How to create a like action?

Looks like you are mixing up the changeset-based resource creation flow and the code interface one. Once you have a changeset, you just pipe it into ‘Ash.create!’.

Sorry about the terse reply, typing on my phone right now

That doesn’t work either:

iex(3)> Animina.Accounts.Reaction 
|> Ash.Changeset.for_create(:like, %{sender_id: stefan.id, receiver_id: stefan.id}) 
|> Ash.create!

** (ArgumentError) No api configured for resource Animina.Accounts.Reaction.

Here just the changeset:

iex(3)> Animina.Accounts.Reaction 
|> Ash.Changeset.for_create(:like, %{sender_id: stefan.id, receiver_id: stefan.id}) 
#Ash.Changeset<
  action_type: :create,
  action: :like,
  attributes: %{
    name: :like,
    receiver_id: "16d7d94b-3975-4220-afc6-83d0ad009c9e",
    sender_id: "16d7d94b-3975-4220-afc6-83d0ad009c9e"
  },
  relationships: %{},
  errors: [],
  data: #Animina.Accounts.Reaction<
    receiver: #Ash.NotLoaded<:relationship>,
    sender: #Ash.NotLoaded<:relationship>,
    __meta__: #Ecto.Schema.Metadata<:built, "reactions">,
    id: nil,
    name: nil,
    created_at: nil,
    sender_id: nil,
    receiver_id: nil,
    aggregates: %{},
    calculations: %{},
    ...
  >,
  context: %{actor: nil, authorize?: false},
  valid?: true
>

Sorry about the terse reply, typing on my phone right now

No worries. I am more than grateful that you type it on your phone. I know what a PITA that is.

Looks like you’re missing something like api: Animina.Accounts from your for_create.

This is advice for 3.0, as most 2.0 users will not have configured the api: Api option.

For Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!(), that function is a code interface function which does not take a changeset. It takes the input directly

Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!(%{sender_id: user2.id, receiver_id: Stefan.id})

I want to call the :like action which I defined here:

  actions do
    defaults [:create, :read, :destroy]

    create :like do
      accept [:sender_id, :receiver_id]
      change set_attribute(:name, :like)
    end
  end

If I just call Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!/1 I get this error because the name attribute is required.

iex(5)> Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!(%{sender_id: stefan.id, receiver_id: stefan.id})
** (Ash.Error.Invalid) Input Invalid

* attribute name is required
    (ash 2.18.2) lib/ash/api/api.ex:2711: Ash.Api.unwrap_or_raise!/3

How can I call the like action? I tried this but that didn’t work:

iex(5)> Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!(:like, %{sender_id: stefan.id, receiver_id: stefan.id})
** (FunctionClauseError) no function clause matching in Keyword.split/2    
    
    The following arguments were given to Keyword.split/2:
    
        # 1
        %{
          receiver_id: "16d7d94b-3975-4220-afc6-83d0ad009c9e",
          sender_id: "16d7d94b-3975-4220-afc6-83d0ad009c9e"
        }
    
        # 2
        [:changeset, :actor, :tenant, :authorize?, :tracer]
    
    Attempted function clauses (showing 1 out of 1):
    
        def split(keywords, keys) when is_list(keywords) and is_list(keys)
    
    (elixir 1.16.0) lib/keyword.ex:1179: Keyword.split/2
    (animina 0.1.0) deps/ash/lib/ash/code_interface.ex:536: Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create!/2

Ah, right, you don’t want to use the code interface function that you added for :create, I see now.

like = Animina.Accounts.Reaction 
|> Ash.Changeset.for_create(:like, %{sender_id: user2.id, receiver_id: stefan.id}) 
|> Animina.Accounts.create!()

I believe that you mean to be calling the function on the api, not the resource. The create function on the resource is defined by your define :create in the code interface, and its meant to cal specifically the create action.

Now I am totally lost. What is the cleanest solution for the given problem? I want for the future external JSON-API a way to create a like the most secure way. What is the best way to do so?

I opened a new question for this.

Did you try to make the like action part of the code interface?

Something like:

code_interface do
...
define :create_like, action: :like
end

And then call Animina.Accounts.Reaction.create_like or maybe it’s Animina.Accounts.create_like. This way you don’t need the name argument

You have a :like action, and so how you call it in code can’t and won’t affect how the JSON:API behaves (which is why Ash is the way that it is).

There are three ways to call this like action in code, one of which is no longer available in 3.0. AshJsonApi will be unaffected by your choice here. You should choose #1, but I’m including 2 & 3 informationally.

1. You can define a code interface function as @joelpaulkoch says. This is the recommended approach. For this, you’d define something like this:

define :like, args: [:sender_id, :receiver_id]

and call it like YourResource.like(sender_id, receiver_id).

NOTE: In 3.0 this can be done in one additional way, where you define the code interface on the domain. It’s not relevant here, see the upgrade guide for more.

2. You can build a changeset and then call YourApi.create not YourApi.Resource.create. This is deprecated in 3.0

3. You can build a changeset and then call Ash.create. However, this only works if you have configured an api when using the resource, i.e use Ash.Resource, api: Api. (because we have to know the api). This is essentially a compatibility feature to make upgrading to 3.0. Don’t bother with it right now. When you are interested in upgrading to 3.0, the upgrade guide will explain how to make this change.