folder != ‘sent’)? User.find(message.user_id) : User.find(message.user_id_target) %>
<% if @folder == ‘inbox’ || @folder.blank? %>
<% if message.recipient_deleted == false %>
<tr>
<td><%= link_to user.login, user_path(user) %></td>
<td><%= link_to message.subject, message_path(message) %></td>
<td><%= distance_of_time_in_words(message.created_at, Time.now) %> ago</td>
</tr>
<% end %>
<% elsif @folder == ‘sent’ %>
<% if message.author_deleted == false %>
<tr>
<td><%= link_to user.login, user_path(user) %></td>
<td><%= link_to message.subject, message_path(message) %></td>
<td><%= distance_of_time_in_words(message.created_at, Time.now) %> ago</td>
</tr>
<% end %>
<% elsif @folder == ‘trash’ %>
<% if message.recipient_deleted == true %>
<tr>
<td><%= link_to user.login, user_path(user) %></td>
<td><%= link_to message.subject, message_path(message) %></td>
<td><%= distance_of_time_in_words(message.created_at, Time.now) %> ago</td>
</tr>
<% end %>
<% end %>
<% end %>
</table>
</div>
edit.html.erb
<% form_tag ‘/messages/create’ do %>
<ul>
<li><label for=”user_target”>To:</label> <%=h @target.login %><%= hidden_field_tag ‘user_target’, @target.id %></li>
<li><label for=”subject”>Subject:</label> <%= text_field_tag ‘subject’, @subject %></li>
<li><label for=”body”>Body:</label><br /> <%= text_area_tag ‘body’, @body %></li>
<li><%= submit_tag ‘Create’ %></li>
</ul>
<% end %>
new.html.erb
<div id=”message_new”>
<% form_tag ‘/messages/create’ do %>
<ul>
<li><label for=”user_target”>To:</label> <%=h @target.login %><%= hidden_field_tag ‘user_target’, @target.id %></li>
<li><label for=”subject”>Subject:</label> <%= text_field_tag ‘subject’, ” ,:class=>”text” %></li>
<li><label for=”body”>Body:</label><br /> <%= text_area_tag ‘body’ %></li>
<li><%= submit_tag ‘Create’ %></li>
</ul>
<% end %>
</div>
show.html.erb
<div id=”message_show”>
<ul>
<li>Subject: <%=h @message.subject %></li>
<li>From: <%=h @user.login %></li>
<li class=”body”>Body:<br /><br /><%= @message.body %></li>
<li><%= link_to ‘Reply’, edit_message_path %> | <%= link_to ‘Trash’, message_path(@message), :method => :delete %></li>
</ul>
</div>routes.rb: map.resources :messages
map.inbox ‘/inbox’, :controller => ‘messages’, :action => ‘index’, :folder => ‘inbox’
map.sent ‘/sent’, :controller => ‘messages’, :action => ‘index’, :folder => ‘sent’
And that should about do it.
Update: This post should be considered outdated.
The project I am working on pretty much revolves around a user’s profile. I am still pretty new to working with Rails but, I knew there was an easier way of implementing this without having to add columns to the user table. I looked around for awhile for a tutorial or blog suggesting a painless way of adding this to an application.
I really wasn’t able to find anything so I decided to write this mini-how to.
I would first recommend that you take a look at Raaum’s Rails Reader. There is some really great documentation about ActiveRecord and how associations work. It would behoove you to follow along creating the user models and the migrations following along with the text because things will make sense that way. If you are lazy like me creating a bunch of junk models that you are just going to destroy sounds tedious I know but, it’s definitely worth the effort in the long run.
Nevertheless, I needed to be able to call a user’s profile within current_user. For example current_user.profile.body. So assuming you have already created your user model and setup the inclusion within you Application Controller. Now create your profile model and the migration accordingly.
script/generate model Profile user_id:integer body:text
Now open the Profile controller and add has_one :user somewhere after the class declaration.
class Profile < ActiveRecord::Base
has_one :user
end
It is work mentioning at this point that within the scope of this text the user will be created then redirected to the edit their profile. So if you plan to add validations in your model (ie: validates_presence_of) make sure to include
validates_presence_of :your_fields, :on => :update
Otherwise you will be unable to save the profile later.
Now add the same has_one statement to your User model but you will use
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
has_one :profile
Here is an example of how your controller might look…
class UsersController < ApplicationController
after_filter :update_session, :only => :create
before_filter :login_required, :only => [:edit, :show, :update]
before_filter :logout_required, :only => [:new, :create]
def index
@users = User.find(:all, :conditions => ['status = ?', 'active'])
end
def show
@user = User.find_by_login(params[:id])
end
def create
@user = User.new(params[:user])
@user.profile = Profile.new
self.current_user = (@user.save!)? @user : render(:action => ‘new’)
redirect_to :action => ‘edit’, :id => self.current_user.login
flash[:notice] = ‘Account successfully created!’
end
def update
self.current_user.profile.update_attributes!(params[:profile])? redirect_to(:action => ‘show’, :id => self.current_user.login) : render(:action => ‘edit’)
end
end
As you can see when the create method is called it creates the Profile model and after the user is saved then redirected to the edit template.
This was the solution that worked best for me.
Cops: Florida Boy, 13, Killed Brother, 8, Over Dessert:
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 13-year-old choked and beat his 8-year-old brother to death because the younger boy ate a dessert and the older one worried he would be blamed, authorities said Wednesday.
Demetrius Key was arrested on first-degree murder. The boys’ mother, Tangela Key, told police she was visiting a cousin nearby and left him in charge of Levares Key and other younger siblings Saturday.
A neighbor told investigators she heard four loud bangs, followed by 10 minutes of quiet and then more commotion, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Demetrius Key went to the cousin’s house and told his mother his brother was “passed out,” the sheriff’s office said. The younger boy was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Demetrius Key initially said he hit his brother with a metal shelf support, investigators said. After investigators searched the house, he said he used a broom handle, the sheriff’s office said.
He then told the detective he punched the boy, choked him and banged his head on the floor, according to an affidavit.
“Demetrius offered that Levares upset him by eating a dessert that (he) was not to have eaten,” Detective Appling Wells wrote. “He also advised Levares upset him by picking a scab and causing it to bleed.
“Demetrius said he feared Levares would blame both circumstances on him and tell his mother he had struck him and eaten the dessert.”
The sheriff’s office would not say what the dessert was.
Tags: news media florida police murder homicide desert kids children
