# AwesomeNestedSet Awesome Nested Set is an implementation of the nested set pattern for ActiveRecord models. It is a replacement for acts_as_nested_set and BetterNestedSet, but more awesome. Version 2 supports Rails 3. Gem versions prior to 2.0 support Rails 2. ## What makes this so awesome? This is a new implementation of nested set based off of BetterNestedSet that fixes some bugs, removes tons of duplication, adds a few useful methods, and adds STI support. [![Code Climate](https://codeclimate.com/github/collectiveidea/awesome_nested_set.png)](https://codeclimate.com/github/collectiveidea/awesome_nested_set) ## Installation Add to your Gemfile: ```ruby gem 'awesome_nested_set' ``` ## Usage To make use of `awesome_nested_set`, your model needs to have 3 fields: `lft`, `rgt`, and `parent_id`. The names of these fields are configurable. You can also have an optional field, `depth`: ```ruby class CreateCategories < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up create_table :categories do |t| t.string :name t.integer :parent_id t.integer :lft t.integer :rgt t.integer :depth # this is optional. end end def self.down drop_table :categories end end ``` Enable the nested set functionality by declaring `acts_as_nested_set` on your model ```ruby class Category < ActiveRecord::Base acts_as_nested_set end ``` Run `rake rdoc` to generate the API docs and see [CollectiveIdea::Acts::NestedSet](lib/awesome_nested_set/awesome_nested_set.rb) for more information. ## Callbacks There are three callbacks called when moving a node: `before_move`, `after_move` and `around_move`. ```ruby class Category < ActiveRecord::Base acts_as_nested_set after_move :rebuild_slug around_move :da_fancy_things_around private def rebuild_slug # do whatever end def da_fancy_things_around # do something... yield # actually moves # do something else... end end ``` Beside this there are also hooks to act on the newly added or removed children. ```ruby class Category < ActiveRecord::Base acts_as_nested_set :before_add => :do_before_add_stuff, :after_add => :do_after_add_stuff, :before_remove => :do_before_remove_stuff, :after_remove => :do_after_remove_stuff private def do_before_add_stuff(child_node) # do whatever with the child end def do_after_add_stuff(child_node) # do whatever with the child end def do_before_remove_stuff(child_node) # do whatever with the child end def do_after_remove_stuff(child_node) # do whatever with the child end end ``` ## Protecting attributes from mass assignment It's generally best to "whitelist" the attributes that can be used in mass assignment: ```ruby class Category < ActiveRecord::Base acts_as_nested_set attr_accessible :name, :parent_id end ``` If for some reason that is not possible, you will probably want to protect the `lft` and `rgt` attributes: ```ruby class Category < ActiveRecord::Base acts_as_nested_set attr_protected :lft, :rgt end ``` ## Conversion from other trees Coming from acts_as_tree or another system where you only have a parent_id? No problem. Simply add the lft & rgt fields as above, and then run: ```ruby Category.rebuild! ``` Your tree will be converted to a valid nested set. Awesome! ## View Helper The view helper is called #nested_set_options. Example usage: ```erb <%= f.select :parent_id, nested_set_options(Category, @category) {|i| "#{'-' * i.level} #{i.name}" } %> <%= select_tag 'parent_id', options_for_select(nested_set_options(Category) {|i| "#{'-' * i.level} #{i.name}" } ) %> ``` See [CollectiveIdea::Acts::NestedSet::Helper](lib/awesome_nested_set/helper.rb) for more information about the helpers. ## References You can learn more about nested sets at: http://threebit.net/tutorials/nestedset/tutorial1.html ## How to contribute Please see the ['Contributing' document](CONTRIBUTING.md). Copyright © 2008 - 2013 Collective Idea, released under the MIT license