Abstract

Predicated is a simple predicate model for Ruby. It provides useful predicate transformations and operations.

Tracker project: http://www.pivotaltracker.com/projects/95014

Transformations

• From:
  • json
  • xml
  • url part, ex: "!(a=1&b=2|c=3)"
  • callable objects (lambdas/procs, and therefore blocks) - ruby 1.8.x only
  • ruby code - ruby 1.8.x only
• To:
  • json
  • xml
  • sql where clause via arel
  • solr query string
  • english sentence, ex: "'a' is not equal to 'b'"

Usage

Note: The test suite acts as a comprehensive usage guide.

Evaluate a predicate:

require "predicated/evaluate"
include Predicated

Predicate { Eq(1, 2) }.evaluate == false
Predicate { Lt(1, 2) }.evaluate == true
Predicate { Or(Lt(1, 2),Eq(1, 2)) }.evaluate == true

x = 1
Predicate { Lt(x, 2) }.evaluate == true

Parse a predicate from part of a url and then turn it into a sql where clause:

require "predicated/from/url_part"
require "predicated/to/arel"

predicate = Predicated::Predicate.from_url_part("(color=red|color=green)&size=large")

predicate.inspect == 
  "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

predicate.to_arel(Table(:shirt)).to_sql == 
  %{(("shirt"."color" = 'red' OR "shirt"."color" = 'green') AND "shirt"."size" = 'large')} 

Parse a predicate from json and then turn it into a solr query string:

require "predicated/from/json"
require "predicated/to/solr"

predicate = Predicated::Predicate.from_json_str(%{
  {"and":[{"or":[["color","==","red"],["color","==","green"]]},["size","==","large"]]}
})

predicate.inspect == "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

predicate.to_solr == "((color:red OR color:green) AND size:large)" 

From json:

require "predicated/from/json"

Predicated::Predicate.from_json_str(%{
  {"and":[
    {"or":[
      ["color","==","red"],
      ["color","==","green"]
    ]},
    ["size","==","large"]
  ]}
}).inspect == "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

From xml:

require "predicated/from/xml"

Predicated::Predicate.from_xml(%{
  <and>
    <or>
      <equal><left>color</left><right>red</right></equal>
      <equal><left>color</left><right>green</right></equal>
    </or>
    <equal><left>size</left><right>large</right></equal>
  </and>
}).inspect == "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

From url part:

require "predicated/from/url_part"

Predicated::Predicate.from_url_part("(color=red|color=green)&size=large").inspect ==
  "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

From callable object:

require "predicated/from/callable_object"

Predicated::Predicate.from_callable_object{('color'=='red' || 'color'=='green') && 'size'=='large'}.inspect ==
  "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

From ruby code string:

require "predicated/from/ruby_code_string"

Predicated::Predicate.from_ruby_code_string("('color'=='red' || 'color'=='green') && 'size'=='large'").inspect ==
  "And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))" 

To json:

require "predicated/to/json"
include Predicated

Predicate{And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))}.to_json_str ==
%{
  {"and":[
    {"or":[
      ["color","==","red"],
      ["color","==","green"]
    ]},
    ["size","==","large"]
  ]}
}

To xml:

require "predicated/to/xml"
include Predicated

Predicate{And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))}.to_xml ==
%{
  <and>
    <or>
      <equal><left>color</left><right>red</right></equal>
      <equal><left>color</left><right>green</right></equal>
    </or>
    <equal><left>size</left><right>large</right></equal>
  </and>      
}

To arel (sql where clause):

require "predicated/to/arel"
include Predicated

Predicate{And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))}.to_arel(Table(:shirt)).to_sql ==
  %{(("shirt"."color" = 'red' OR "shirt"."color" = 'green') AND "shirt"."size" = 'large')}

To solr query string:

require "predicated/to/solr"
include Predicated

Predicate{And(Or(Eq('color','red'),Eq('color','green')),Eq('size','large'))}.to_solr ==
  "((color:red OR color:green) AND size:large)"

To sentence:

require "predicated/to/sentence"
include Predicated

Predicate{ And(Eq("a",1),Eq("b",2)) }.to_sentence == 
  "'a' is equal to 1 and 'b' is equal to 2"

Predicate{ Gt("a",1) }.to_negative_sentence == 
  "'a' is not greater than 1" 

Testing Notes

Right now this project makes use of Wrong for assertions. Wrong uses this project. It's kind of neat in an eat-your-own-dogfood sense, but it's possible that this will be problematic over time (particularly when changes in this project cause assertions to behave differently - if even temporarily).

A middle ground is to make "from ruby string" and "from callable object" use minitest asserts, since these are the "interesting" parts of Predicated relied on by Wrong.