MultiDir

MultiDir allow libraries and frameworks to request paths in a semantic way. This allows administrators to define real paths in one global standardized way.

No more Rails.root.join *%w(tmp uploaded) anymore. Give administrators the freedom to link the temp directory to /tmp/myapp or any other system specific place by just using MultiDir.tmp.join 'uploaded'.

Note: MultiDir as a library is still under development but the concept sounds nice.

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'multi_dir'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install multi_dir

Usage

For All

MultiDir allows to define any semantic path your app, library or framework may need. By default the following paths are specified:

MultiDir.bin    # => 'bin'
MultiDir.lib    # => 'lib'
MultiDir.tmp    # => 'tmp'
MultiDir.cache  # => 'tmp/cache'
MultiDir.files  # => 'files'
MultiDir.config # => 'config

For Administrators

MultiDir provides everything you need to integrate some hipster app into your well known and proven operating system structure. It allows you to specify which content should live where without manual patching every piece of code.

Create or edit dirs.yml in the application root directory (or whereever you're running the app) or specific the path using MULTI_DIR_CONFIG env variable with the following content:

paths:
  tmp: /tmp/myapp-srv2
  files: /mnt/nfs2/storage
  cache: /var/cache/apps/myapp
  log: /var/log/myapp

This file allows you to specify the base paths for the application.

For Developers

MultiDir makes you a developer loved by administrators as you given them the freedom to adjust you app or library according there needs. It also makes you happy reaching another stage of more semantic programming.

You can just use MultiDir like you've used Rails.root.join in the past.

See the following examples:

# Request a specific file
MultiDir.cache.join *%(pdfgen page5.pdf) # => "cache/pdfgen/page5.pdf"

# Request a file with a temporary name
MultiDir.tmp.tempname ['basename', '.jpg'] # => "tmp/basename20130519-11982-tzda0r.jpg"

# Get list of files in a additional configurable directory
MultiDir.cache[:uploads].glob 'path/**', '*.zip' # This allows admins to
            # configure a special path for :uploads
            # that if not given will be placed in 'cache'.
            # => ["/media/uploads/a/virus.zip", "/media/uploads/attachments/ppt.zip"]

You can even define your own new top level semantic path:

MultiDir::Paths.define :uploads, in: :tmp

This allows you to use uploads as a top level path that will be placed in tmp if not configured otherwise:

MultiDir.uploads.join 'abrng.pdf' # => "/tmp/uploads/abrng.pdf"

More features will follow.

Contributing

Fork it
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
Add specs for your feature
Implement your feature
Check that all specs are passing
Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
Create new Pull Request