Multiple Collection Queries in Template - meteor

So I have this:
Template.cards.cards = function () {
var deck = Deck.findOne({active: 1});
var cards = Cards.find({deck_id: deck['_id']}).fetch();
return cards;
}
But "deck" is returning undefined, even though calling the same query from the browser console returns results.
I feel like this is a reactivity issue and there is something fundamentally wrong with how I'm going about achieving this. It feels like a very relational way to go about things, I'm new to non-relational data storage too. I feel like there might be something fundamentally wrong with the way I'm going about this but I'm new to Meteor, I've trawled through the docs but can't find where I might be going wrong. Any help is greatly appreciated.

If you try to access your Deck subscription right away at startup, it's possible that the data hasn't loaded yet. You can use a callback in the subscribe method to ensure you have data:
Meteor.subscribe("deck", function () {
Session.set("activeDeck", 1);
};
Template.cards.cards = function () {
var deck = Deck.findOne({ active: Session.get("activeDeck") });
var cards = Cards.find({ deck_id: deck['_id'] }).fetch();
return cards;
};
Perhaps you want to change this to subscribe to decks and then store a deck id instead of just an active flag in your session.
Hope this helps.

[1] First of all, check the datatype of active you are passing. If it is a string then {active: 1} will result in false and the query will return no results. And the deck will remain undefined .
[2] Try alternative way of findOne as : Deck.find({active: 1}).fetch()[0]; This will return same result as Deck.findOne({active: 1});
[3] ThefindOne() and find().fetch()[0] returns object which has properties and the valid way of referencing the property of objects is objectName.propertyName, So replace deck['_id'] with deck._id in Cards.find({deck_id: deck['_id']}).fetch();

Related

How do i query a Firebase database for a nested property?

Hi i have a noSql db in firebase.
I want to get the object where userId is 288
i'v tried many combinations but i cant figure out how its done.
This is my code so far :
var refTest= database.ref('conversation')
var query = refTest
.orderByChild('messages');
query.on('value', function(data) {
var a = data.val();
console.log(a.messages.userId);
console.log(data.val());
});
This is a image of my "schema"
I'm obviously a noob when it comes to NoSQL. I do understand SQL
All help is appreciated
You can order/filter on a nested value like this:
var refTest= database.ref('conversation')
var query = refTest.orderByChild('messages/userId').equalTo("288");
query.on('value', function(snapshot) {
snapshot.forEach(function(child) {
console.log(child.key);
console.log(child.val());
});
});
The forEach is needed, since there may be multiple child nodes with messages/userId equal to 288.
The key named "messages" doesn't make sense in your schema. Because if you want to have another message under that conversation, then you wouldn't be able to add it with the same key name and you also couldn't add it under "messages" because it would overwrite the other one. My suggestion is to use the push() method for adding a new message. This way you uniquely identify each message.
Regarding your question, an easy to understand way of parsing your schema is this: you loop through each message of each conversation for finding the messages with userID.
refTest.on('value', function(data) {
var conversations = data.val();
for (conversation in conversations){
for (message in conversation) {
if (message.userId == 288) {
// do whatever you need
// and eventually return something to break the loops
}
}
}
}
Of course, you can adapt it based on your needs

Firebase trouble reading lists

The tutorial I'm following here https://www.firebase.com/tutorial/#tutorial/basic/5 says that for lists you can push a new item like this...
var myDataRef = new Firebase("https://.../items"
myDataRef.push({name: "Sally"});
The docs say here https://www.firebase.com/docs/managing-lists.html that to read list data just do something like this
myDataRef.on('value', function(snapshot) {
console.log(snapshot.val());
});
snapshot.val() gives back an object with random keys that contain my objects. Do I really have to do something like
arr =[] Object.keys(snapshot.val()).forEach(function(key) { arr.push(snapshot.val()[key])})
to get a normal looking array of objects? or am I missing something here.. Thanks a ton.
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but see if this helps to retrieve the data you're looking for with snapshot.val().Use child_added, this will go down the endpoint("firebase_url/items") and show each immediate object.
myDataRef.on('child_added', function(snapshot) {
console.log(snapshot.val());
});
Check out this link to get more info on reading from firebase, http://www.firebase.com/docs/reading-data.html
JavaScript objects are not ordered. So the keys may appear in different order than your data (JSON can put them anywhere it pleases). To iterate them in order, try forEach:
myDataRef.on('value', function(snapshot) {
snapshot.forEach(function(ss) {
console.log(ss.name());
});
});
For more real-time results, Ron's example using child_added is ideal.

Meteor minimongo dynamic cursor

In my client UI I have a form with differents search criterias, and I'd like to reactively update the results list. The search query is transformed into a classical minimongo selector, saved in a Session variable, and then I have observers to do things with the results:
// Think of a AirBnb-like application
// The session variable `search-query` is updated via a form
// example: Session.set('search-query', {price: {$lt: 100}});
Offers = new Meteor.Collection('offers');
Session.setDefault('search-query', {});
resultsCursor = Offers.find(Session.get('search-query'));
// I want to add and remove pins on a map
resultCursor.observe({
added: Map.addPin,
removed: Map.removePin
});
Deps.autorun(function() {
// I want to modify the cursor selector and keep the observers
// so that I would only have the diff between the old search and
// the new one
// This `modifySelector` method doesn't exist
resultsCursor.modifySelector(Session.get('search-query'));
});
How could I implement this modifySelector method on the cursor object?
Basically I think this method needs to update the compiled version of the cursor, ie the selector_f attribute, and then rerun observers (without losing the cache of the previous results). Or is there any better solution?
Edit: Some of you have misunderstood what I'm trying to do. Let me provide a complete example:
Offers = new Meteor.Collection('offers');
if (Meteor.isServer && Offers.find().count() === 0) {
for (var i = 1; i < 4; i++) {
// Inserting documents {price: 1}, {price: 2} and {price: 3}
Offers.insert({price:i})
}
}
if (Meteor.isClient) {
Session.setDefault('search-query', {price:1});
resultsCursor = Offers.find(Session.get('search-query'));
resultsCursor.observe({
added: function (doc) {
// First, this added observer is fired once with the document
// matching the default query {price: 1}
console.log('added:', doc);
}
});
setTimeout(function() {
console.log('new search query');
// Then one second later, I'd like to have my "added observer" fired
// twice with docs {price: 2} and {price: 3}.
Session.set('search-query', {});
}, 1000);
}
This doesn't solve the problem in the way you seem to be wanting to, but I think the result is still the same. If this is a solution you explicitly don't want, let me know and I can remove the answer. I just didn't want to put code in a comment.
Offers = new Meteor.Collection('offers');
Session.setDefault('search-query', {});
Template.map.pins = function() {
return Offers.find(Session.get('search-query'));
}
Template.map.placepins = function(pins) {
// use d3 or whatever to clear the map and then place all pins on the map
}
Assuming your template is something like this:
<template name="map">
{{placepins pins}}
</template>
One solution is to manually diff the old and the new cursors:
# Every time the query change, do a diff to add, move and remove pins on the screen
# Assuming that the pins order are always the same, this use a single loop of complexity
# o(n) rather than the naive loop in loop of complexity o(n^2)
Deps.autorun =>
old_pins = #pins
new_pins = []
position = 0
old_pin = undefined # This variable needs to be in the Deps.autorun scope
# This is a simple algo to implement a kind of "reactive cursor"
# Sorting is done on the server, it's important to keep the order
collection.find(Session.get('search-query'), sort: [['mark', 'desc']]).forEach (product) =>
if not old_pin?
old_pin = old_pins.shift()
while old_pin?.mark > product.mark
#removePin(old_pin)
old_pin = old_pins.shift()
if old_pin?._id == product._id
#movePin(old_pin, position++)
new_pins.push(old_pin)
old_pin = old_pins.shift()
else
newPin = #render(product, position++)
new_pins.push(newPin)
# Finish the job
if old_pin?
#removePin(old_pin)
for old_pin in old_pins
#removePin(old_pin)
#pins = new_pins
But it's a bit hacky and not so efficient. Moreover the diff logic is already implemented in minimongo so it's better to reuse it.
Perhaps an acceptable solution would be to keep track of old pins in a local collection? Something like this:
Session.setDefault('search-query', {});
var Offers = new Meteor.Collection('offers');
var OldOffers = new Meteor.Collection(null);
var addNewPin = function(offer) {
// Add a pin only if it's a new offer, and then mark it as an old offer
if (!OldOffers.findOne({_id: offer._id})) {
Map.addPin(offer);
OldOffers.insert(offer);
}
};
var removePinsExcept = function(ids) {
// Clean out the pins that no longer exist in the updated query,
// and remove them from the OldOffers collection
OldOffers.find({_id: {$nin: ids}}).forEach(function(offer) {
Map.removePin(offer);
OldOffers.remove({_id: offer._id});
});
};
Deps.autorun(function() {
var offers = Offers.find(Session.get('search-query'));
removePinsExcept(offers.map(function(offer) {
return offer._id;
}));
offers.observe({
added: addNewPin,
removed: Map.removePin
});
});
I'm not sure how much faster this is than your array answer, though I think it's much more readable. The thing you need to consider is whether diffing the results as the query changes is really much faster than removing all the pins and redrawing them each time. I would suspect that this might be a case of premature optimization. How often do you expect a user to change the search query, such that there will be a significant amount of overlap between the results of the old and new queries?
I have the same problem in my own hobby Meteor project.
There is filter session var where selector is storing. Triggering any checkbox or button changes filter and all UI rerender.
That solution have some cons and the main - you can't share app state with other users.
So i realized that better way is storing app state in URL.
May be it is also better in your case?
Clicking button now change URL and UI rendering based on it. I realize it with FlowRouter.
Helpful reading: Keeping App State on the URL

What does fetch() in meteor exactly does?

Experimenting with meteor I came across a behavior I did not expect of fetch. Let's say I have a function :
findStuff = function(){
var cursor = Stuff.find({});
console.log(stuff.fetch()); // just to check
return cursor;
}
and I call it from a template
Template.stuff.helpers({
stuff : function(){
var stuff = findStuff();
console.log(stuff.fetch()); // just to check
return stuff;
}
});
The first log will correctly display the array but the second will display an empty array. I am quite confused about why it is so. My solution is to avoid calling fetch if I don't need it explicitly but I like to use it as a debugging tool.
You should read about cursor.rewind().
The forEach, map, or fetch methods can only be called once on a
cursor. To access the data in a cursor more than once, use rewind to
reset the cursor.

How to work with async code in Mongoose virtual properties?

I'm trying to work with associating documents in different collections (not embedded documents) and while there is an issue for that in Mongooose, I'm trying to work around it now by lazy loading the associated document with a virtual property as documented on the Mongoose website.
The problem is that the getter for a virtual takes a function as an argument and uses the return value for the virtual property. This is great when the virtual doesn't require any async calls to calculate it's value, but doesn't work when I need to make an async call to load the other document. Here's the sample code I'm working with:
TransactionSchema.virtual('notebook')
.get( function() { // <-- the return value of this function is used as the property value
Notebook.findById(this.notebookId, function(err, notebook) {
return notebook; // I can't use this value, since the outer function returns before we get to this code
})
// undefined is returned here as the properties value
});
This doesn't work since the function returns before the async call is finished. Is there a way I could use a flow control library to make this work, or could I modify the first function so that I pass the findById call to the getter instead of an anonymous function?
You can define a virtual method, for which you can define a callback.
Using your example:
TransactionSchema.method('getNotebook', function(cb) {
Notebook.findById(this.notebookId, function(err, notebook) {
cb(notebook);
})
});
And while the sole commenter appears to be one of those pedantic types, you also should not be afraid of embedding documents. Its one of mongos strong points from what I understand.
One uses the above code like so:
instance.getNotebook(function(nootebook){
// hey man, I have my notebook and stuff
});
While this addresses the broader problem rather than the specific question, I still thought it was worth submitting:
You can easily load an associated document from another collection (having a nearly identical result as defining a virtual) by using Mongoose's query populate function. Using the above example, this requires specifying the ref of the ObjectID in the Transaction schema (to point to the Notebook collection), then calling populate(NotebookId) while constructing the query. The linked Mongoose documentation addresses this pretty thoroughly.
I'm not familiar with Mongoose's history, but I'm guessing populate did not exist when these earlier answers were submitted.
Josh's approach works great for single document look-ups, but my situation was a little more complex. I needed to do a look-up on a nested property for an entire array of objects. For example, my model looked more like this:
var TransactionSchema = new Schema({
...
, notebooks: {type: [Notebook]}
});
var NotebookSchema = new Schema({
...
, authorName: String // this should not necessarily persist to db because it may get stale
, authorId: String
});
var AuthorSchema = new Schema({
firstName: String
, lastName: String
});
Then, in my application code (I'm using Express), when I get a Transaction, I want all of the notebooks with author last name's:
...
TransactionSchema.findById(someTransactionId, function(err, trans) {
...
if (trans) {
var authorIds = trans.notebooks.map(function(tx) {
return notebook.authorId;
});
Author.find({_id: {$in: authorIds}, [], function(err2, authors) {
for (var a in authors) {
for (var n in trans.notebooks {
if (authors[a].id == trans.notebooks[n].authorId) {
trans.notebooks[n].authorLastName = authors[a].lastName;
break;
}
}
}
...
});
This seems wildly inefficient and hacky, but I could not figure out another way to accomplish this. Lastly, I am new to node.js, mongoose, and stackoverflow so forgive me if this is not the most appropriate place to extend this discussion. It's just that Josh's solution was the most helpful in my eventual "solution."
As this is an old question, I figured it might use an update.
To achieve asynchronous virtual fields, you can use mongoose-fill, as stated in mongoose's github issue: https://github.com/Automattic/mongoose/issues/1894

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