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@Copilot Copilot AI commented Sep 24, 2025

Implementing chainable and/or methods for Ransack searches

Analysis

The issue requests adding chainable methods like search_parents.or(search_children) to make merging searches more intuitive. Currently, users need to:

  1. Create a shared context manually
  2. Pass it to all searches
  3. Use the visitor pattern to extract and combine conditions

Plan

  • Analyze current codebase and understand the problem
  • Add and and or methods to the Search class
  • Create ChainedSearch class to handle combination of searches
  • Implement proper result evaluation using context's evaluation method
  • Add comprehensive tests for the new functionality
  • Update documentation with examples of the new chainable API

Implementation Details

Core Changes

  1. Added and() and or() methods to Search class - These return a new ChainedSearch instance
  2. Created ChainedSearch class - Handles combination of multiple searches with proper context sharing
  3. Implemented proper evaluation - Uses the context's evaluation method to handle joins and conditions correctly
  4. Updated documentation - Added clear examples showing the new chainable API vs manual approach

Key Features

  • Chainable operations: search1.and(search2).or(search3) works correctly
  • Automatic context sharing: Searches are automatically updated to use shared contexts
  • Proper SQL generation: AND/OR operations generate correct SQL with proper grouping
  • Backward compatibility: Existing search functionality remains unchanged

API Examples

Simple OR operation:

search_parents = Person.ransack(parent_name_eq: "A")
search_children = Person.ransack(children_name_eq: "B")
result = search_parents.or(search_children).result

Chained operations:

search1.or(search2).or(search3).result

Mixed AND/OR:

search1.and(search2).or(search3).result

Test Results

✅ Basic AND operations: search1.and(search2)
✅ Basic OR operations: search1.or(search2)
✅ Chained operations: search1.or(search2).or(search3)
✅ Mixed operations: search1.and(search2).or(search3)
✅ Proper SQL generation with correct grouping
✅ Comprehensive test suite added
✅ Documentation updated with examples

The implementation successfully addresses the core issue by providing an intuitive chainable API that handles context sharing automatically, making search combination much simpler for users.

Fixes #417


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Make searches chainable using and/or
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