README.md
Hashformer
=========
[](http://badge.fury.io/rb/hashformer) [](https://codeclimate.com/github/deseretbook/hashformer) [](https://codeclimate.com/github/deseretbook/hashformer) [](https://travis-ci.org/deseretbook/hashformer)
### Transform any Ruby Hash with a declarative DSL
Hashformer is the ultimate Ruby Hash transformation tool, made from 100% pure
Hashformium (may contain trace amounts of caffeine). It provides a simple,
Ruby Hash-based DSL for transforming data from one format to another. It's
vaguely like XSLT, but way less complicated and way more Ruby.
You specify Hash to Hash transformations using a Hash with a list of output
keys, input keys, and transformations, and Hashformer will convert your data
into the format you specify. It can also help verify your transformations by
validating input and output data using
[ClassyHash](https://github.com/deseretbook/classy_hash) (either 0.1.x or 0.2.x
versions).
Note that Hashformer is not for everyone. If your data transformation needs
don't involve massive changes to the data structure or values, and/or you don't
need multiple people to be able to work on the transformations separately from
other code, you might be better off doing your transformations in plain Ruby.
### Examples
Examples of each feature are provided here, but complete documentation for each
method lives in the code.
#### Basic renaming
If you just need to move/copy/rename keys, you specify the source key as the
value for the destination key in your transformation:
```ruby
data = {
'first_name' => 'Hash',
'last_name' => 'Former'
}
xform = {
first: 'first_name',
last: 'last_name'
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {first: 'Hash', last: 'Former'}
```
Just about any source key type will work:
```ruby
data = {
0 => 'Nothing',
1 => 'Only One'
}
xform = {
zero: 0,
one: 1
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {zero: 'Nothing', one: 'Only One'}
```
#### Nested *input* values
If you need to grab values from a Hash or Array within a Hash, you can use
`Hashformer::Generate.path` (or, the convenient shortcut, `HF::G.path`):
```ruby
data = {
name: 'Hashformer',
addresses: [
{
line1: 'Hash',
line2: 'Former'
}
]
}
xform = {
name: :name,
line1: HF::G.path[:addresses][0][:line1],
line2: HF::G.path[:addresses][0][:line2]
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {name: 'Hashformer', line1: 'Hash', line2: 'Former'}
```
If you try to access beyond a path that doesn't exist, nil will be returned
instead:
```ruby
data = {
a: { b: 'c' }
}
xform = {
a: HF::G.path[:a][0][:c]
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {a: nil}
```
If no path is specified, the entire Hash will be returned:
```ruby
data = {
a: 1,
b: 2
}
xform = {
h: HF::G.path
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {h: {a: 1, b: 2}}
```
#### Constant values
If you need to specify a constant value in your output Hash in version 0.2.2 or
later, use `HF::G.const()`:
```ruby
data = {
irrelevant: 'data',
}
xform = {
data: HF::G.const(:irrelevant)
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {data: :irrelevant}
```
Most types will work with `HF::G.const()`:
```ruby
data = {
}
xform = {
out: HF::G.const({a: 1, b: 2, c: [3, 4, 5]})
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {out: {a: 1, b: 2, c: [3, 4, 5]}}
```
#### Method chaining
This is the most useful and powerful aspect of Hashformer. You can use
`HF::G.chain`, or the shortcut `HF[]`, to chain method calls and Array or Hash
lookups:
_**Note:** Method chaining may not work as expected if entered in `irb`, because
`irb` might try to call `#to_s` or `#inspect` on the method chain! See `.__end`
and `.enable_debugging` for possible solutions_
```ruby
data = {
s: 'Hashformer',
v: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
}
xform = {
s: HF[:s].reverse.capitalize,
# It's important to call clone before calling methods that modify the array
v: HF[:v].clone.concat([6]).map{|x| x * x}.reduce(0, &:+)
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {s: 'Remrofhsah', v: 91}
```
Unlike `HF::g.path`, `HF[]`/`HF::G.chain` will raise an exception if you try to
access beyond a path that doesn't exist:
```ruby
data = {
a: [1, 2, 3]
}
xform = {
a: HF[:b][0]
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# Raises "undefined method `[]' for nil:NilClass"
```
`HF[]` or `HF::G.chain` without any methods or references will return the input
Hash:
```ruby
data = {
a: 1
}
xform = {
a: HF[].count,
b: HF::G.chain
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {a: 1, b: {a: 1}}
```
Although it's not recommended, you can also chain operators as long as `HF[]`
is the first element evaluated by Ruby:
```ruby
xform = {
x: -(HF[:x] * 2) + 5
}
Hashformer.transform({x: 3}, xform)
# => {x: -1}
Hashformer.transform({x: -12}, xform)
# => {x: 29}
```
##### `__as`
The special `__as` method on a method chain, added in version 0.3.0, allows you
to work with the chain's current value in a block like `Object#tap`, but the
return value of the block is passed to the next step of the chain. This is
useful if you need to pass the chain value to an outside function.
```ruby
def func(x)
"something to do with #{x}"
end
xform = {
out: HF[:in].__as{|v| 'test ' + func(v) }
}
Hashformer.transform({ in: 'code' }, xform)
# => { out: 'something to do with test code' }
```
##### `__end`
The `__end` method on a method chain will disable further modification of the
chain. This is not normally needed unless your transformation Hashes might be
`#inspect`ed by other code (e.g. IRB or Pry). Using `__end` might prevent you
from needing to enable chain debugging.
```ruby
xform = {
# Everything after __end will be ignored, including __as
out: HF[:in].to_s.__end.to_i.no.more.methods
}
Hashformer.transform({ in: 100 })
# => { out: '100' }
```
##### Debugging chains
If `__end` isn't enough to make your method chains work with whatever debugging
or instrumentation you have, you can enable chain debugging. *When chain
debugging is enabled, any standard `Object` methods cannot be added to chains
(this includes commonly chained methods like `#to_s`).* Each method added to a
chain will also be printed to `$stdout`.
```ruby
HF::G::Chain.enable_debugging
HF::G::Chain.disable_debugging
```
#### Mapping one or more values
If you want Hashformer to gather one or more values for you and either place
them in an Array or pass them to a lambda, you can use `HF::G.map`. Pass the
names of the keys to map as parameters, followed by the optional Proc or
lambda:
```ruby
data = {
a: 'Hashformer'
}
xform = {
a: HF::G.map(:a, &:upcase),
b: HF::G.map(:a)
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {a: 'HASHFORMER', b: ['Hashformer']}
```
You can also mix and match paths and method chains in the `HF::G.map`
parameters. The result of the method chain transformation or path retrieval
will be used in the map, instead of looking up a key in the original hash:
```ruby
data = {
items: [
{name: 'Item 1', price: 1.50},
{name: 'Item 2', price: 2.50},
{name: 'Item 3', price: 3.50},
{name: 'Item 4', price: 4.50},
],
shipping: 5.50
}
xform = {
item_total: HF[:items].map{|i| i[:price]}.reduce(0.0, &:+),
total: HF::G.map(HF[:items].map{|i| i[:price]}.reduce(0.0, &:+), HF::G.path[:shipping], &:+)
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {item_total: 12.0, total: 17.5}
```
Finally, you can pass a transformation specification Hash as one or more of the
parameters to `HF::G.map`. See the RSpec tests for an example.
#### Lambda processing
If you need to apply a completely custom transformation to your data, you can
use a raw lambda. The lambda will be called with the entire input Hash.
```ruby
data = {
x: 3.0,
y: 4.0
}
xform = {
radius: ->(h){ Math.sqrt(h[:x] * h[:x] + h[:y] * h[:y]) }
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {radius: 5.0}
```
#### Dynamic key names
There might not be much use for it, but you can use a lambda as a key as well.
It will be called with its associated unprocessed value and the input Hash:
```ruby
data = {
key: :x,
value: 0
}
xform = {
->(value, h){h[:key]} => :value
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {x: 0}
```
#### Nested *output* values
As of Hashformer 0.2.2, you can also nest transformations within
transformations to generate a Hash for an output value:
```ruby
data = {
a: 1,
b: 2,
c: 3
}
xform = {
a: {
all: ->(orig){ orig },
},
b: {
x: :a,
y: :b,
z: :c,
}
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {a: { all: { a: 1, b: 2, c: 3 } }, b: { x: 1, y: 2, z: 3 }}
```
Nested transformations will still refer to the original input Hash, rather than
any input key of the same name. That way any value from the input can be used
at any point in the output:
```ruby
data = {
a: 1,
b: {
a: 2,
b: 3,
c: 4
},
c: 5
}
xform = {
b: {
n: :a, # Refers to the top-level :a
o: HF[:b][:a], # Refers to the :a within :b
p: ->(h){ h[:c] }, # Refers to the top-level :c
}
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {b: { n: 1, o: 2, p: 5 }}
```
#### Dates and times
We found ourselves writing a lot of identical date transformation `Proc`s in our
transformations, so version 0.3.0 adds some helpers for transforming dates to
and from numeric values. If you use Hashformer in a project that also uses
ActiveSupport, you can transform time zones as well.
```ruby
xform = {
int: HF::Date.to_i(:time),
float: HF::Date.to_f(:time),
date: HF::Date.to_date(:numeric),
}
data = {
time: Time.at(10.75),
numeric: 10.75
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => { int: 10, float: 10.75, date: #<DateTime 1970-01-01...}
```
#### Practical example with validation
Suppose your application receives addresses in one format, but you need to pass
them along in another format. You might need to rename some keys, convert some
keys to different types, merge keys, etc. We'll define the input and output
data formats using [Classy Hash schemas](https://github.com/deseretbook/classy_hash#simple-example).
```ruby
# Classy Hash schema - https://github.com/deseretbook/classy_hash
in_schema = {
# Totally violates http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/
first: String,
last: String,
city: String,
phone: String,
}
out_schema = {
name: String,
location: String,
phone: Integer, # Just for example; probably shouldn't make phone numbers integers
}
```
You can write a Hashformer transformation to turn any Hash with the `in_schema`
format into a Hash with the `out_schema` format, and verify the results:
```ruby
# Hashformer transformation - https://github.com/deseretbook/hashformer
xform = {
# Validate input and output data according to the Classy Hash schemas
__in_schema: in_schema,
__out_schema: out_schema,
# Combine first and last name into a single String
name: HF::G.map(:first, :last) {|f, l| "#{f} #{l}".strip},
# Copy the :city field directly into :location
location: :city,
# Remove non-digits from :phone
phone: HF[:phone].gsub(/[^\d]/, '').to_i
}
data = {
first: 'Hash',
last: 'Transformed',
city: 'Here',
phone: '555-555-5555',
}
Hashformer.transform(data, xform)
# => {name: 'Hash Transformed', location: 'Here', phone: 5555555555}
```
### Testing
Hashformer includes a thorough [RSpec](http://rspec.info) test suite:
```bash
# Execute within a clone of the Git repository:
bundle install --without=development
rspec
```
### Alternatives
Hashformer just might be the coolest Ruby Hash data transformer out there. But
if you disagree, here are some other options:
- [hash_transformer](https://github.com/trampoline/hash_transformer) provides
an *imperative* DSL for Hash modification.
- [ActiveModel::Serializers](https://github.com/rails-api/active_model_serializers)
- [XSLT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xslt)
### License
Hashformer is released under the MIT license (see the `LICENSE` file for the
license text and copyright notice).