ContentsCore

A Rails gem which offer a simple structure to manage contents in a flexible way.

NOTE: this is an ALPHA version, major changes could happens - this is a refactoring of another gem of mine (editable_components)

Goals:

  • attach the necessary data to a model transparently

  • simplify the components development in views

  • add blocks / items (= fields) without migrations

Install

  • Add to the Gemfile: gem 'contents_core'

  • Copy migrations (Rails 5.x syntax, in Rails 4.x use rake): rails contents_core:install:migrations

  • Migrate

  • Add the concern Blocks to your model: include ContentsCore::Blocks

Config

Edit the conf file: config/initializers/contents_core.rb

conf = ContentsCore.config
# Adds a new custom block
conf[:cc_blocks][:custom] = {
  name: 'Custom block',
  items: {
    int1: :item_integer,
    int2: :item_integer,
    a_float: :item_float
  }
}
ContentsCore.config( { components: conf[:cc_blocks] } )

Create the new view blocks: app/views/contents_core/_block_custom.html.erb

<% if local_assigns[:block] %>
  <% block = local_assigns[:block] %>
  <div <%= block.editable %>>
    1st number: <span class="num1"<%= block.props.integers[0].editable %>><%= block.props.integers[0] %></span>
    - 2nd number: <span class="num2"<%= block.props.integers[1].editable %>><%= block.props.integers[1] %></span><br/>
    A float: <span <%= block.props.float.editable %>><%= block.props.float %></span><br/>
  </div>
<% end %>
Images

To add support for images add CarrierWave gem to your Gemfile and execute: rails generate uploader File and mount it in the model app/models/contents_core/item_file.rb:

module ContentsCore
  class ItemFile < Item
    mount_uploader :data_file, ImageUploader

    alias_attribute :data, :data_file

    def editable
      false
    end

    def init
      self.data_file = File.open( Rails.root.join( 'public', 'images', 'original', 'missing.jpg' ) )
      self
    end

    def self.type_name
      'file'
    end
  end
end
Custom blocks

To create a "free form" block just use: Page.first.create_block :intro, name: 'IntroBlock', schema: { intro: :item_string, subtitle: :item_string }

Dev Notes

Structure

  • Including the Editable concern to a model will add has_many :ec_blocks relationship (the list of blocks attached to a container) and some utility methods

  • Block: an editable UI component (ex. a text with a title, a slider, a 3 column text widgets, etc.); built with a list of sub blocks (for nested components) and a list of items

  • Item: a single piece of information (ex. a string, a text, a boolean, an integer, a file, etc.)

Contributors