Store different kinds of actions (Like, Follow, Star, Block, etc.) in a single table via ActiveRecord Polymorphic Associations.
- Like Posts/Comment/Reply ...
- Watch/Subscribe to Posts
- Follow Users
- Favorite Posts
- Read Notifications/Messages
And more and more.
| Column | Chars Limit | Description |
|---|---|---|
action_type |
64 | The type of action [like, watch, follow, star, favorite] |
action_option |
64 | Secondary option for storing your custom status, or null if unneeded. |
target_type, target_id |
64 | Polymorphic Association for different Target models [User, Post, Comment] |
user_type |
64 | Polymorphic Association for different user model [User, Group, Member] |
version: ">= 0.4.0"
The have database unique index on fields: [action_type, target_type, target_id, user_type, user_id] for keep uniqueness for same action from user to target.
gem 'action-store'and run bundle install
Generate Migrations:
$ rails g action_store:install
create config/initializers/action_store.rb
migration 20170208024704_create_actions.rb from action_storeand run rails db:migrate.
Use action_store to define actions:
# app/models/user.rb
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
action_store <action_type>, <target>, opts
end| action, target | Target Model | Target counter_cache_field |
User counter_cache_field |
Target has_many | User has_many |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
action_store :like, :post |
Post |
has_many :like_by_user_actions, has_many :like_by_users |
has_many :like_post_actions, has_many :like_posts |
||
action_store :like, :post, counter_cache: true |
Post |
likes_count |
has_many :like_by_user_actions, has_many :like_by_users |
has_many :like_post_actions, has_many :like_posts |
|
action_store :star, :project, class_name: 'Repository' |
Repository |
stars_count |
star_projects_count |
has_many :star_by_user_actions, has_many :star_by_users |
|
action_store :follow, :user |
User |
follows_count |
follow_users_count |
has_many :follow_by_user_actions, has_many :follow_by_users |
has_many :follow_user_actions, has_many :follow_users |
action_store :follow, :user, counter_cache: 'followers_count', user_counter_cache: 'following_count' |
User |
followers_count |
following_count |
has_many :follow_by_user_actions, has_many :follow_by_users |
has_many :follow_user_actions, has_many :follow_users |
for example:
# app/models/user.rb
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
action_store :like, :post, counter_cache: true
action_store :star, :post, counter_cache: true, user_counter_cache: true
action_store :follow, :post
action_store :like, :comment, counter_cache: true
action_store :follow, :user, counter_cache: 'followers_count', user_counter_cache: 'following_count'
endAdd counter_cache field to target and user tables.
add_column :users, :star_posts_count, :integer, default: 0
add_column :users, :followers_count, :integer, default: 0
add_column :users, :following_count, :integer, default: 0
add_column :posts, :likes_count, :integer, default: 0
add_column :posts, :stars_count, :integer, default: 0
add_column :comments, :likes_count, :integer, default: 0@user likes @post
irb> User.create_action(:like, target: @post, user: @user)
true
irb> @user.create_action(:like, target: @post)
true
irb> @post.reload.likes_count
1@user1 unlikes @user2
irb> User.destroy_action(:follow, target: @post, user: @user)
true
irb> @user.destroy_action(:like, target: @post)
true
irb> @post.reload.likes_count
0Check if @user1 likes @post
irb> action = User.find_action(:follow, target: @post, user: @user)
irb> action = @user.find_action(:like, target: @post)
irb> action.present?
trueOther following use cases:
# @user1 -> follow @user2
irb> @user1.create_action(:follow, target: @user2)
irb> @user1.reload.following_count
=> 1
irb> @user2.reload.followers_count
=> 1
irb> @user1.follow_user?(@user2)
=> true
# @user2 -> follow @user1
irb> @user2.create_action(:follow, target: @user1)
irb> @user2.follow_user?(@user1)
=> true
# @user1 -> follow @user3
irb> @user1.create_action(:follow, target: @user3)
# @user1 -> unfollow @user3
irb> @user1.destroy_action(:follow, target: @user3)Subscribe cases:
Sometimes, you may need use action_option option.
For example, user to subscribe a issue (like GitHub Issue) on issue create, and they wants keep in subscribe list on unsubscribe for makesure next comment will not subscribe this issue again.
So, in this case, we should not use @user.unsubscribe_issue method to destroy action record, we need set a value on action_option to mark this subscribe is ignore.
irb> User.create_action(:subscribe, target: @issue, user: @user)
irb> @user.subscribe_issue?(@issue)
=> true
irb> User.create_action(:subscribe, target: @issue, user: @user, action_option: "ignore")
irb> @user.subscribe_issue?(@issue)
=> true
irb> action = User.find_action(:subscribe, target: @issue, user: @user)
irb> action.action_option
=> "ignore"
irb> @issue.subscribe_by_user_actions.count
=> 1
irb> @issue.subscribe_by_user_actions.where(action_option: nil).count
=> 0since 1.1.0
Sometimes, you may want to store actions into different table, for example, Like scenarios often have a lot of data, we wants store them into likes table.
Create a migration and model
$ rails g migration create_likesAnd then modify this migration file to let this table have same struct like the actions
class CreateLikes < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.1]
def change
create_table :likes do |t|
t.string :action_type, null: false
t.string :action_option
t.string :target_type
t.bigint :target_id
t.string :user_type
t.bigint :user_id
t.timestamps
end
add_index :likes, %i[user_type user_id action_type]
add_index :likes, %i[target_type target_id action_type]
add_index :likes, %i[action_type target_type target_id user_type user_id], unique: true, name: :uk_likes_target_user
end
endCreate a app/model/like.rb model file:
class Like < Action
self.table_name = "likes"
endAnd then change you action_store define to special some case to use Like model:
# app/models/user.rb
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
action_store :like, :post, counter_cache: true, action_class_name: "Like"
action_store :like, :comment, counter_cache: true, action_class_name: "Like"
endNow, user.like_post, user.like_comment will store the actions into likes table.
When you call action_store, ActionStore will define many-to-many relations for User and Target models.
For example:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
action_store :like, :post
action_store :block, :user
endDefines many-to-many relations:
- For User model:
<action>_<target>s(like_posts) - For Target model:
<action>_by_users(like_by_users)
# for User model
has_many :like_post_actions
has_many :like_posts, through: :like_post_actions
## as user
has_many :block_user_actions
has_many :block_users, through: :block_user_actions
## as target
has_many :block_by_user_actions
has_many :block_by_users, through: :block_by_user_actions
# for Target model
has_many :like_by_user_actions
has_many :like_by_users, through: :like_user_actionsAnd User model will now have methods:
- @user.create_action(:like, target: @post)
- @user.destroy_action(:like, target: @post)
- @user.find_action(:like, target: @post)
- @user.like_post(@post)
- @user.like_post?(@post)
- @user.unlike_post(@post)
- @user.block_user(@user1)
- @user.unblock_user(@user1)
- @user.like_post_ids
- @user.block_user_ids
- @user.block_by_user_ids