Ultra Light Wizard v0.1.1 (beta)
No time to manage a wizard state machine, session variables, or complicated controllers? Use Ultra Light Wizard!! A RESTful session-less validation-friendly simple wizard approach in Rails.
This RailsConf 2014 talk video explains it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muyfoiKHMMA
Principles
- REST: wizard steps are represented as REST nested resources under the model resource being built
- MVC: respects MVC separation of concerns
- OO: honors OO principles of low coupling and high cohesion
- Design Patterns: wizard is simply a model Builder
- DDD: supports domain concepts directly with customizable vocabulary
- Non-Functional Requirements:
- Productivity: minimum effort for adding wizards and wizard steps
- Maintainability: minimum code to maintain while adhering to other principles
- Performance: stateless design means scalability
- Security: stateless design is compatible with Rails security measures
Instructions
Add the following to your Rails project Gemfile
:
gem 'ultra_light_wizard', '~> 0.1.0'
Run the command:
bundle
Then, use the following command in place of the Rails scaffold generator, and it will scaffold both standard resource components and wizard-related components:
rails generate ultra_light_wizard:scaffold (resource) steps:(step1),(step2),(step3),... attributes:(attribute1:db_type1),(attribute2:db_type2),...
This will generate wizard step routes, controller, models, and views
Example:
rails generate ultra_light_wizard:scaffold Project steps:basic_info,project_detail,file_uploads,preview attributes:name:string,description:text,start_date:date,delivery_date:date
Output:
generate scaffold
invoke active_record
create db/migrate/20160201025849_create_projects.rb
create app/models/project.rb
invoke test_unit
create test/models/project_test.rb
create test/fixtures/projects.yml
invoke resource_route
route resources :projects
invoke scaffold_controller
create app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
invoke erb
create app/views/projects
create app/views/projects/index.html.erb
create app/views/projects/edit.html.erb
create app/views/projects/show.html.erb
create app/views/projects/new.html.erb
create app/views/projects/_form.html.erb
invoke test_unit
create test/controllers/projects_controller_test.rb
invoke helper
create app/helpers/projects_helper.rb
invoke test_unit
invoke jbuilder
create app/views/projects/index.json.jbuilder
create app/views/projects/show.json.jbuilder
invoke assets
invoke coffee
create app/assets/javascripts/projects.coffee
invoke scss
create app/assets/stylesheets/projects.scss
invoke scss
identical app/assets/stylesheets/scaffolds.scss
conflict app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
Overwrite ~/code/rails_example/app/controllers/projects_controller.rb? (enter "h" for help) [Ynaqdh] a
force app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
create app/controllers/project_steps_controller.rb
create app/helpers/project_steps_helper.rb
create app/views/project_steps/_step_navigation.html.erb
create app/models/project/name.rb
create app/views/project_steps/name.html.erb
create app/models/project/description.rb
create app/views/project_steps/description.html.erb
create app/models/project/start_date.rb
create app/views/project_steps/start_date.html.erb
create app/models/project/delivery_date.rb
create app/views/project_steps/delivery_date.html.erb
create app/models/project/preview.rb
create app/views/project_steps/preview.html.erb
route resources :projects, only: [:create, :show] do
resources :project_steps, only: [:edit, :update]
end
Once the files are generated, you can proceed to place your own code customizations in the wizard step models and views.
To kick-off wizard, simply trigger the main model controller create action, and it will transition to the wizard step first step edit action.
For example, the following will kick-off the project wizard by creating a project and automatically redirecting to first step:
<%= link_to 'New Project', projects_path, method: :post %>
It will ask you at one point to overwrite projects_controller generated in included scaffold. Type y or a to have it continue.
If you'd like to customize the term "step", you can add a step_alias:(alias) option as in the following:
Example:
rails generate ultra_light_wizard:scaffold Project step_alias:part steps:basic_info,project_detail,file_uploads,preview attributes:name:string,description:text,start_date:date,delivery_date:date
Output:
generate scaffold
invoke active_record
create db/migrate/20160201025849_create_projects.rb
create app/models/project.rb
invoke test_unit
create test/models/project_test.rb
create test/fixtures/projects.yml
invoke resource_route
route resources :projects
invoke scaffold_controller
create app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
invoke erb
create app/views/projects
create app/views/projects/index.html.erb
create app/views/projects/edit.html.erb
create app/views/projects/show.html.erb
create app/views/projects/new.html.erb
create app/views/projects/_form.html.erb
invoke test_unit
create test/controllers/projects_controller_test.rb
invoke helper
create app/helpers/projects_helper.rb
invoke test_unit
invoke jbuilder
create app/views/projects/index.json.jbuilder
create app/views/projects/show.json.jbuilder
invoke assets
invoke coffee
create app/assets/javascripts/projects.coffee
invoke scss
create app/assets/stylesheets/projects.scss
invoke scss
identical app/assets/stylesheets/scaffolds.scss
conflict app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
Overwrite ~/code/rails_example/app/controllers/projects_controller.rb? (enter "h" for help) [Ynaqdh] a
force app/controllers/projects_controller.rb
create app/controllers/project_parts_controller.rb
create app/helpers/project_parts_helper.rb
create app/views/project_parts/_part_navigation.html.erb
create app/models/project/name.rb
create app/views/project_parts/name.html.erb
create app/models/project/description.rb
create app/views/project_parts/description.html.erb
create app/models/project/start_date.rb
create app/views/project_parts/start_date.html.erb
create app/models/project/delivery_date.rb
create app/views/project_parts/delivery_date.html.erb
create app/models/project/preview.rb
create app/views/project_parts/preview.html.erb
route resources :projects, only: [:create, :show] do
resources :project_parts, only: [:edit, :update]
end
To learn more about the Ultra Light Wizard philosophy and function, please read this Code Painter blog post: Ultra Light & Maintainable Wizard in Rails
Features
- Ultra Light Wizard scaffold generator
- [DONE] Scaffolding of main model controller/views/migration
- [DONE] Routes
- [DONE] Controller steps
- [DONE] Model parts
- [DONE] View parts
- [DONE] View navigation
- [DONE] Helper for ultra light wizard support
- [DONE] Route helper methods
- [DONE] Wizard kick-off helper/view
- [DONE] Forms
- [DONE] Support for attributes
- [DONE] Form fields
- [DONE] Custom name conventions
- Write automated tests
- Support for nested resources
- Modularize (perhaps extracting sub-generators)
Enhancements
If you are interested in having enhancements implemented, please report via a GitHub issue, describing the problem, providing use case examples, and suggesting solutions to implement. I'd be happy to implement as part of paid work if needed ASAP using the CodeMentor platform.
License
MIT