ignore blank strings in numeric filters

[goravbhootra]

Hi,

I have setup a filter as:

number :status, allow_decimal: false, allowed_values: 1..5

if no status is selected in filters, blank value is passed in params. I am filtering the blank values before sending the filter params to Filtrex.parse_params else it responds with an error. This pattern is so common, I was wondering if it would be good idea to include this as an option in the config - something like:

number :status, allow_decimal: false, allowed_values: 1..5, ignore_blanks: true

[rcdilorenzo]

When you say a "blank value" do you mean an empty string or nil? I like this proposal but want to make sure I understand for sure beforehand.

[goravbhootra]

html form sends empty string. I am applying |> Enum.reject(fn {_, v} -> v == "" end) to filter out the values but it might be good idea to ignore empty string "" and nil both.

[rcdilorenzo]

So, does parse_params actually throw an error if you pass an empty string or did you mean your application logic rejects it since it is then filtering using that blank parameter?

[goravbhootra]

parse_params throws an error since "" is not in the allowed_values

[rcdilorenzo]

Oh, I see. Yes, I like this! What do you think about calling it ignore_empty versus ignore_blanks? I'm not sure myself and wonder how those strike you.

[goravbhootra]

ignore_empty sounds more apt if you are planning to remove only empty strings whereas ignore_blanks, to me, covers empty strings as well as nil. Users will be able to relate to either of them, as long as documentation is clear about what it covers IMHO.

[rcdilorenzo]

I agree. Let's go with ignore_blanks then and have that match "" and nil.