defmodule Ecto do @moduledoc ~S""" Ecto is split into 4 main components: * `Ecto.Repo` - repositories are wrappers around the data store. Via the repository, we can create, update, destroy and query existing entries. A repository needs an adapter and credentials to communicate to the database * `Ecto.Schema` - schemas are used to map external data into Elixir structs. We often use them to map database tables to Elixir data but they have many other use cases * `Ecto.Query` - written in Elixir syntax, queries are used to retrieve information from a given repository. Ecto queries are secure and composable * `Ecto.Changeset` - changesets provide a way to track and validate changes before they are applied to the data In summary: * `Ecto.Repo` - **where** the data is * `Ecto.Schema` - **what** the data is * `Ecto.Query` - **how to read** the data * `Ecto.Changeset` - **how to change** the data Besides the four components above, most developers use Ecto to interact with SQL databases, such as PostgreSQL and MySQL via the [`ecto_sql`](https://hexdocs.pm/ecto_sql) project. `ecto_sql` provides many conveniences for working with SQL databases as well as the ability to version how your database changes through time via [database migrations](https://hexdocs.pm/ecto_sql/Ecto.Adapters.SQL.html#module-migrations). If you want to quickly check a sample application using Ecto, please check the [getting started guide](https://hexdocs.pm/ecto/getting-started.html) and the accompanying sample application. [Ecto's README](https://github.com/elixir-ecto/ecto) also links to other resources. In the following sections, we will provide an overview of those components and how they interact with each other. Feel free to access their respective module documentation for more specific examples, options and configuration. ## Repositories `Ecto.Repo` is a wrapper around the database. We can define a repository as follows: defmodule Repo do use Ecto.Repo, otp_app: :my_app, adapter: Ecto.Adapters.Postgres end Where the configuration for the Repo must be in your application environment, usually defined in your `config/config.exs`: config :my_app, Repo, database: "ecto_simple", username: "postgres", password: "postgres", hostname: "localhost", # OR use a URL to connect instead url: "postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost/ecto_simple" Each repository in Ecto defines a `start_link/0` function that needs to be invoked before using the repository. In general, this function is not called directly, but is used as part of your application supervision tree. If your application was generated with a supervisor (by passing `--sup` to `mix new`) you will have a `lib/my_app/application.ex` file containing the application start callback that defines and starts your supervisor. You just need to edit the `start/2` function to start the repo as a supervisor on your application's supervisor: def start(_type, _args) do children = [ MyApp.Repo, ] opts = [strategy: :one_for_one, name: MyApp.Supervisor] Supervisor.start_link(children, opts) end ## Schema Schemas allow developers to define the shape of their data. Let's see an example: defmodule Weather do use Ecto.Schema # weather is the DB table schema "weather" do field :city, :string field :temp_lo, :integer field :temp_hi, :integer field :prcp, :float, default: 0.0 end end By defining a schema, Ecto automatically defines a struct with the schema fields: iex> weather = %Weather{temp_lo: 30} iex> weather.temp_lo 30 The schema also allows us to interact with a repository: iex> weather = %Weather{temp_lo: 0, temp_hi: 23} iex> Repo.insert!(weather) %Weather{...} After persisting `weather` to the database, it will return a new copy of `%Weather{}` with the primary key (the `id`) set. We can use this value to read a struct back from the repository: # Get the struct back iex> weather = Repo.get Weather, 1 %Weather{id: 1, ...} # Delete it iex> Repo.delete!(weather) %Weather{...} > NOTE: by using `Ecto.Schema`, an `:id` field with type `:id` (:id means :integer) is > generated by default, which is the primary key of the schema. If you want > to use a different primary key, you can declare custom `@primary_key` > before the `schema/2` call. Consult the `Ecto.Schema` documentation > for more information. Notice how the storage (repository) and the data are decoupled. This provides two main benefits: * By having structs as data, we guarantee they are light-weight, serializable structures. In many languages, the data is often represented by large, complex objects, with entwined state transactions, which makes serialization, maintenance and understanding hard; * You do not need to define schemas in order to interact with repositories, operations like `all`, `insert_all` and so on allow developers to directly access and modify the data, keeping the database at your fingertips when necessary; ## Changesets Although in the example above we have directly inserted and deleted the struct in the repository, operations on top of schemas are done through changesets so Ecto can efficiently track changes. Changesets allow developers to filter, cast, and validate changes before we apply them to the data. Imagine the given schema: defmodule User do use Ecto.Schema import Ecto.Changeset schema "users" do field :name field :email field :age, :integer end def changeset(user, params \\ %{}) do user |> cast(params, [:name, :email, :age]) |> validate_required([:name, :email]) |> validate_format(:email, ~r/@/) |> validate_inclusion(:age, 18..100) end end The `changeset/2` function first invokes `Ecto.Changeset.cast/4` with the struct, the parameters and a list of allowed fields; this returns a changeset. The parameters is a map with binary keys and values that will be cast based on the type defined by the schema. Any parameter that was not explicitly listed in the fields list will be ignored. After casting, the changeset is given to many `Ecto.Changeset.validate_*` functions that validate only the **changed fields**. In other words: if a field was not given as a parameter, it won't be validated at all. For example, if the params map contain only the "name" and "email" keys, the "age" validation won't run. Once a changeset is built, it can be given to functions like `insert` and `update` in the repository that will return an `:ok` or `:error` tuple: case Repo.update(changeset) do {:ok, user} -> # user updated {:error, changeset} -> # an error occurred end The benefit of having explicit changesets is that we can easily provide different changesets for different use cases. For example, one could easily provide specific changesets for registering and updating users: def registration_changeset(user, params) do # Changeset on create end def update_changeset(user, params) do # Changeset on update end Changesets are also capable of transforming database constraints, like unique indexes and foreign key checks, into errors. Allowing developers to keep their database consistent while still providing proper feedback to end users. Check `Ecto.Changeset.unique_constraint/3` for some examples as well as the other `_constraint` functions. ## Query Last but not least, Ecto allows you to write queries in Elixir and send them to the repository, which translates them to the underlying database. Let's see an example: import Ecto.Query, only: [from: 2] query = from u in User, where: u.age > 18 or is_nil(u.email), select: u # Returns %User{} structs matching the query Repo.all(query) In the example above we relied on our schema but queries can also be made directly against a table by giving the table name as a string. In such cases, the data to be fetched must be explicitly outlined: query = from u in "users", where: u.age > 18 or is_nil(u.email), select: %{name: u.name, age: u.age} # Returns maps as defined in select Repo.all(query) Queries are defined and extended with the `from` macro. The supported keywords are: * `:distinct` * `:where` * `:order_by` * `:offset` * `:limit` * `:lock` * `:group_by` * `:having` * `:join` * `:select` * `:preload` Examples and detailed documentation for each of those are available in the `Ecto.Query` module. Functions supported in queries are listed in `Ecto.Query.API`. When writing a query, you are inside Ecto's query syntax. In order to access params values or invoke Elixir functions, you need to use the `^` operator, which is overloaded by Ecto: def min_age(min) do from u in User, where: u.age > ^min end Besides `Repo.all/1` which returns all entries, repositories also provide `Repo.one/1` which returns one entry or nil, `Repo.one!/1` which returns one entry or raises, `Repo.get/2` which fetches entries for a particular ID and more. Finally, if you need an escape hatch, Ecto provides fragments (see `Ecto.Query.API.fragment/1`) to inject SQL (and non-SQL) fragments into queries. Also, most adapters provide direct APIs for queries, like `Ecto.Adapters.SQL.query/4`, allowing developers to completely bypass Ecto queries. ## Other topics ### Associations Ecto supports defining associations on schemas: defmodule Post do use Ecto.Schema schema "posts" do has_many :comments, Comment end end defmodule Comment do use Ecto.Schema schema "comments" do field :title, :string belongs_to :post, Post end end When an association is defined, Ecto also defines a field in the schema with the association name. By default, associations are not loaded into this field: iex> post = Repo.get(Post, 42) iex> post.comments #Ecto.Association.NotLoaded<...> However, developers can use the preload functionality in queries to automatically pre-populate the field: Repo.all from p in Post, preload: [:comments] Preloading can also be done with a pre-defined join value: Repo.all from p in Post, join: c in assoc(p, :comments), where: c.votes > p.votes, preload: [comments: c] Finally, for the simple cases, preloading can also be done after a collection was fetched: posts = Repo.all(Post) |> Repo.preload(:comments) The `Ecto` module also provides conveniences for working with associations. For example, `Ecto.assoc/3` returns a query with all associated data to a given struct: import Ecto # Get all comments for the given post Repo.all assoc(post, :comments) # Or build a query on top of the associated comments query = from c in assoc(post, :comments), where: not is_nil(c.title) Repo.all(query) Another function in `Ecto` is `build_assoc/3`, which allows someone to build an associated struct with the proper fields: Repo.transaction fn -> post = Repo.insert!(%Post{title: "Hello", body: "world"}) # Build a comment from post comment = Ecto.build_assoc(post, :comments, body: "Excellent!") Repo.insert!(comment) end In the example above, `Ecto.build_assoc/3` is equivalent to: %Comment{post_id: post.id, body: "Excellent!"} You can find more information about defining associations and each respective association module in `Ecto.Schema` docs. > NOTE: Ecto does not lazy load associations. While lazily loading > associations may sound convenient at first, in the long run it > becomes a source of confusion and performance issues. ### Embeds Ecto also supports embeds. While associations keep parent and child entries in different tables, embeds stores the child along side the parent. Databases like MongoDB have native support for embeds. Databases like PostgreSQL uses a mixture of JSONB (`embeds_one/3`) and ARRAY columns to provide this functionality. Check `Ecto.Schema.embeds_one/3` and `Ecto.Schema.embeds_many/3` for more information. ### Mix tasks and generators Ecto provides many tasks to help your workflow as well as code generators. You can find all available tasks by typing `mix help` inside a project with Ecto listed as a dependency. Ecto generators will automatically open the generated files if you have `ECTO_EDITOR` set in your environment variable. #### Repo resolution Ecto requires developers to specify the key `:ecto_repos` in their application configuration before using tasks like `ecto.create` and `ecto.migrate`. For example: config :my_app, :ecto_repos, [MyApp.Repo] config :my_app, MyApp.Repo, database: "ecto_simple", username: "postgres", password: "postgres", hostname: "localhost" """ @doc """ Returns the schema primary keys as a keyword list. """ @spec primary_key(Ecto.Schema.t()) :: Keyword.t() def primary_key(%{__struct__: schema} = struct) do Enum.map(schema.__schema__(:primary_key), fn field -> {field, Map.fetch!(struct, field)} end) end @doc """ Returns the schema primary keys as a keyword list. Raises `Ecto.NoPrimaryKeyFieldError` if the schema has no primary key field. """ @spec primary_key!(Ecto.Schema.t()) :: Keyword.t() def primary_key!(%{__struct__: schema} = struct) do case primary_key(struct) do [] -> raise Ecto.NoPrimaryKeyFieldError, schema: schema pk -> pk end end @doc """ Builds a struct from the given `assoc` in `struct`. ## Examples If the relationship is a `has_one` or `has_many` and the primary key is set in the parent struct, the key will automatically be set in the built association: iex> post = Repo.get(Post, 13) %Post{id: 13} iex> build_assoc(post, :comments) %Comment{id: nil, post_id: 13} Note though it doesn't happen with `belongs_to` cases, as the key is often the primary key and such is usually generated dynamically: iex> comment = Repo.get(Comment, 13) %Comment{id: 13, post_id: 25} iex> build_assoc(comment, :post) %Post{id: nil} You can also pass the attributes, which can be a map or a keyword list, to set the struct's fields except the association key. iex> build_assoc(post, :comments, text: "cool") %Comment{id: nil, post_id: 13, text: "cool"} iex> build_assoc(post, :comments, %{text: "cool"}) %Comment{id: nil, post_id: 13, text: "cool"} iex> build_assoc(post, :comments, post_id: 1) %Comment{id: nil, post_id: 13} The given attributes are expected to be structured data. If you want to build an association with external data, such as a request parameters, you can use `Ecto.Changeset.cast/3` after `build_assoc/3`: parent |> Ecto.build_assoc(:child) |> Ecto.Changeset.cast(params, [:field1, :field2]) """ def build_assoc(%{__struct__: schema} = struct, assoc, attributes \\ %{}) do assoc = Ecto.Association.association_from_schema!(schema, assoc) assoc.__struct__.build(assoc, struct, drop_meta(attributes)) end defp drop_meta(%{} = attrs), do: Map.drop(attrs, [:__struct__, :__meta__]) defp drop_meta([_ | _] = attrs), do: Keyword.drop(attrs, [:__struct__, :__meta__]) @doc """ Builds a query for the association in the given struct or structs. ## Examples In the example below, we get all comments associated to the given post: post = Repo.get Post, 1 Repo.all Ecto.assoc(post, :comments) `assoc/3` can also receive a list of posts, as long as the posts are not empty: posts = Repo.all from p in Post, where: is_nil(p.published_at) Repo.all Ecto.assoc(posts, :comments) This function can also be used to dynamically load through associations by giving it a list. For example, to get all authors for all comments for the given posts, do: posts = Repo.all from p in Post, where: is_nil(p.published_at) Repo.all Ecto.assoc(posts, [:comments, :author]) ## Options * `:prefix` - the prefix to fetch assocs from. By default, queries will use the same prefix as the first struct in the given collection. This option allows the prefix to be changed. """ def assoc(struct_or_structs, assocs, opts \\ []) do [assoc | assocs] = List.wrap(assocs) structs = case struct_or_structs do nil -> raise ArgumentError, "cannot retrieve association #{inspect(assoc)} for nil" [] -> raise ArgumentError, "cannot retrieve association #{inspect(assoc)} for empty list" struct_or_structs -> List.wrap(struct_or_structs) end sample = hd(structs) prefix = assoc_prefix(sample, opts) schema = sample.__struct__ refl = %{owner_key: owner_key} = Ecto.Association.association_from_schema!(schema, assoc) values = Enum.uniq( for( struct <- structs, assert_struct!(schema, struct), key = Map.fetch!(struct, owner_key), do: key ) ) case assocs do [] -> %module{} = refl %{module.assoc_query(refl, nil, values) | prefix: prefix} assocs -> %{ Ecto.Association.filter_through_chain(schema, [assoc | assocs], values) | prefix: prefix } end end defp assoc_prefix(sample, opts) do case Keyword.fetch(opts, :prefix) do {:ok, prefix} -> prefix :error -> case sample do %{__meta__: %{prefix: prefix}} -> prefix # Must be an embedded schema _ -> nil end end end @doc """ Checks if an association is loaded. ## Examples iex> post = Repo.get(Post, 1) iex> Ecto.assoc_loaded?(post.comments) false iex> post = post |> Repo.preload(:comments) iex> Ecto.assoc_loaded?(post.comments) true """ def assoc_loaded?(%Ecto.Association.NotLoaded{}), do: false def assoc_loaded?(list) when is_list(list), do: true def assoc_loaded?(%_{}), do: true def assoc_loaded?(nil), do: true @doc """ Resets fields in a struct to their default values. ## Examples iex> post = post |> Repo.preload(:author) %Post{title: "hello world", author: %Author{}} iex> Ecto.reset_fields(post, [:title, :author]) %Post{ title: "default title", author: #Ecto.Association.NotLoaded } """ @spec reset_fields(Ecto.Schema.t(), list()) :: Ecto.Schema.t() def reset_fields(struct, []), do: struct def reset_fields(%{__struct__: schema} = struct, fields) do default_struct = schema.__struct__() default_fields = Map.take(default_struct, fields) Map.merge(struct, default_fields) end @doc """ Gets the metadata from the given struct. """ def get_meta(struct, :context), do: struct.__meta__.context def get_meta(struct, :state), do: struct.__meta__.state def get_meta(struct, :source), do: struct.__meta__.source def get_meta(struct, :prefix), do: struct.__meta__.prefix @doc """ Returns a new struct with updated metadata. It is possible to set: * `:source` - changes the struct query source * `:prefix` - changes the struct query prefix * `:context` - changes the struct meta context * `:state` - changes the struct state Please refer to the `Ecto.Schema.Metadata` module for more information. """ @spec put_meta(Ecto.Schema.schema(), meta) :: Ecto.Schema.schema() when meta: [ source: Ecto.Schema.source(), prefix: Ecto.Schema.prefix(), context: Ecto.Schema.Metadata.context(), state: Ecto.Schema.Metadata.state() ] def put_meta(%{__meta__: meta} = struct, opts) do case put_or_noop_meta(opts, meta, false) do :noop -> struct meta -> %{struct | __meta__: meta} end end defp put_or_noop_meta([{key, value} | t], meta, updated?) do case meta do %{^key => ^value} -> put_or_noop_meta(t, meta, updated?) _ -> put_or_noop_meta(t, put_meta(meta, key, value), true) end end defp put_or_noop_meta([], meta, true), do: meta defp put_or_noop_meta([], _meta, false), do: :noop defp put_meta(meta, :state, state) do if state in [:built, :loaded, :deleted] do %{meta | state: state} else raise ArgumentError, "invalid state #{inspect(state)}" end end defp put_meta(meta, :source, source) do %{meta | source: source} end defp put_meta(meta, :prefix, prefix) do %{meta | prefix: prefix} end defp put_meta(meta, :context, context) do %{meta | context: context} end defp put_meta(_meta, key, _value) do raise ArgumentError, "unknown meta key #{inspect(key)}" end defp assert_struct!(module, %{__struct__: struct}) do if struct != module do raise ArgumentError, "expected a homogeneous list containing the same struct, " <> "got: #{inspect(module)} and #{inspect(struct)}" else true end end @doc """ Loads previously dumped `data` in the given `format` into a schema. The first argument can be an embedded schema module, or a map (of types) and determines the return value: a struct or a map, respectively. The second argument `data` specifies fields and values that are to be loaded. It can be a map, a keyword list, or a `{fields, values}` tuple. Fields can be atoms or strings. The third argument `format` is the format the data has been dumped as. For example, databases may dump embedded to `:json`, this function allows such dumped data to be put back into the schemas. Fields that are not present in the schema (or `types` map) are ignored. If any of the values has invalid type, an error is raised. Note that if you want to load data into a non-embedded schema that was directly persisted into a given repository, then use `c:Ecto.Repo.load/2`. ## Examples iex> result = Ecto.Adapters.SQL.query!(MyRepo, "SELECT users.settings FROM users", []) iex> Enum.map(result.rows, fn [settings] -> Ecto.embedded_load(Setting, Jason.decode!(settings), :json) end) [%Setting{...}, ...] """ @spec embedded_load( module_or_map :: module | map(), data :: map(), format :: atom() ) :: Ecto.Schema.t() | map() def embedded_load(schema_or_types, data, format) do Ecto.Schema.Loader.unsafe_load( schema_or_types, data, &Ecto.Type.embedded_load(&1, &2, format) ) end @doc """ Dumps the given struct defined by an embedded schema. This converts the given embedded schema to a map to be serialized with the given format. For example: iex> Ecto.embedded_dump(%Post{}, :json) %{title: "hello"} """ @spec embedded_dump(Ecto.Schema.t(), format :: atom()) :: map() def embedded_dump(%schema{} = data, format) do Ecto.Schema.Loader.safe_dump( data, schema.__schema__(:dump), &Ecto.Type.embedded_dump(&1, &2, format) ) end end