Add include_nil property option

[bernd]

Implements a :include_nil option for properties as mentioned in trailblazer/roar#7.

[apotonick]

Should we call that option include_nil or include_if_nil? Thanks, Bernd!

[bernd]

I kinda like include_nil because include_if_nil sounds weird to me. But in the end, I don't really care. ;)

Nick, do you like include_if_nil better? I'd update the patch then.

[apotonick]

Bernd- here's what mee understands when reading both versions:

• include_nil include nil into the property (?)
• include_if_nil include the property even if it's nil

[docwhat]

I prefer include_if_nil or maybe even include_nil_values

[cowboyd]

Thinking off the cuff here, but how about represent_nil?

this most closely describes what you're doing, right? Also, it leaves the door open to configure its representation

represent_nil :as => false

[apotonick]

@cowboyd Do you mean a global switch to decide if nil properties should be included or not? Cause the problem here is how we define per property whether or not to include it in the doc if it's nil.

[bernd]

I like @cowboyd's version. I guess it would look like this.

property :beer, :represent_nil => true
represent_nil :as => false

[apotonick]

Ok, one global configuration "how to convert nil values" and a :represent_nil option. How to set the conversion per property, then?

I have to refactor Definition to make it easier to add custom options - behavior like this can then be added as module and doesn't have to be hard-wired in the core. Cool?

[bernd]

@apotonick Yes, sounds good!

[jwkoelewijn]

Is there a current status for this?

For me the problem really lies in the parsing, when using :class option and supplying nil's (or not supplying values at all) the parsing breaks ( undefined method `[]' for nil:NilClass ), unless when using a :if => lambda{ !property.is_nil? }, but maybe this is a whole different issue?

[apotonick]

@jwkoelewijn Can you show a quick example how to provoke that bug? I'm working on this as I type but I'm not sure if that is directly connected to your issue.

[jwkoelewijn]

My problem seemed to originate in the Roar gem, so created a pull request with a fix for Roar

[apotonick]

The :represent_nil => true feature is now available in 1.2.0 21ce092

[apotonick]

This option has been renamed to :render_nil and not been deprecated in 1.2.1 since I was too lazy.

[cowboyd]

This is still problematic for me in the case where the value could be populated with a complex object (as opposed to a simple property)

property :image, :extend => ImageRepresenter, :render_nil => true

This completely barfs for me because nil is extended with ImageRepresenter and then it tries to actually render . What I think most folks want with :render_nil is to have some placeholder value so that the key appears in the output, but not to actually attempt to render nil through the normal codepath.

[apotonick]

This is a bug, the nil value shouldn't be extended when render_nil is set. Maybe we can fix it over beers at the LSRC 6, @cowboyd ;-)

[apotonick]

The nil bug is fixed in 1.2.4.