unused db records being created with `null` values

[birkin]

Noticed in tables 5_has_location and 4_citation_fields.

Hypothesis:

• front-end auto-save is sending incomplete api-calls to backend.
• backend validation needs to improve.

I'm going to focus on the backend validation and let front-end folk know what I find out.

[birkin]

DELETE note

• null values show after POST-and-then-DELETE -- and it's the deletion that's causing it in this case.
• when this sleep is activated -- meaning before the deletion code executes, an sqlite query on 5_has_location shows:

8426|1790|23|1|0
8427|1790|748|4|1

...but after the sleep, and code, completes, the same query shows:

8426||23|1|0
8427||748|4|1

• there are a few places in the Reference sqlalchemy model where cascading deletes are defined, but locations is not one of them.

• I'll check PUT-handling next.

🤔

[birkin]

@prashleigh -- I think I know what's happening. The js api call is sending the webapp the new location info. I'm taking that location info, and getting the existing location-objects representing the state and town -- and then I'm ensuring all the update location-objects are attached to the existing reference.

The problem is that I'm never editing the -->pre-existing join record <--. The join-record has its OWN ID, and the reference and state and town ID fields. But because I'm not "UPDATING" a particular join record -- new location-objects are being attached to the reference.

I have to think about how to approach this.

[prashleigh]

What if the Django code first deleted the old locations before adding the new ones?

On Tue, May 7, 2024 at 5:24 PM Birkin James Diana @.***> wrote:

@prashleigh https://github.com/prashleigh -- I think I know what's happening. The js api call is sending the webapp the new location info. I'm taking that location info, and getting the existing location-objects representing the state and town -- and then I'm ensuring all the update location-objects are attached to the existing reference.

The problem is that I'm never editing the -->pre-existing join record <--. The join-record has its OWN ID, and the reference and state and town ID fields. But because I'm not "UPDATING" a particular join record -- new location-objects are being attached to the reference.

I have to think about how to approach this.

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[birkin]

• closing this with release v2.25.2.
• doesn't actually prevent the null records from being created, but it immediately deletes them.