When using a date_select, I can no longer use the ":include_blank => true" option.  This is my code:

<%= date_select 'newsletter', 'published_on', :include_blank => true %>

and this doesn't work, either:

<%= date_select 'newsletter', 'published_on', {:include_blank => true} %>

Any ideas?

Date: 2006-10-13 09:06
Sender: Sean Cribbs

I understand why it can have meaning, and I'd appreciate any
patches people are willing to provide.  However, the complexity
it could bring to how form data is being handled might outweigh
the utility of allowing nils.  For example, what do you do when
one select in the group is nil, but the rest are not?

Although I haven't developed actively on this project for several
months, I've thought of incorporating Bruce Williams' param_types
plugin, which would solve a lot of these issues.

Again, if you have a patch, please submit it.  My real-life paying
projects are pretty demanding right now, and I haven't had to
use FT in a while, so I haven't actively developed it.

Date: 2006-10-12 18:24
Sender: Zack Chandler

Actually a blank Datetime field can have meaning.  What about
a completed_on column.  A null column in this case means that
the the task has not been completed.

I would recommend implementing the include_blank pass-through
because there are numerous intances where a nil makes sense for
a Datetime.

Date: 2006-05-31 11:44
Sender: Sean Cribbs

You're spot on.  The plugin won't allow nils to be stored,
unfortunately.  That's something I'll have to think about and
factor in, perhaps.

Date: 2006-05-31 10:46
Sender: Joel Stein

Forgive me for not totally understanding your explanation...
I'm still new to Ruby (and Rails).  I think I understand
what you're saying about the datetime_column methods.  But I
also know that when I don't use your plugin, and use a
datetime_select with :include_blank, Rails stores empty
dates in the database as nil.  ???  Where would I have to
look to see the code for such functionality?

Date: 2006-05-31 10:41
Sender: Sean Cribbs

I see your point, and it's a good one.  My concern is that if
the helper exists in the form, it will be stored in the database,
and thus not be null/nil.  The AR methods (datetime_column etc.)
that marshal data from the Hash format into a Date or Time object
use the current Date or Time as the default and update the appropriate
fields within those objects with the passed data.  This allows
you to update only a few portions of the database field (say
year and month) and still have a valid Date or Time.  I'm not
sure how I'd deal with blank data; perhaps it would be best to
hide or ignore the date field if its unpublished. If you come
up with a better solution, let me know.

Date: 2006-05-31 10:30
Sender: Joel Stein

Thanks, Sean.  I like using that option on some models,
because it means something.  For instance, I have a
newsletters, and if the published_on is null, it's a draft,
but when it's published, that field gets filled with a date
object.  Probably not the best way of doing things, but
that's how I do it.  :)

Date: 2006-05-31 09:41
Sender: Sean Cribbs

I have not implemented :include_blank, and I was under the impression
that it was not used by the datetime helpers -- partly because
having a blank field in a date has no meaning (and could possibly
break things!).  I'll double check that and get back to you.