MeteorJS ReactiveVar with database data - meteor

Question

Clearly, I am doing something wrong with ReactiveVar because I cannot get it to work as I expect it should.
I am trying to set the value of an ReactiveVar by calling a Meteor.call method which returns the list of usernames. But it does not update when the usernames get changed in another part of the app.
I tried both:
Template.qastatistics.created = function () {
this.trackUsernames = new ReactiveVar(false);
var instance = Template.instance();
Meteor.call('trackUsernames', function (err, data) {
instance.trackUsernames.set(data);
});
};
and:
Template.qastatistics.helpers({
users: function () {
var usernames,
instance = Template.instance();
if (instance.trackUsernames.get() === false) {
Meteor.call('trackUsernames', function (err, data) {
instance.trackUsernames.set(data);
});
}
usernames = instance.trackUsernames.get();
...
But neither updates the list of usernames when these change in the database.
Is this even possible with ReactiveVars or have I completely misunderstood them?
EDIT: The usernames I mention are not from Meteor.users collection, but rather a distinct call from another collection that has usernames in it.

Answer 1

Fist of all I would use the onCreated function instead of defining created. That's a little more extendable and it's the new API. created is just kept around for backwards compatibility.
About your problem. You are right, you seem to have misunderstood what ReactiveVars do. They are a reactive data source. That means that when you call myReactiveVar.get in some Tracker.autorun (aka. reactive computation), the computation will rerun whenever myReactiveVar.set is called.
You got the first part right. Spacebars helpers always run inside their own computation. What you got wrong is thinking that a method call is a reactive action. That means, that you could call trackUsernames and set the trackUsernames ReativeVar again and the value in your template would update itself. But a method is only run once. It doesn't do anything fancy with reactivity.
A method call only transfers data once. When you publish a set of documents (like all users) on the other hand, they will be updated dynamically. Whenever a change happens inside that set of published documents, it will be synced to the client. So in general, it's a better idea to use publications and subscriptions to sync data reactively. If you'd want to use a method for the same thing you'd need to do some kind of polling (so your back in the stone-age again).
The easiest way to implement what you are trying to do is to use Meteor.users.find().fetch(). As it says in the docs fetch registers dependencies for all the documents you are fetching if it's being called from within a reactive computation.
First you'll need to properly set up your publications, so that users can see other users usernames. I'll leave that to you. Then you need to reimplement your helper
Template.qastatistics.helpers({
users: function () {
var usernames = _.pluck(Meteor.users.find().fetch(), 'username');
...

Answer 2

Thanks to suggestions from #kyll, I managed to get what I wanted by publishing the data I need:
server:
cope.publish.usernamesID = Random.id();
Meteor.publish("itemsusernames", function () {
self = this;
var initializing = true;
var handle = Items.find().observeChanges({
added: function (id) {
!initializing && self.changed(
"itemsusernames",
cope.publish.usernamesID,
Items.distinct("p4User"));
},
changed: function (id) {
!initializing && self.changed(
"itemsusernames",
cope.publish.usernamesID,
Items.distinct("p4User"));
},
removed: function (id) {
!initializing && self.changed(
"itemsusernames",
cope.publish.usernamesID,
Items.distinct("p4User"));
}
});
initializing = false;
self.added("itemsusernames", cope.publish.usernamesID, Items.distinct("p4User"));
self.ready();
self.onStop(function () {
handle.stop();
});
});
client:
users: function () {
var usernames = [],
oUsernames = ItemsUsernames.find().fetch();
if (!oUsernames[0]) return [];
usernames = $.map(oUsernames[0], function (value, index) {
if (!isNaN(index)) {
return [value];
}
});
...
And ofcourse: ItemsUsernames = new Mongo.Collection("itemsusernames");