Connections

Most social apps need some kind of follow/like/watch/stalk/etc features that connects one model to another.

Instead of having to recreate this functionality for every project I decided to create a gem that easily allows you to add these features using any naming you prefer.

Add the gem to the gemfile: gem "connections"

Install migration: rake connections:install:migrations

This generates a migration that creates a single join table for keeping track of what is connected to what.

Use connects_with to enable a model to connect to other models and connectable_with to allow a model to be connected to using whatever naming scheme you prefer (follow, like, watch, etc)

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  connects_with :follow, :like
  connectable_with :follow
end

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
  connectable_with :like
end

Depending on the naming scheme you choose Connections will try to figure out the grammar and add appropriately named methods. For example in the case of "Follow" and "Like" the following methods will be added:

# Follow
user.follow(other_user) # Creates a 'Follow' connection from user -> other_user
user.unfollow(other_user) # Removes 'Follow' connection between user -> other_user
user.toggle_follow(other_user) # Toggles the connection on/off (useful for toggle buttons)
user.follows?(other_user) # Returns true if the user if following other_user
user.following(:user) # Returns a list of all the users the user is following
user.following.size # Returns a total count of followers of the user
other_user.followers(:user) #Returns a list of all the user's followers who are class 'User'
other_user.followers.size #Returns a total count of all the user's followers

# Like
user.like(post)
user.unlike(post)
user.toggle_like(post)
user.likes?(post)
user.liking(:post)
user.liking.size
post.likers(:user)
post.likers.size

That's it! If you want to add extra functionality to the join model (such as using callbacks etc) you can explicitly define the model in your project like this:

class Follow < Connections::Connection
  ...
end

This gem was inspired by socialization that although it didn't quite do what I needed is a pretty useful tool in itself.

Copyright (c) 2012 Jens Balvig -- Released under the MIT license.