Trying to emulate `belongs_to trough` using `has_one trough` but having problems?.
Hello,
Imagine a travel website where you have HotelOwners and Tourists. When they start a conversation, the app creates a join model named Conversation using has_many through. It's a classic many to many association:
class HotelOwner
has_many :tourists, through: :conversations
has_many :conversations
end
class Tourist
has_many :hotel_owners, through: :conversations
has_many :conversations
end
https://ometv.onl
https://chatroulette.onl
https://chatavenue.vip
class Conversation
belongs_to :hotel_owner
belongs_to :tourist
end
Now we can use hotel_owner.tourists and tourist.hotel_owners. Also, the join model Conversation is also being used to keep some state on that association between them both (like, HotelOwner comments on Tourist and vice-versa).
But now we need a Reservation model. My initial ideia was this:
class Reservation
belongs_to :hotel_owner
belongs_to :tourist
end
But we also need to create the Conversation join model, since app logic requires that there cannot be a Reservation without a previous Conversation, even if a blank one. Also, the hotel_owner notes on tourist and vice-versa should be kept there and need to exist if a reservation exists.
After thinking about using manual callbacks to manually create the join model Conversation, I read that it would not be a good idea to add a belongs_to :conversation on Reservation because it could lead to database inconsistencies (like the problem if reservation.conversation.tourist pointed to a different tourist then reservation.tourist .. there should be a single source of truth to this association right?)
I then had the idea of using Conversation as a proxy to Reservations, like this:
class HotelOwner
has_many :tourists, through: :conversations
has_many :conversations
has_many :reservations, through: :conversations
end
class Tourist
has_many :hotel_owners, through: :conversations
has_many :conversations
has_many :reservations, through: :conversations
end
class Conversation
belongs_to :hotel_owner
belongs_to :tourist
has_many :reservations
end
class Reservation
has_one :hotel_owner, through: :conversation
has_one :tourist, through: :conversation
belongs_to :conversation
end
Since there is no belongs_to through in Rails to use in Reservation, other posts in SO suggest using has_one trough instead, just like I did above.
The problem is that conversation has_many reservations, and does not belong_to a reservation (like it does belong to a Tourist and HotelOwner).
It's not only semantics that bother me. If I do hotel_owner.reservations.create(tourist: Tourist.last), it does create the Reservation, but the join model Conversation is not created, leaving reservation.conversation nil.
After a simple hotel_owner.reload, hotel_owner.reservations return nil.
What is the correct database design and Rails association model for something like this?
thanks
iosman
