I've been trying to find a way to dynamically throw in a find() condition that comes from the database through Iron Router and a controller, is this possible? For example:
.. ..
HomeController = PostsListController.extend({
data: function() {
return {
posts: Posts.find({ likeDrinks: {$in: ['soda','juice']} }, this.findOptions()),
};
}
});
.. ..
The above code works as something static. The ['soda','juice'] part is what I want to come from the database, particularly from the Meteor.user() object and in the .profile.likesSoda property. Basically, I want to filter results based on values saved in the user's profile. Unfortunately, I haven't been having much luck. When I do use Meteor.user() or Meteor.users.findOne( _id: Meteor.userId()), they're initially undefined (and eventually something comes up) so they cause errors.
Any idea why Meteor.userId() is readily accessible vs. Meteor.user() within the data() function?
Data function runs inside a reactive computation, so it will be rerun whenever Posts.find is changed or Meteor.user() is changed.
Below example shows how to safely run Posts.find without worry about undefined issue.
data:function(){
var user = Meteor.user();
var likesSoda = user && user.profile && user.profile.likesSoda;
if(likesSoda){
return {
posts: Posts.find({ likeDrinks: {$in: likesSoda} }, this.findOptions()),
};
}else{
return {posts:[]};
}
}
Related
I use a bunch of helper methods in my project. Some of them require to load the whole collection into the client due the restriction of the api on client side (the distinct function!). I googled the problem and found Meteor.methods as solution.
Can I use helpers (like this.helpers) into Meteor methods? Or how should I dynamically update my data in the frontend?
Can someone give me an example?
Additional information:
class View2 {
constructor($interval, $scope, $reactive) {
'ngInject';
$reactive(this).attach($scope);
this.helpers({
getOrderNumber(){
this.tempVar = Kafkadata.find().fetch();
this.tempVar2 = _.pluck(this.tempVar, 'orderNumber');
this.tempVar3 = _.uniq(tempVar2, false);
return this.tempVar3;
},
});
}
This is an example for a helpers query. Currently, this code runs client-side. I get ALL orders(tempvar) and then remove ALL data except the ordernumbers(tempvar2). At the end I remove all multiple ordernumbers. ordernumber is not an unique value. Here is an example from one of the collections:
{"orderNumber":"f2a3ed95-fcc3-4da0-9b3f-32cf5ed087f8","value":12480,"booleanValue":false,"intValue":12480,"doubleValue":0,"status":"GOOD","itemName":"MILLING_SPEED","timestamp":1479145734448,"_id":{"_str":"5824f4bc7ff3f0199861f11d"}}
I want to use functions like db.collection.distinct(). But they only work server-side. I think I must use Meteor.methods()to make this thing server-side. But what about this helpers function? How do they work on Meteor.methods()?
EDIT2:
my test:
client-side:
folder:myProject/imports/ui/view1
class View1 {
constructor($interval, $scope, $reactive) {
'ngInject';
$reactive(this).attach($scope);
this.helpers({
// some code
getTestData(){
Meteor.call('allTestData',function(error, result){
if(error){
console.log("error");
}else{
return result;
}
});
}
}); //end of contructor
// this is my testfunction, which is bound to a button!
testFunction(){
Meteor.call('allTestData',function(error, result){
if(error){
alert('Error');
}else{
console.log(result);
}
});
}
on the server-side:
folder:myProject/server/main.js
Meteor.methods({
allTestData:()=>{
var results=Kafkadata.find().count();
console.log(results);
return results;
},
});
and this is my view1.html:
//some code
<md-button ng-click="view1.testFunction()"> It works!</md-button>
<h1>{{view1.getTestData}}</h1>
Why does the button work, but not the helper?
Even though .distinct is supported by Mongo, Meteor does not expose it, even on the server. You just have to use _.uniq as your example shows, but for performance reasons it's better if it runs on the server.
Below is an example of a helper that I use:
aweek: () => {
if (debug)
console.log("Querying weekly appointments for "+this.selectedWeek.format("Do MMMM"));
var weekApts = Appointments.find(
{start: {$gte: new Date(this.getReactively('this.selectedWeek').clone().day(1)),
$lt: new Date(this.getReactively('this.selectedWeek').clone().endOf('week'))},
elderid: Meteor.userId()
}).fetch();
return utils.services.getAWeek(weekApts,utils.data.elderTimeFormat);
},
Note the use of this.getReactively('this.selectedWeek') in the code... basically this tells Meteor to run this helper reactively, so if the value of this.selectedWeek changes, the helper will get re-run. So when I click on a week in the calendar and update the variable, it runs my helper again to get the data.
The utils.services.getAWeek() function does some calculation and formatting on the array of data that makes is easier to display.
If you create a Meteor Method to do processing, I would make it update a collection with its results, and then your helper on the client will update automatically. Best make the technology do the work for you :)
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.
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');
...
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 = $.map(oUsernames[0], function (value, index) {
if (!isNaN(index)) {
return [value];
}
});
...
And ofcourse: ItemsUsernames = new Mongo.Collection("itemsusernames");
I have a helper function that depends on a collection document lookup, the result of which it passes to a subscription via a Session. It then needs to query the documents from that subscription.
The code explains it better than I could.
Helper:
var selection = Selections.findOne()
var itemIds = function() {
return selection && selection.itemIds
}
var itemIdsArray = itemIds()
Session.set('itemIdsArray', itemIdsArray)
console.log(Session.get('itemIdsArray'))
_.each(Items.find({_id: {$in: itemIdsArray}}).fetch(), function(element, index, list) {
//doing stuff
})
Subscription:
Meteor.subscribe('itemsById', Session.get('itemIdsArray'))
Publication:
Meteor.publish('itemsById', function(itemIdsArray) {
return Items.find({_id: {$in: itemIdsArray}})
})
My console.log returns an undefined value before it returns the array of IDs. So undefined gets passed all the way to the publication, which complains of a null value (which is weird in itself) after $in and breaks.
My solution was to set the Session to default to [],
Session.setDefault(`itemIdsArray`, [])
which I honestly had high hopes that it'd work, but alas, it did not.
I've tried putting it inside IronRouter's onBeforeAction, I've tried putting it at the top of the helper, I've tried putting it pretty much anywhere but it still logs and returns undefined once before it gets the correct value.
I've also tried to move around my subscription, from waitOn to subscriptions to onAfterAction to onRendered, but those attempts have been utterly fruitless.
What should I do?
That's fairly typical behavior in Meteor. Session variables are not always ready at the time. The usual way of dealing with this is to introduce a guard in the helper that checks the variable is defined before doing anything else with it.
In your case something like this would work: itemsIdArray = itemIds() || [];
To answer the actual question you are asking, where do you set Session defaults that they are available in your subscriptions: it's not important where you set them, but when you access them. You can wait for the subscription to be ready using iron router's waitOn() function, or you can check the subscription handle's ready() function (see https://github.com/oortcloud/unofficial-meteor-faq#user-content-how-do-i-know-when-my-subscription-is-ready-and-not-still-loading)
If you return a subscription in your waitOn option of Iron Router you should have the data in your template then:
Router.route('/yourRoutePath/:_id', {
// this template will be rendered until the subscriptions are ready
loadingTemplate: 'loading',
waitOn: function () {
// return one handle, a function, or an array
return Meteor.subscribe('itemsById', this.params._id);
},
action: function () {
this.render('myTemplate');
}
});
Your template helper:
Template.myTemplate.helpers({
items: function() {
return Items.find();
}
});
I noticed that you publish Items collection and you want to use Selections collection in your helper. If you need more than one subscription, you can return an array of subscriptions in waitOn:
waitOn: function () {
// return one handle, a function, or an array
return [
Meteor.subscribe('itemsById', this.params._id),
Meteor.subscribe('selections')
];
}
WaitOn ensures that your template will be rendered when all subscriptions are ready.
hope my first question here is not a stupid one.
Lets say we want to build a chat application with meteor, with logedin and anonymous users. The chat should be filled like that:
var post = {
userId: user._id, // is empty if anonymous user
submitted: new Date().getTime(),
text: chat_message
});
var postId = Posts.insert(post);
The publication could looks like this to make sure that the userId is not transfered
Meteor.publish('getTheChat', function() {
return Post.find({}, {fields: {userId: false});
});
But is there a way to add a field in the returned collection dynamically?
The userId should not be published but a status like "Your_Post","another_logedin_user" or "an_anonymous_user". By having that, I could include some css, so the chat looks a little bit more like WhatsApp or iMessage.
The logic inside the publish method could be something like
if (userId == this.userId) {
status = "Your_Post";
} else if (userId != null) {
status = "another_logedin_user";
} else {
status = "an_anonymous_user";
}
You see, the publication should include different values when called from different users. Is there a way in Meteor.publish?
Thanks for any insight or suggestions
Thank you both for your ideas! But as I had to find out (just for my inward peace) how it is possible inside the publish method server sided, I came, with the help of David's link, to this solution -maybe it will help someone later:
Meteor.publish('getTheChat', function(postId) {
var currentUserId = this.userId;
var ownerUserId = Posts.findOne({'_id':postId}).userId;
var findOptions = {}; // in my final coding these differ for 'chat room owners' and 'normal users'
var transform = function(post) {
if (currentUserId && post.userId == currentUserId) {
post.userId = "posted by you";
} else if (post.userId == null) {
post.userId = "anonym posted";
} else if (post.userId == ownerUserId) {
post.userId = "posted by owner";
} else {
post.userID = "posted by another loged in";
return post;
};
var self = this;
var handle = Posts.find(findOptions).observe({
added: function (document) {
self.added('posts', document._id, transform(document));
},
changed: function (newDocument, oldDocument) {
self.changed('posts', document._id, transform(newDocument));
},
removed: function (oldDocument) {
self.removed('posts', oldDocument._id);
}
});
self.ready();
self.onStop(function(){
handle.stop();
});
By having this I am finally able to overwrite values dynamically.
It looks like you need to add a transform on your Posts collection. You can do this in your publish function (as seen here), but server-side transforms are computationally inefficient and tricky to write. Though they are necessary in cases where only the server could perform the action - e.g. signed URLs. In your case, I'd recommend a standard collection transform which is a filter applied after the documents are fetched.
Unfortunately, this kind of transform would require the userId on the client. I've never seen a case where simply publishing a id could cause a security issue. If you believe this is the case with your app, I'm very interested to know why. If you can overcome this restriction, keep reading...
You can read about transforms in the documentation on collections, and you can see an example on evented mind. Personally I like to use the collection-helpers package for this.
If you try collection-helpers, your transform could look like:
Posts.helpers({
status: function() {
if (this.userId === Meteor.userId()) {
return 'Your_Post';
} else if (this.userId != null) {
return 'another_logedin_user';
} else {
return 'an_anonymous_user';
}
}
});
And then you could use it in your template like:
{{#each posts}}
<p>{{text}} - <span class='status'>{{status}}</span></p>
{{/each}}
Of course, you can also use template helpers to achieve the same result but transforms are more easily reusable across your application.
Sadly, this has been a huge issue for me too, and I am sorry to say, it is not technically possible to just add a field on the publisher's query and use it conveniently in your view. BUT, I have a solution that may work for you. It will also give you an idea of how complex it can become as soon as you want to keep some reactive data private in Meteor.
Server side:
First, create two different publishers: one for the current user's posts, one for all the others:
Meteor.publish('getTheOthersChat', function() {
return Post.find({$ne:{userId: this.userId}}, {fields: {userId: false});
});
Meteor.publish('getTheOwnChat', function() {
return Post.find({userId: this.userId});
});
Client/router side:
Then, subscribe to both of these: what this will do is include the post's userId only when it is the own user's id. If not, it'll be undefined.
Then, we still need to identify the case "anonymously posted" vs "posted by user". For this, you can add another field during the post creation, for example is_anonymous, which you then set to true or false depending on the case if the user is logged in or not. The check would then be:
if (userId) {
status = "Your_Post";
} else if (is_anonymous === false) {
status = "another_logedin_user";
} else {
status = "an_anonymous_user";
}
This solution should work. I know, it is sad to have to come to this kind of means. It makes Meteor look clunky and impractical for tasks that should be dead easy. Such a shame for such a cool framework!
I'm trying to use a client side collection as a site configuration system. I insert documents representing my different pages, and the iron-router and navigation tabs all use them to determine what pages they are and what templates are represented by them. Each page uses a {{> contentTemplate}} inclusion helper to load it's relevant template.
It all works great, when the data has all loaded. When I restart the app on certain pages, the data hasn't loaded yet, and I receive the Exception from Deps recompute function: Error: Expected null or template in return value from inclusion function, found: undefined error.
Here's my javascript:
StoriesArray = [
{ category: 'teaching', contentTemplate: 'teachingHome', title: 'Teaching Home'},
...
];
Stories = new Meteor.Collection(null);
StoriesArray.forEach(function (story, index) {
story._id = index + '';
Stories.insert(story);
});
// in main.js
Template.teachingPost.contentTemplate = function() {
console.log(this);
console.log(this.contentTemplate);
return Template[this.contentTemplate];
};
// in router.js
this.route('teaching', {
layoutTemplate: 'teachingPost',
data: function() { return Stories.findOne({contentTemplate: 'teachingHome', category: 'teaching'}); }
});
The console logs in the contentTemplate helper above log twice, the first time as this:
Object {} main.js?1f560c50f23d9012c6b6dd54469bb32b99aa4285:45
undefined main.js?1f560c50f23d9012c6b6dd54469bb32b99aa4285:46
and the second time as this:
Object {category: "teaching", contentTemplate: "teachingHome", title: "Teaching Home"} main.js?1f560c50f23d9012c6b6dd54469bb32b99aa4285:45
teachingHome main.js?1f560c50f23d9012c6b6dd54469bb32b99aa4285:46
so the router is simply trying to load this data too early.
I've tried putting the StoriesArray loading process into different files all over my app, including lib, and even tried putting it into Meteor.startup, but it's always the same result.
The normal iron-router waitOn/subscription pattern doesn't really apply here, since this is a client side collection built with null, that has no server representation. I don't want this to have server representation, because this is static content that there's no need to go to my server for.
How do I ensure this information is done before continuing?
Untested, but per Iron Router's docs on waitOn:
Returning a subscription handle, or anything with a ready method from the waitOn function will add the handle to a wait list.
Also in general it's better to use find with data, rather than findOne, as find will return an empty cursor when the collection is empty as opposed to findOne returning undefined. So try this:
// in router.js
this.route('teaching', {
layoutTemplate: 'teachingPost',
data: function() {
return Stories.find({contentTemplate: 'teachingHome', category: 'teaching'});
},
waitOn: function() {
var handle = {};
handle.ready = function() {
if (Stories.find().count() !== 0)
return true;
else
return false;
}
return handle;
}
});
And adjust your Template.teachingPost.contentTemplate function to work with a cursor rather than an object.