how to conditionally include associations in a Rails Active Model Serializer v0.8 -

i have used ams (0.8) rails 3.2.19 1 place struggle them how control whether serializers include associations or not. use ams build json api's. serializer leaf or furthest out element , it's top level , needs include associations. question best way or solution below work (or best solution).

i have seen of discussions find them confusing (and version based). it's clear serializer attributes or associations, there an include_xxx? method each , can return either truthy or falsey statement here.

here's proposed code - it's winemaker has many wine_items. how this?

model classes:

class wineitem < activerecord::base   attr_accessible :name, :winemaker_id   belongs_to :winemaker  end  class winemaker < activerecord::base   attr_accessible :name   has_many :wine_items   attr_accessor :show_items end 

serializers:

class winemakerserializer < activemodel::serializer   attributes :id, :name   has_many :wine_items     def include_wine_items?     object.show_items   end end  class wineitemserializer < activemodel::serializer   attributes :id, :name end 

and in controller:

class apiwinemakerscontroller < applicationcontroller   def index     @winemakers=winemaker.all     @winemakers.each { |wm| wm.show_items=true }     render json: @winemakers, each_serializer: winemakerserializer, root: "data"   end end 

i ran issue myself , cleanest solution far (but i'm not fan of it).

this method allows things like:

/parents/1?include_children=true

or using cleaner syntax like:

/parents/1?include=[children], etc...

# app/controllers/application_controller.rb class applicationcontroller   # override scope activemodel-serializer (method defined below)   # see: https://github.com/rails-api/active_model_serializers/tree/0-8-stable#customizing-scope   serialization_scope(:serializer_scope)    private    # whatever in method accessible in serializer classes.   # pass in params conditional includes.   def serializer_scope     openstruct.new(params: params, current_user: current_user)   end end  # app/serializers/parent_serializer.rb class parentserializer < activemodel::serializer   has_many :children    def include_children?     params[:include_children] == true     # or if using other syntax:     # params[:includes].include?("children")   end end 

kinda hackish me, works. hope find useful!