Models

Defining Models

Once your ApplicationRecord base class is connected to the API, define a model by giving it a jsonapiType:

@Model()
class Person extends ApplicationRecord {
  static jsonapiType = "people"
}

const Person = ApplicationRecord.extend({
  static: {
    jsonapiType: "people"
  }
})

With the above configuration, all Person endpoints will begin http://my-api.com/api/v1/people.

Defining Attributes

ActiveRecord automatically sets attributes by introspecting database columns. We could do the same - swagger.json is our schema - but tend to agree with those who feel this aspect of ActiveRecord is a bit too "magical". In addition, explicitly defining our attributes can be used to track which applications are using which attributes of the API.

Though this is configurable, by default we expect the API to be under_scored and attributes to be camelCased.

@Model()
class Person extends ApplicationRecord {
  // ... code ...
  @Attr() firstName: string
  @Attr() lastName: string
  @Attr() age: number

  get fullName() : string {
    return `${this.firstName} ${this.lastName}`
  }
}

let person = new Person({ firstName: "John" })
person.firstName // "John"
person.lastName = "Doe"
person.attributes // { firstName: "John", lastName: "Doe" }
person.fullName // "John Doe"

const attr = spraypaint.attr
const Person = ApplicationRecord.extend({
  // ... code ...
  attrs: {
    firstName: attr(),
    lastName: attr(),
    age: attr()
  },
  methods: {
    fullName: function() {
      return this.firstName + " " + this.lastName;
    }
  }
})

var person = new Person({ firstName: "John" })
person.firstName // "John"
person.lastName = "Doe"
person.attributes // { firstName: "John", lastName: "Doe" }
person.fullName() // "John Doe"

Attributes can be marked read-only, so they are never sent to the server on a write request:

@Attr({ persist: false }) createdAt: string
@Attr({ persist: false }) updatedAt: string

attrs: {
  createdAt: attr({ persist: false }),
  updatedAt: attr({ persist: false })
}

Defining Relationships

Just like ActiveRecord, there are HasMany, BelongsTo, and HasOne relationships:

@Model()
class Dog extends ApplicationRecord {
  // ... code ...
  @BelongsTo() person: Person[]
}

class Person extends ApplicationRecord {
  // ... code ...
  @HasMany() dogs: Dog[]
}

const hasMany = spraypaint.hasMany
const belongsTo = spraypaint.belongsTo

const Person = ApplicationRecord.extend({
  // ... code ...
  attrs: {
    dogs: hasMany()
  }
})

const Dog = ApplicationRecord.extend({
  // ... code ...
  attrs: {
    person: belongsTo()
  }
})

By default, we expect the relationship name to correspond to a pluralized jsonapiType on a separate Model. If your models don't use this convention, feel free to supply it explicitly:

@Model()
class Dog extends ApplicationRecord {
  // ... code ...
  @BelongsTo('people') owner: Person[]
}

// alternatively, specify the class directly

class Dog extends ApplicationRecord {
  // ... code ...
  @BelongsTo(Person) owner: Person[]
}

const Dog = ApplicationRecord.extend({
  // ... code ...
  attrs: {
    owner: belongsTo('people')
  }
})

Relationships can be:

• Assigned via constructor
• Assigned directly
• Automatically loaded via .includes() (see reads)
• Saved in a single request .save({ with: 'dogs' }) (see writes)

let dog = new Dog({ name: "Fido" })
let person = new Person({ dogs: [dog] })
person.dogs[0].name // "Fido"

let person = new Person()
person.dogs = [dog]
person.dogs[0].name // "Fido"

// Will auto-create Dog instance
let person = new Person({ dogs: [{ name: "Scooby" }] })
person.dogs[0].name // "Scooby"

let person = (await Person.includes('dogs')).data
person.dogs // array of Dog instances from the server

var dog = new Dog({ name: "Fido" })
var person = new Person({ dogs: [dog] })
person.dogs[0].name // "Fido"

let person = new Person()
person.dogs = [dog]
person.dogs[0].name // "Fido"

// Will auto-create Dog instance
var person = new Person({ dogs: [{ name: "Scooby" }] })
person.dogs[0].name // "Scooby"

Person.includes('dogs').then((response) => {
  var person = response.data
  person.dogs // array of Dog instances from the server
})

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