Add database field expression (such as Person::Fullname)

rubyonrails-talk
1

class Person < AR::Base

  def fullname     first_name + " " + lastname   end end

p = Person.create(:first_name => "Joe", :last_name => "Smith") p.first_name # "Joe" p.last_name # "Smith" p.fullname # "Joe Smith"

2

I actually prefer

def fullname “#{self.first_name} #{self.lastname}” end

because I don’t get exceptions if someone leaves first_name or last_name nil. (That and I like scoping my vars, though that’s not always necessary.)

3

Brian Hogan wrote the following on 18.07.2007 16:46 :

I actually prefer

def fullname   "#{self.first_name} #{self.lastname}" end

When I said 'extend' I had one use-case in mind, here's a part of one librairy I coded:

    def fullname         if firstname.blank? && lastname.blank?             return _('Unknown (fill your firstname and lastname in)')         elsif firstname.blank? || lastname.blank?             # no need for space, one is empty             return "#{firstname}#{lastname}"         else             return "#{firstname} #{lastname}"         end     end

Notes: - _() is from ruby-gettext, - the .blank? are Rails specific IIRC, - the return are superfluous, I'm in the process of ditching some of them where they don't help readability.

This would be quite difficult to do in a SQL view...

Lionel.

4

Brian Hogan wrote the following on 18.07.2007 16:46 :

I actually prefer

def fullname   "#{self.first_name} #{self.lastname}" end

- _() is from ruby-gettext,

I'm surprised that in a localized app you're using attributes such as "firstname" and "lastname" :slight_smile:

This would be quite difficult to do in a SQL view...

SELECT CASE WHEN firstname = '' THEN lastname              WHEN lastname = '' THEN firstname              ELSE firstname || ' ' || lastname         END AS fullname FROM ...

But I agree it's easy to handle in the app, and especially for localizations.

Michael Glaesemann grzm seespotcode net

5

Michael Glaesemann wrote the following on 19.07.2007 01:59 :

- _() is from ruby-gettext,      I'm surprised that in a localized app you're using attributes such as "firstname" and "lastname" :slight_smile:

I was unaware of cultures where people are named by other means, care to point me to them?

Lionel.

6

Well, for example, Yukihiro Matsumoto would have his name order reversed in Japanese. In that case, what is *first* depends on the localization.

Michael Glaesemann grzm seespotcode net

7

Michael Glaesemann wrote the following on 19.07.2007 03:21 :

Well, for example, Yukihiro Matsumoto would have his name order reversed in Japanese. In that case, what is *first* depends on the localization.    Ok. It seems fortunate for me that I'm still far from adressing the Japanese market. The problem is probably a vocabulary one (english isn't my mother tongue) is forname/surname more suited? It seems a migration is not far away...

Lionel.

8

Depends on how complicated you want to make it :slight_smile: I tend to go with given name, family name myself, but that still doesn't cover all the variations of names around the world. Though I like surname, the "fore" in forename also carries the meaning of in front, which has the same issues as first name. But like I said, even these don't cover the full range of human naming schemes.

Michael Glaesemann grzm seespotcode net

9

I love threads like these :slight_smile: