models

can.Model.models(data, xhr) is used to convert the raw response of a findAll request into a can.Model.List of model instances.

This method is rarely called directly. Instead the deferred returned by findAll is piped into models. This creates a new deferred that resolves to a can.Model.List of instances instead of an array of simple JS objects.

If your server is returning data in non-standard way, overwriting can.Model.models is the best way to normalize it.

Quick Example

The following uses models to convert to a can.Model.List of model instances.

Task = can.Model.extend()
var tasks = Task.models([
  {id: 1, name : "dishes", complete : false},
  {id: 2, name: "laundry", compelte: true}
])

tasks.attr("0.complete", true)

Non-standard Services

can.Model.models expects data to be an array of name-value pair objects like:

[{id: 1, name : "dishes"},{id:2, name: "laundry"}, ...]

It can also take an object with additional data about the array like:

{
  count: 15000 //how many total items there might be
  data: [{id: 1, name : "justin"},{id:2, name: "brian"}, ...]
}

In this case, models will return a can.Model.List of instances found in data, but with additional properties as expandos on the list:

var tasks = Task.models({
  count : 1500,
  data : [{id: 1, name: 'dishes'}, ...]
})
tasks.attr("name") // -> 'dishes'
tasks.count // -> 1500

Overwriting Models

If your service returns data like:

{thingsToDo: [{name: "dishes", id: 5}]}

You will want to overwrite models to pass the base models what it expects like:

Task = can.Model.extend({
  models : function(data){
    return can.Model.models.call(this,data.thingsToDo);
  }
},{})

can.Model.models passes each instance's data to can.Model.model to create the individual instances.