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App Config

Rails framework default configuration way is, as we all know, flexible and simple at the same time. Troubles begins when Your application starts to grow - some form of app specific configuration is then required to keep all as DRY as possible.

AppConfig plugin provides a convenient way for configuration application wide settings. Extra custom files in config/ or other unusual configuration hacks are no longer needed. AppConfig extends Rails configuration process in a way that allows to setup application specific options within default configuration block.

Installation:

It’s been posted on the Rails Plugin wiki page, so theoretically You could install it with: 

        $ script/plugin discover
        $ script/plugin install app_config

Otherwise You can install directly from the repository: 

        $ script/plugin install http://svn.jarmark.org/rails/app_config

NOTE: because AppConfig modifies Rails configuration internals, must be included before Rails::Initializer#run. If You are using Rails v1.1+ this step is taken automatically during installation. Otherwise add the following line to conf/environment.rb file: 

        require 'plugins/app_config/lib/configuration'

(somewhere between line ‘require File.join(File.dirname(FILE), ‘boot’) and ‘Rails::Initializer.run’)

Usage

You can specify app-wide settings in configuration file(s) using ’app_config’ prefix e.g. environment.rb: 

        Rails::Initializer.run do |config|
        ...
           # --- My killer-app specific settings:
           config.app_config.my_key = 'my value'
           config.app_config.boot_time = Time.now
           config.app_config.default_mail_subject = '[appconfig] '
           config.app_config.my_hash = {:a=>1, :b=>2}
        ...

but also in e.g. environment/development.rb 

        ...
        config.app_config.default_message = "I'm now in development mode..."
        ...

Access to previously configured settings from within application code is also dead easy: 

        AppConfig.my_key
        AppConfig[:my_key]
        AppConfig['my_key']
        AppConfig.param('my_key')
        AppConfig.param(:my_key)
        AppConfig.param('my_key', 'value if my_key is nil')
        AppConfig.param(:my_key)do
         ... #executed when my_key is nil
        end

Happy (re)configurations!

Vitals

Home http://jarmark.org/projects/app-config/
Repository http://svn.jarmark.org/rails/app_config
License Rails' (MIT)
Tags Tag_red
Rating (33 votes)
Owner Daniel Owsianski
Created 21 July 2006

Comments

  • Avatar
    Andrew Kaspick
    6 January 2008

    Was about to write a similar plugin, but a search came up with this and it's "exactly" what I was thinking of myself. Thanks!

  • Avatar
    Sujoy Roy
    22 January 2008

    I am newbie in rails world. This plug in helps me start to store the system wide settings like Administrator password.

  • Avatar
    jc
    29 June 2008

    Doesn't work in Rails 2.1. Tried fixing it but the code is mostly incomprehensible.

  • caiges
    8 October 2008

    Add this before class OrderedOptions in app_config.rb

    Add this back into ActiveSupport as it seems to be removed from rails 2.1.

    module ActiveSupport # Hash is ordered in Ruby 1.9! if RUBY_VERSION >= '1.9'

    OrderedHash = ::Hash

    else

    class OrderedHash < Array #:nodoc:
  def []=(key, value)
    if pair = assoc(key)
      pair.pop
      pair << value
    else
      self << [key, value]
    end
  end

  def [](key)
    pair = assoc(key)
    pair ? pair.last : nil
  end

  def keys
    collect { |key, value| key }
  end

  def values
    collect { |key, value| value }
  end
end

    end end

  • Avatar
    joe
    20 November 2008

    Does anyone know how to fix this problem when using Rails 2.1.0?

    uninitialized constant AppConfig::Base::OrderedOptions

  • Thyme
    28 May 2009

    I found problem "uninitialized constant AppConfig::Base::OrderedOptions" in Rails 2.3.2 also. I think that it is caused by differences in OrderedOptions class exposed by Rails and Active_Support. To solve it I had to convince plugin to use class exposed by Rails. To do that One have to change plugin source file: ./vendor/plugins/app_config/lib/app_config.rb and change line: @@parameters = OrderedOptions.new to: @@parameters = Rails::OrderedOptions.new and now everything works fine for me.

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