amico

Relationships (e.g. friendships) backed by Redis.

Installation

gem install amico

or in your Gemfile

gem 'amico'

Make sure your redis server is running! Redis configuration is outside the scope of this README, but check out the Redis documentation.

Usage

Configure amico:

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'default'
  configuration.pending_follow = false
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Use amico:

require 'amico'
 => true

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'default'
  configuration.pending_follow = false
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Amico.follow(1, 11)
=> [1, 1]

Amico.following?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.following?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.follow(11, 1)
 => [1, 1]

Amico.following?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.following_count(1)
 => 1

Amico.followers_count(1)
 => 1

Amico.unfollow(11, 1)
 => [1, 1]

Amico.following_count(11)
 => 0

Amico.following_count(1)
 => 1

Amico.follower?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.following(1)
 => ["11"]

Amico.block(1, 11)
 => [1, 1, 1, 1, 1]

Amico.following?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.blocked?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.blocked_by?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.unblock(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.blocked?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.blocked_by?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.follow(11, 1)
 => nil

Amico.follow(1, 11)
 => [1, 1]

Amico.reciprocated?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.reciprocated(1)
 => ["11"]

Use amico (with pending relationships for follow):

require 'amico'
 => true

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'default'
  configuration.pending_follow = true
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Amico.follow(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.follow(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.pending?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.pending_with?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.pending?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.pending_with?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.accept(1, 11)
 => nil

Amico.pending?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.pending_with?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.pending?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.pending_with?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.following?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.following?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.follower?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.follower?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.accept(11, 1)
 => [1, 1]

Amico.pending?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.pending_with?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.pending?(11, 1)
 => false

Amico.pending_with?(1, 11)
 => false

Amico.following?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.following?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.follower?(11, 1)
 => true

Amico.follower?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.reciprocated?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.follow(1, 12)
 => true

Amico.following?(1, 12)
 => false

Amico.pending?(1, 12)
 => true

Amico.deny(1, 12)
 => true

Amico.following?(1, 12)
 => false

Amico.pending?(1, 12)
 => false

Use amico with nicknames instead of IDs. NOTE: This could cause you much hardship later on if you allow nicknames to change.

require 'amico'

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'default'
  configuration.pending_follow = false
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Amico.follow('bob', 'jane')

Amico.following?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.follow('jane', 'bob')

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.following_count('bob')
 => 1

Amico.followers_count('bob')
 => 1

Amico.unfollow('jane', 'bob')

Amico.following_count('jane')
 => 0

Amico.following_count('bob')
 => 1

Amico.follower?('bob', 'jane')
 => false

Amico.follower?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.following('bob')
 => ["jane"]

Amico.block('bob', 'jane')

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.blocked?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.blocked?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.unblock('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.blocked?('bob', 'jane')
 => false

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.follow('jane', 'bob')
 => nil

Amico.follow('bob', 'jane')
 => [1, 1]

Amico.reciprocated?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.reciprocated('bob')
 => ["jane"]

Use amico with nicknames instead of IDs and pending follows. NOTE: This could cause you much hardship later on if you allow nicknames to change.

require 'amico'
 => true

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'default'
  configuration.pending_follow = true
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Amico.follow('bob', 'jane')

Amico.follow('jane', 'bob')

Amico.pending?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.pending?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.accept('bob', 'jane')

Amico.pending?('bob', 'jane')
 => false

Amico.pending?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.following?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.follower?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.follower?('bob', 'jane')
 => false

Amico.accept('jane', 'bob')

Amico.pending?('bob', 'jane')
 => false

Amico.pending?('jane', 'bob')
 => false

Amico.following?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.following?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.follower?('jane', 'bob')
 => true

Amico.follower?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

Amico.reciprocated?('bob', 'jane')
 => true

All of the calls support a scope parameter to allow you to scope the calls to express relationships for different types of things. For example:

require 'amico'

Amico.configure do |configuration|
  configuration.redis = Redis.new
  configuration.namespace = 'amico'
  configuration.following_key = 'following'
  configuration.followers_key = 'followers'
  configuration.blocked_key = 'blocked'
  configuration.blocked_by_key = 'blocked_by'
  configuration.reciprocated_key = 'reciprocated'
  configuration.pending_key = 'pending'
  configuration.pending_with_key = 'pending_with'
  configuration.default_scope_key = 'user'
  configuration.pending_follow = false
  configuration.page_size = 25
end

Amico.follow(1, 11)

Amico.following?(1, 11)
 => true

Amico.following?(1, 11, 'user')
 => true

Amico.following(1)
 => ["11"]

Amico.following(1, {:page_size => Amico.page_size, :page => 1}, 'user')
 => ["11"]

Amico.following?(1, 11, 'project')
 => false

Amico.follow(1, 11, 'project')

Amico.following?(1, 11, 'project')
 => true

Amico.following(1, {:page_size => Amico.page_size, :page => 1}, 'project')
 => ["11"]

You can retrieve all of a particular type of relationship using the all(id, type, scope) call. For example:

Amico.follow(1, 11)
 => nil
Amico.follow(1, 12)
 => nil
Amico.all(1, :following)
 => ["12", "11"]

type can be one of :following, :followers, :blocked, :reciprocated, :pending. Use this with caution as there may potentially be a large number of items that could be returned from this call.

You can clear all relationships that have been set for an ID by calling clear(id, scope). You may wish to do this if you allow records to be deleted and you wish to prevent orphaned IDs and inaccurate follower/following counts. Note that this clears all relationships in either direction - including blocked and pending. An example:

Amico.follow(11, 1)
 => nil
Amico.block(12, 1)
 => nil
Amico.following(11)
 => ["1"]
Amico.blocked(12)
 => ["1"]
Amico.clear(1)
 => nil
Amico.following(11)
 => []
Amico.blocked(12)
 => []

Method Summary

# Relations

# Establish a follow relationship between two IDs.
follow(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Remove a follow relationship between two IDs.
unfollow(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Block a relationship between two IDs.
block(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Unblock a relationship between two IDs.
unblock(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Accept a relationship that is pending between two IDs.
accept(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Deny a relationship that is pending between two IDs.
deny(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Clear all relationships (in either direction) for a given ID.
clear(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

# Retrieval

# Retrieve a page of followed individuals for a given ID.
following(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of followers for a given ID.
followers(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of blocked individuals for a given ID.
blocked(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of individuals who have blocked a given ID.
blocked_by(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of individuals that have reciprocated a follow for a given ID.
reciprocated(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of pending relationships for a given ID.
pending(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Retrieve a page of individuals that are waiting to approve the given ID.
pending_with(id, page_options = default_paging_options, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

# Retrieve all of the individuals for a given id, type (e.g. following) and scope.
all(id, type, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

# Counts

# Count the number of individuals that someone is following.
following_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of individuals that are following someone.
followers_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of individuals that someone has blocked.
blocked_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of individuals blocking another.
blocked_by_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of individuals that have reciprocated a following relationship.
reciprocated_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of relationships pending for an individual.
pending_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of relationships an individual has pending with another.
pending_with_count(id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

# Count the number of pages of following relationships for an individual.
following_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of follower relationships for an individual.
followers_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of blocked relationships for an individual.
blocked_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of blocked_by relationships for an individual.
blocked_by_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of reciprocated relationships for an individual.
reciprocated_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of pending relationships for an individual.
pending_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Count the number of pages of individuals waiting to approve another individual.
pending_with_page_count(id, page_size = Amico.page_size, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

# Checks

# Check to see if one individual is following another individual.
following?(id, following_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual is a follower of another individual.
follower?(id, follower_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual has blocked another individual.
blocked?(id, blocked_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual is blocked by another individual.
blocked_by?(id, blocked_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual has reciprocated in following another individual.
reciprocated?(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual has a pending relationship in following another individual.
pending?(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)
# Check to see if one individual has a pending relationship with another.
pending_with?(from_id, to_id, scope = Amico.default_scope_key)

Documentation

The source for the relationships module is well-documented. There are some simple examples in the method documentation. You can also refer to the online documentation.

FAQ?

Why use Redis sorted sets and not Redis sets?

Based on the work I did in developing leaderboard, leaderboards backed by Redis, I know I wanted to be able to page through the various relationships. This does not seem to be possible given the current set of commands for Redis sets.

Also, by using the "score" in Redis sorted sets that is based on the time of when a relationship is established, we can get our "recent friends". It is possible that the scoring function may be user-defined in the future to allow for some specific ordering.

Contributing to amico

Check out the latest master to make sure the feature hasn't been implemented or the bug hasn't been fixed yet
Check out the issue tracker to make sure someone already hasn't requested it and/or contributed it
Fork the project
Start a feature/bugfix branch
Commit and push until you are happy with your contribution
Make sure to add tests for it. This is important so I don't break it in a future version unintentionally.
Please try not to mess with the Rakefile, version, or history. If you want to have your own version, or is otherwise necessary, that is fine, but please isolate to its own commit so I can cherry-pick around it.