root attribute ignored

[mareczek]

render json: @current_user, root: 'resource', adapter: :json

gives output

{
  "user": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Rambo"
  }
}

when expected

{
  "resource": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Rambo"
  }
}

[joaomdmoura]

Hey @mareczek, 😄
Yes, it was meant to be, as you can see on README:

FlattenJSON

It's the default adapter, it generates a json response without a root key. Doesn't follow any specifc convention.

JSON

It also generates a json response but always with a root key. The root key can't be overridden, and will be automatically defined accordingly with the objects being serialized. Doesn't follow any specifc convention.

I know it seems hard, but it seemed to us that it would help ppl into being consistent with their objects names and overall APIs structure this way.

I'm not saying that I'll not accept your PR (actually I think it makes sense to bring root option back), but wanted to understand what is your motivation first 😄

[mareczek]

I have a case where i wan't to mask the root name (it has to do with using different serializers depending on the permissions of the current user).

Thanks for the explanation, overall i think it will not be a bad thing to allow developers to change the root key 👍

[meltingice]

This is currently a roadblock for me. Because there is no longer a way to filter attributes, I have two different serializers for the same object that return different attributes based on the API endpoint that is called. Because of this, the root key for the JSON is wrong when using one of the serializers and there is no way to change it. For example, I have BrandBaseSerializer and BrandSerializer, but I need the root key for both to be brands.

I say, either bring back the ability to filter attributes or allow the root key to be changed. Personally I think the latter is a better approach.

[bf4]

I think in the short run you could

class BrandBaseSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
  def json_key
    "brand-base"
  end
end

or make your own adapter

require "active_model/serializer/adapter/json"
class MyAdapter < ActiveModel::Serializer::Adapter::Json
  def root
    serializer.root || super
  end
end
ActiveModel::Serializer.config.adapter = MyAdapter

then

render json: @current_user, root: 'resource'

[meltingice]

Oh cool, both look like good solutions.
Thanks!

Ryan LeFevre (@meltingice)
HODINKEE, Inc.
Sr. Software Engineer

On Tue, Jul 7, 2015 at 3:37 PM -0700, "Benjamin Fleischer" notifications@github.com wrote:

I think in the short run you could

class BrandBaseSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
def json_key
"brand-base"
end
end

or make your own adapter

require "active_model/serializer/adapter/json"
class MyAdapter < ActiveModel::Serializer::Adapter::Json
def root
serializer.root || super
end
end
ActiveModel::Serializer.config.adapter = MyAdapter

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub.

[bf4]

@meltingice let us know what you do, and maybe add it to the wiki

[meltingice]

I ended up going with overriding json_key and it worked like a charm. I'll add it to the wiki now.

[bf4]

cool (and please reference this issue, and the ams version or ref you're on)

[meltingice]

Looks like there aren't any pages in the wiki that I can edit. I'll send a PR for the README.

[joaomdmoura]

Hey ppl, I glad to see how you guys are working it out.

@meltingice I understand your needs, and as I said, I'm inclined to merge #987. (I'll try to review it today)

Another change I might do is to define the root key based on the model name and not on the serializer one.

[joaomdmoura]

sorry for the flood. About the wiki thing, we are aborting the GH wiki and I'm already working on a docs folder structure. (Will also try to push it tonight)

[meltingice]

Sounds good to me 👍