How can I define an array of objects field in Sequelize.js model?
I need something like this
{
"profiles" : [
{
"profile_id": 10,
"profile_pictures" : ["pic1.jpg","pic2.jpg","pic3.jpg"],
"profile_used_id" : 12
},
... // more profiles
]
}
I checked the docs, but couldn't find a relevant data type, am I missing something here ?
I have successfully been mimicking arrays by defining my model like:
var MyModel = sequelize.define('MyModel', {
myArrayField: {
type: DataTypes.STRING,
get: function() {
return JSON.parse(this.getDataValue('myArrayField'));
},
set: function(val) {
return this.setDataValue('myArrayField', JSON.stringify(val));
}
}
}
I can think currently of 2 solutions (and a 3rd one if you are using PostgreSQL).
We have a relational database working behind, so do its principles apply also for Sequelize which is a ORM for relational databases. The easiest would be to create another table or entity and associate them as a 1:n relationship. For that matter add a new model in Sequelize and define its associations like described here: http://sequelizejs.com/articles/getting-started#associations You might have then 2 tables. One profile table having N pictures.
If its just a filename or url you could serialise a Javascript array to a JSON string like:
// before save
var mypics = ["pic1.jpg","pic2.jpg"]; profile.pictures = JSON.stringify( mypics ); profile.save()
// after load before use
var profile = Profile.get(1) pictures = JSON.parse(profile.pictures);
If you use PostgreSQL you could use the Array Datatype for this field, see: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.4/static/arrays.html
or the JSON Datatype:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.3/interactive/datatype-json.html
Go for 1 if your Picture object is or will be more complex in the feature. Or if you want to query by filename. Go for 2 if you dont do any data filtering or complex data in the future.
Go for 3? I think its best to stick to Sequelize abstraction and not use custom data types even its possible in that case. Maybe you better stick to 1 or 2.
