RKObjectMapping Class Reference
| Inherits from | RKMapping : NSObject |
| Conforms to | NSCopying |
| Declared in | RKObjectMapping.h |
Overview
An RKObjectMapping object describes a transformation between object represenations using key-value coding and run-time type introspection. The mapping is defined in terms of a source object class and a collection of RKPropertyMapping objects describing how key paths in the source representation should be transformed into attributes and relationships on the target object. Object mappings are provided to instances of RKMapperOperation and RKMappingOperation to perform the transformations they describe.
Object mappings are containers of property mappings that describe the actual key path transformations. There are two types of property mappings:
RKAttributeMapping: An attribute mapping describes a transformation between a single value from a source key path to a destination key path. The value to be mapped is read from the source object representation usingvalueForKeyPath:and then set to the destination key path usingsetValueForKeyPath:. Before the value is set, theRKObjecMappingOperationperforming the mapping performs runtime introspection on the destination property to determine what, if any, type transformation is to be performed. Typical type transformations include reading anNSStringvalue representation and mapping it to anNSDecimalNumberdestination key path or reading anNSStringand transforming it into anNSDatevalue before assigning to the destination.RKRelationshipMapping: A relationship mapping describes a transformation between a nested child object or objects from a source key path to a destination key path using anotherRKObjectMapping. The child objects to be mapped are read from the source object representation usingvalueForKeyPath:, then mapped recursively using the object mapping associated with the relationship mapping, and then finally assigned to the destination key path. Before assignment to the destination key path runtime type introspection is performed to determine if any type transformation is necessary. For relationship mappings, common type transformations include transforming a single object value in anNSArrayor transforming anNSArrayof object values into anNSSet.
All type transformations available are discussed in detail in the documentation for RKMappingOperation.
Transforming Representation to Property Keys
Configuring object mappings can become quite repetitive if the keys in your serialized object representations follow a different convention than their local domain counterparts. For example, consider a typical JSON document in the “snake case” format:
{"user": {"first_name": "Blake", "last_name": "Watters", "email_address": "[email protected]"}}
Typically when configuring a mapping for the object represented in this document we would transform the destination properties into the Objective-C idiomatic “llama case” variation. This can produce lengthy, error-prone mapping configurations in which the transformations are specified manually:
RKObjectMapping *userMapping = [RKObjectMapping mappingForClass:[RKUser class]];
[userMapping addAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:@{ @"first_name": @"firstName", @"last_name": @"lastName", @"email_address", @"emailAddress" }];
To combat this repetition, a block can be designated to perform a transformation on source keys to produce corresponding destination keys:
[userMapping setSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:^NSString *(RKObjectMapping *mapping, NSString *sourceKey) {
// Value transformer compliments of TransformerKit (See https://github.com/mattt/TransformerKit)
return [[NSValueTransformer valueTransformerForName:TKLlamaCaseStringTransformerName] transformedValue:sourceKey];
}];
With the block configured, the original configuration can be changed into a simpler array based invocation:
[userMapping addAttributeMappingsFromArray:@[ @"first_name", @"last_name", @"email_address" ]];
Transformation blocks can be configured on a per-mapping basis via setSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock: or globally via [RKObjectMapping setDefaultSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:].
Tasks
Creating an Object Mapping
-
+ mappingForClass:Returns an object mapping for the specified class that is ready for configuration
-
– initWithClass:Initializes the receiver with a given object class. This is the designated initializer.
-
+ requestMappingReturns an object mapping with an
objectClassofNSMutableDictionary.
Accessing Property Mappings
-
propertyMappingsThe aggregate collection of attribute and relationship mappings within this object mapping.
property -
propertyMappingsBySourceKeyPathReturns the property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the source key paths and the values are instances of
propertyRKAttributeMappingorRKRelationshipMapping. -
propertyMappingsByDestinationKeyPathReturns the property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the destination key paths and the values are instances of
propertyRKAttributeMappingorRKRelationshipMapping. -
attributeMappingsThe collection of attribute mappings within this object mapping.
property -
relationshipMappingsThe collection of relationship mappings within this object mapping.
property -
– mappingForSourceKeyPath:Returns the property mapping registered with the receiver with the given source key path.
-
– mappingForDestinationKeyPath:Returns the property mapping registered with the receiver with the given destinationKeyPath key path.
-
– addPropertyMapping:Adds a property mapping to the receiver.
-
– addPropertyMappingsFromArray:Adds an array of
RKAttributeMappingorRKRelationshipMappingobjects to the receiver. -
– removePropertyMapping:Removes an
RKAttributeMappingorRKRelationshipMappingfrom the receiver. -
– addAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:Adds attribute mappings from a given dictionary wherein the keys represent the source key path and the values represent the names of the target attributes on the destination object.
-
– addAttributeMappingsFromArray:Adds attribute mappings to the receiver from a given array.
-
– addRelationshipMappingWithSourceKeyPath:mapping:Adds a relationship mapping to the receiver with the given source key path and mapping.
Configuring Key Transformation
-
+ setDefaultSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:Sets an application-wide default transformation block to be used when attribute or relationship mappings are added to an object mapping by source key path.
-
– setSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:Sets a block to executed to transform a source key into a destination key.
Mapping Nested Dictionaries
-
– addAttributeMappingFromKeyOfRepresentationToAttribute:Adds an attribute mapping from a dynamic nesting key value to an attribute. The mapped attribute name can then be referenced within other attribute mappings to access the nested content.
-
– addAttributeMappingToKeyOfRepresentationFromAttribute:Adds an attribute mapping to a dynamic nesting key from an attribute. The mapped attribute name can then be referenced wthin other attribute mappings to map content under the nesting key path.
Configuring Mapping Options
-
objectClassThe target class that the receiver describes a mapping for.
property -
setDefaultValueForMissingAttributesWhen
propertyYES, any attributes that have mappings defined but are not present within the source object will be set to nil, clearing any existing value. -
setNilForMissingRelationshipsWhen
propertyYES, any relationships that have mappings defined but are not present within the source object will be set tonil, clearing any existing value. -
performKeyValueValidationWhen
propertyYES, key-value validation will be invoked at object mapping time. -
– defaultValueForAttribute:Returns the default value to be assigned to the specified attribute when it is missing from a mappable payload.
Configuring Date Formatters
-
dateFormattersAn array of
propertyNSFormatterobjects to use when mapping string values intoNSDateattributes on the targetobjectClass. Each date formatter will be invoked with the string value being mapped until one of the date formatters does not return nil. -
preferredDateFormatterThe
propertyNSFormatterobject for your application’s preferred date and time configuration. This date formatter will be used when generating string representations of NSDate attributes (i.e. during serialization to URL form encoded or JSON format). -
– inverseMappingGenerates an inverse mapping for the rules specified within this object mapping.
Obtaining Information About the Target Class
-
– classForProperty:Returns the class of the attribute or relationship property of the target
objectClasswith the given name. -
– classForKeyPath:Returns the class of the attribute or relationship property of the target
objectClassat the given key path.
DateAndTimeFormatting Methods
-
+ defaultDateFormattersReturns the collection of default date formatters that will be used for all object mappings that have not been configured specifically.
-
+ setDefaultDateFormatters:Sets the collection of default date formatters to the specified array. The array should contain configured instances of NSDateFormatter in the order in which you want them applied during object mapping operations.
-
+ addDefaultDateFormatter:Adds a date formatter instance to the default collection
-
+ addDefaultDateFormatterForString:inTimeZone:Convenience method for quickly constructing a date formatter and adding it to the collection of default date formatters. The locale is auto-configured to
en_US_POSIX. -
+ preferredDateFormatterReturns the preferred date formatter to use when generating NSString representations from NSDate attributes. This type of transformation occurs when RestKit is mapping local objects into JSON or form encoded serializations that do not have a native time construct.
-
+ setPreferredDateFormatter:Sets the preferred date formatter to use when generating NSString representations from NSDate attributes. This type of transformation occurs when RestKit is mapping local objects into JSON or form encoded serializations that do not have a native time construct.
Properties
attributeMappings
The collection of attribute mappings within this object mapping.
@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSArray *attributeMappingsDeclared In
RKObjectMapping.hdateFormatters
An array of NSFormatter objects to use when mapping string values into NSDate attributes on the target objectClass. Each date formatter will be invoked with the string value being mapped until one of the date formatters does not return nil.
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSArray *dateFormattersDiscussion
Defaults to the application-wide collection of date formatters configured via [RKObjectMapping setDefaultDateFormatters:]
See Also
[RKObjectMapping defaultDateFormatters]
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hobjectClass
The target class that the receiver describes a mapping for.
@property (nonatomic, weak, readonly) Class objectClassDeclared In
RKObjectMapping.hperformKeyValueValidation
When YES, key-value validation will be invoked at object mapping time.
@property (nonatomic, assign) BOOL performKeyValueValidationDiscussion
Default: YES
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hpreferredDateFormatter
The NSFormatter object for your application’s preferred date and time configuration. This date formatter will be used when generating string representations of NSDate attributes (i.e. during serialization to URL form encoded or JSON format).
@property (nonatomic, strong) NSFormatter *preferredDateFormatterDiscussion
Defaults to the application-wide preferred date formatter configured via: [RKObjectMapping setPreferredDateFormatter:]
See Also
[RKObjectMapping preferredDateFormatter]
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hpropertyMappings
The aggregate collection of attribute and relationship mappings within this object mapping.
@property (nonatomic, strong, readonly) NSArray *propertyMappingsDeclared In
RKObjectMapping.hpropertyMappingsByDestinationKeyPath
Returns the property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the destination key paths and the values are instances of RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping.
@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSDictionary *propertyMappingsByDestinationKeyPathReturn Value
The property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the destination key paths and the values are instances of RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping.
Discussion
Warning: Note this method does not return any property mappings with a nil value for the source key path in the dictionary returned.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hpropertyMappingsBySourceKeyPath
Returns the property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the source key paths and the values are instances of RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping.
@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSDictionary *propertyMappingsBySourceKeyPathReturn Value
The property mappings of the receiver in a dictionary, where the keys are the source key paths and the values are instances of RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping.
Discussion
Warning: Note this method does not return any property mappings with a nil value for the source key path in the dictionary returned.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hrelationshipMappings
The collection of relationship mappings within this object mapping.
@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSArray *relationshipMappingsDeclared In
RKObjectMapping.hsetDefaultValueForMissingAttributes
When YES, any attributes that have mappings defined but are not present within the source object will be set to nil, clearing any existing value.
@property (nonatomic, assign, getter=shouldSetDefaultValueForMissingAttributes) BOOL setDefaultValueForMissingAttributesDeclared In
RKObjectMapping.hClass Methods
addDefaultDateFormatter:
Adds a date formatter instance to the default collection
+ (void)addDefaultDateFormatter:(NSFormatter *)dateFormatterParameters
- dateFormatter
An
NSFormatterobject to prepend to the default formatters collection
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddDefaultDateFormatterForString:inTimeZone:
Convenience method for quickly constructing a date formatter and adding it to the collection of default date formatters. The locale is auto-configured to en_US_POSIX.
+ (void)addDefaultDateFormatterForString:(NSString *)dateFormatString inTimeZone:(NSTimeZone *)nilOrTimeZoneParameters
- dateFormatString
The dateFormat string to assign to the newly constructed
NSDateFormatterinstance
- nilOrTimeZone
The NSTimeZone object to configure on the
NSDateFormatterinstance. Defaults to UTC time.
Return Value
A new NSDateFormatter will be prepended to the defaultDateFormatters with the specified date format and time zone
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hdefaultDateFormatters
Returns the collection of default date formatters that will be used for all object mappings that have not been configured specifically.
+ (NSArray *)defaultDateFormattersReturn Value
An array of NSFormatter objects used when mapping strings into NSDate attributes
Discussion
Out of the box, RestKit initializes default date formatters for you in the UTC time zone with the following format strings:
yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss'Z'MM/dd/yyyy
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hmappingForClass:
Returns an object mapping for the specified class that is ready for configuration
+ (instancetype)mappingForClass:(Class)objectClassParameters
- objectClass
The class that the mapping targets.
Return Value
A new mapping object.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hpreferredDateFormatter
Returns the preferred date formatter to use when generating NSString representations from NSDate attributes. This type of transformation occurs when RestKit is mapping local objects into JSON or form encoded serializations that do not have a native time construct.
+ (NSFormatter *)preferredDateFormatterReturn Value
The preferred NSFormatter object to use when serializing dates into strings
Discussion
Defaults to an instance of the RKISO8601DateFormatter configured with the UTC time-zone. The format string is equal to “yyyy-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD”
For details about the ISO-8601 format, see http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hrequestMapping
Returns an object mapping with an objectClass of NSMutableDictionary.
+ (RKObjectMapping *)requestMappingReturn Value
An object mapping with an object class of NSMutableDictionary.
Discussion
Request mappings are used when configuring mappings that are to be used for transforming local objects into HTTP parameters using the RKObjectParameterization class.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hsetDefaultDateFormatters:
Sets the collection of default date formatters to the specified array. The array should contain configured instances of NSDateFormatter in the order in which you want them applied during object mapping operations.
+ (void)setDefaultDateFormatters:(NSArray *)dateFormattersParameters
- dateFormatters
An array of date formatters to replace the existing defaults.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hsetDefaultSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:
Sets an application-wide default transformation block to be used when attribute or relationship mappings are added to an object mapping by source key path.
+ (void)setDefaultSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:(NSString *( ^ ) ( RKObjectMapping *mapping , NSString *sourceKey ))blockParameters
- block
The block to be set as the default source to destination key transformer for all object mappings in the application.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hsetPreferredDateFormatter:
Sets the preferred date formatter to use when generating NSString representations from NSDate attributes. This type of transformation occurs when RestKit is mapping local objects into JSON or form encoded serializations that do not have a native time construct.
+ (void)setPreferredDateFormatter:(NSFormatter *)dateFormatterParameters
- dateFormatter
The NSFormatter object to designate as the new preferred instance
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hInstance Methods
addAttributeMappingFromKeyOfRepresentationToAttribute:
Adds an attribute mapping from a dynamic nesting key value to an attribute. The mapped attribute name can then be referenced within other attribute mappings to access the nested content.
- (void)addAttributeMappingFromKeyOfRepresentationToAttribute:(NSString *)attributeNameDiscussion
For example, consider the following JSON:
{ "users":
{
"blake": { "id": 1234, "email": "[email protected]" },
"rachit": { "id": 5678", "email": "[email protected]" }
}
}
We can configure our mappings to handle this in the following form:
RKObjectMapping *mapping = [RKObjectMapping mappingForClass:[User class]];
mapping.forceCollectionMapping = YES; // RestKit cannot infer this is a collection, so we force it
[mapping addAttributeMappingFromKeyOfRepresentationToAttribute:@"firstName"];
[mapping addAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:@{ @"(firstName).id": @"userID", @"(firstName).email": @"email" }];
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddAttributeMappingToKeyOfRepresentationFromAttribute:
Adds an attribute mapping to a dynamic nesting key from an attribute. The mapped attribute name can then be referenced wthin other attribute mappings to map content under the nesting key path.
- (void)addAttributeMappingToKeyOfRepresentationFromAttribute:(NSString *)attributeNameDiscussion
For example, consider that we wish to map a local user object with the properties ‘id’, ‘firstName’ and ‘email’:
RKUser *user = [RKUser new];
user.firstName = @"blake";
user.userID = @(1234);
user.email = @"[email protected]";
And we wish to map it into JSON that looks like:
{ "blake": { "id": 1234, "email": "[email protected]" } }
We can configure our request mapping to handle this like so:
RKObjectMapping *mapping = [RKObjectMapping requestMapping];
[mapping addAttributeMappingToKeyOfRepresentationFromAttribute:@"firstName"];
[mapping addAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:@{ @"(firstName).userID": @"id", @"(firstName).email": @"email" }];
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddAttributeMappingsFromArray:
Adds attribute mappings to the receiver from a given array.
- (void)addAttributeMappingsFromArray:(NSArray *)arrayOfAttributeNamesOrMappingsParameters
- An
array of
RKAttributeMappingorNSStringvalues to be added to the receiver’s set of attribute mappings,
Discussion
The array can contain RKAttributeMapping objects or NSString values. If an NSString is given, then a new RKAttributeMapping object is instantiated with a sourceKeyPath and destinationKeyPath equal to the string value.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:
Adds attribute mappings from a given dictionary wherein the keys represent the source key path and the values represent the names of the target attributes on the destination object.
- (void)addAttributeMappingsFromDictionary:(NSDictionary *)keyPathToAttributeNamesParameters
- keyPathToAttributeNames
A dictionary keyed by source key to destination attribute name.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddPropertyMapping:
Adds a property mapping to the receiver.
- (void)addPropertyMapping:(RKPropertyMapping *)propertyMappingParameters
- propertyMapping
The property mapping to be added to the object mapping.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddPropertyMappingsFromArray:
Adds an array of RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping objects to the receiver.
- (void)addPropertyMappingsFromArray:(NSArray *)arrayOfPropertyMappingsParameters
- propertyMappings
The array of property mappings to be added to the object mapping.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.haddRelationshipMappingWithSourceKeyPath:mapping:
Adds a relationship mapping to the receiver with the given source key path and mapping.
- (void)addRelationshipMappingWithSourceKeyPath:(NSString *)sourceKeyPath mapping:(RKMapping *)mappingParameters
- sourceKeyPath
The source key path at which to read the nested representation of the related objects.
- mapping
The object mapping with which to process the related object representation.
Discussion
The destination key path will be the same as the source key path or processed by the source to destination key transformation block, if any is configured.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hclassForKeyPath:
Returns the class of the attribute or relationship property of the target objectClass at the given key path.
- (Class)classForKeyPath:(NSString *)keyPathParameters
- propertyName
The name of the property we would like to retrieve the type of.
Return Value
The class of the property at the given key path.
Discussion
Given a key path to a string property, this will return an NSString, etc.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hclassForProperty:
Returns the class of the attribute or relationship property of the target objectClass with the given name.
- (Class)classForProperty:(NSString *)propertyNameParameters
- propertyName
The name of the property we would like to retrieve the type of.
Return Value
The class of the property.
Discussion
Given the name of a string property, this will return an NSString, etc.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hdefaultValueForAttribute:
Returns the default value to be assigned to the specified attribute when it is missing from a mappable payload.
- (id)defaultValueForAttribute:(NSString *)attributeNameDiscussion
The default implementation returns nil for transient object mappings. On an entity mapping, the default value returned from the Entity definition will be used.
See Also
[RKEntityMapping defaultValueForAttribute:]
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hinitWithClass:
Initializes the receiver with a given object class. This is the designated initializer.
- (id)initWithClass:(Class)objectClassParameters
- objectClass
The class that the mapping targets. Cannot be
nil.
Return Value
The receiver, initialized with the given class.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hinverseMapping
Generates an inverse mapping for the rules specified within this object mapping.
- (instancetype)inverseMappingReturn Value
A new mapping that will map the inverse of the receiver.
Discussion
This can be used to quickly generate a corresponding serialization mapping from a configured object mapping. The inverse mapping will have the source and destination keyPaths swapped for all attribute and relationship mappings. All mapping configuration and date formatters are copied from the parent to the inverse mapping.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hmappingForDestinationKeyPath:
Returns the property mapping registered with the receiver with the given destinationKeyPath key path.
- (id)mappingForDestinationKeyPath:(NSString *)destinationKeyPathParameters
- destinationKeyPath
The key path to retrieve.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hmappingForSourceKeyPath:
Returns the property mapping registered with the receiver with the given source key path.
- (id)mappingForSourceKeyPath:(NSString *)sourceKeyPathParameters
- sourceKeyPath
The key path to retrieve.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hremovePropertyMapping:
Removes an RKAttributeMapping or RKRelationshipMapping from the receiver.
- (void)removePropertyMapping:(RKPropertyMapping *)propertyMappingParameters
- propertyMapping
The attribute or relationship mapping to remove.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.hsetSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:
Sets a block to executed to transform a source key into a destination key.
- (void)setSourceToDestinationKeyTransformationBlock:(NSString *( ^ ) ( RKObjectMapping *mapping , NSString *sourceKey ))blockParameters
- block
The block to execute when the receiver needs to transform a source key into a destination key. The block has a string return value specifying the destination key and accepts a single string argument: the source key that is to be transformed.
Discussion
The transformation block set with this method is used whenever an attribute or relationship mapping is added to the receiver via a method that accepts a string value for the source key. The block will be executed with the source key as the only argument and the value returned will be taken as the corresponding destination key. Methods on the RKObjectMapping class that will trigger the execution of the block configured via this method include:
* addAttributeMappingsFromArray: – Each string element contained in the given array is interpretted as a source key path and will be evaluated with the block to obtain a corresponding destination key path.
* addRelationshipMappingWithSourceKeyPath:mapping: – The source key path will be evaluated with the block to obtain a corresponding destination key path.
Warning: Please note that the block given accepts a key as opposed to a key path. When a key path is given to a method supporting key transformation it will be decomposed into its key components by splitting the key path at the ‘.’ (period) character, then each key will be evaluated using the transformation block and the results will be joined together into a new key path with the period character delimiter.
Declared In
RKObjectMapping.h