Creating a new Table Entry with an ID from another table - mysql

Question

I'm trying to attach user_id (so I can access user details) to comments that are already attached to a page called Park.
I have three tables set up up: Park, Comment, and User:
class Park < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :comments
has_many :users
end
class Comment < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :park
has_one :user
end
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
# Include default devise modules. Others available are:
# :confirmable, :lockable, :timeoutable and :omniauthable
devise :database_authenticatable, :registerable,
:recoverable, :rememberable, :trackable, :validatable
has_many :comments
validates_presence_of :username
validates :username, uniqueness: true
def admin?
admin
end
end
As you can see above, I'm using the Devise gem for users and authorizations.
Comments show on Park and so they are nested:
park_comment GET /parks/:park_id/comments/:id(.:format) comments#show
My comment controller is set up like this:
class CommentsController < ApplicationController
before_action :authenticate_user!, only: [:create]
before_action :authorize_admin!, only: [:delete]
def create
#park = Park.find(params[:park_id])
#comment = #park.comments.create(comment_params)
redirect_to park_path(#park)
end
def destroy
#park = Park.find(params[:park_id])
#comment = #park.comments.find(params[:id])
#comment.destroy
redirect_to park_path(#park)
end
private
def comment_params
params.require(:comment).permit(:comment, :user_id, :park_id)
end
end
I've been able to oscillate from park_id to user_id, but the trade off has consistently been to receive a big fat nil on the other term.
I just tried to add a hidden field to my comment form
<%= form_for([#park, #park.comments.build]) do |f| %>
<p>
<%= f.label :comment %><br>
<%= f.text_area :comment %>
<%= hidden_field_tag(:user_id, current_user.id) %>
</p>
<p>
<%= f.submit %>
</p>
<% end %>
But that didn't seem to yield any results.
I had tried some ActiveRecord joining work, but it didn't want to latch on to my create so I gave that up. Having spent a while on this now, I'm convinced there's an easy solution I'm just not seeing. Ideas?

Answer 1

Your hidden_field_tag isn't working. It'll create a separate param, not one nested under the param key that you want.
My suggestion would be to remove the hidden_field altogether and specify the current_user in the controller.
class CommentsController < ApplicationController
def create
#park = Park.find(params[:park_id])
#comment = #park.
comments.
create(
comment_params.
merge(user_id: current_user.id) # adding here, on creation
# or merge(user: current_user)
)
redirect_to park_path(#park)
end
def comment_params
params.
require(:comment).
permit(:comment)
end
end
Why? Because otherwise a user can potentially change the value of that hidden_field and you'll be incorrectly storing the comment's user_id value.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if I understood you correctly, but looking at your code I can see some problems.
first of all, you create a hidden field but not using the form helper. That's why your user_id is not visible in your comment_params, causing your
big fat nil
:) .
Try to change
<%= hidden_field_tag(:user_id, current_user.id) %>
to
<%= f.hidden_field(:user_id, :value => current_user.id) %>
But a better Idea for this is to just remove the hidden field and change your controller to
def create
#park = Park.find(params[:park_id])
#comment = #park.comments.new(comment_params)
#comment.user = current_user
if #comment.save
redirect_to park_path(#park)
else
...
end
end
You can now remove your :user_id from your comment_params like this:
params.require(:comment).permit(:comment, :park_id)
Actually, you don't even need :park_id in there