Welcome to the Treehouse Community
Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.
Looking to learn something new?
Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.
Start your free trial
andrewgierke
7,661 PointsGetting "First argument in form cannot contain nil or be empty" failure and cannot figure it out! Please help.
full failure
Adding todo items
is successful with valid content (FAILED - 1)
Failures:
1) Adding todo items is successful with valid content
Failure/Error: click_link "New Todo Item"
ActionView::Template::Error:
First argument in form cannot contain nil or be empty
# ./app/views/todo_items/new.html.erb:1:in `_app_views_todo_items_new_html_erb___1177521040364895439_70338916420420'
# ./spec/features/todo_items/create_spec.rb:15:in `block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'
Finished in 0.19265 seconds
1 example, 1 failure
Failed examples:
rspec ./spec/features/todo_items/create_spec.rb:13 # Adding todo items is successful with valid content
Randomized with seed 13419
Create_spec.rb
require 'spec_helper'
describe "Adding todo items" do
let!(:todo_list) { TodoList.create(title: "Grocery list", description: "Groceries") }
def visit_todo_list(list)
visit "/todo_lists"
within "#todo_list_#{list.id}" do
click_link "List Items"
end
end
it "is successful with valid content" do
visit_todo_list(todo_list)
click_link "New Todo Item"
fill_in "Content", with: "Milk"
click_button "Save"
expect(page).to have_content("Added todo list item.")
within("ul.todo_item")
expect(page).to have_content("Milk")
end
end
new.html.erb
<%= form_for [@todo_list, @todo_item] do |form| %>
<%= form.label :content %>
<%= form.text_field :content %>
<%= form.submit "Save" %>
<% end %>
class TodoItemsController < ApplicationController
def index
@todo_list = TodoList.find(params[:todo_list_id])
end
def new
@todo_list = TodoList.find(params[:todo_list_id])
@todo_items = @todo_list.todo_items.new
end
def create
@todo_list = TodoList.find(params[:todo_list_id])
@todo_item = @todo_list.todo_items.new(todo_item_params)
if @todo_item.save
flash[:success] = "Added todo list item"
redirect_to todo_list_todo_list_items_path
else
flash[:error] = "There was an error adding that todo list item"
render action: :new
end
end
private
def todo_item_params
params[:todo_item].permit(:content)
end
end
Thank you for any help. Im basically stuck here. Been looking all over and cannot figure this out.
Steve Hunter
57,712 PointsFormatting is really annoying isn't it!! I've just tried amedning it, with little success.
Anyway, I can see enough - let me see if I can fix your issue ... give me a little while!!
andrewgierke
7,661 PointsThank you so much, i have running through it over and over and looking anywhere to no avail. Let me know if I can share anything else with you!
2 Answers
Steve Hunter
57,712 PointsThe only thing I can see in the code, which may be unrelated, is the unordered list in the test. Where is the ul tag in the html? I'm not sure that's the issue, but the test is within("ul.todo_item").
The error is apparently in line 1 of new.html.erb. I can't see anything wrong there.
The issue First argument in form cannot contain nil or be empty appears to refer to form_for [@todo_list, @todo_item] - I wonder if the Save failed? You're filling in content with "Milk" then hitting save, yet the first part of the form appears blank.
Where's the save functionality? I've not touched this for a while so need reminding.
andrewgierke
7,661 PointsThe save is in the new.html.erb (which i apparantly cannot format above). Here it is.
<%= form_for [@todo_list, @todo_item] do |form| %>
<%= form.label :content %>
<%= form.text_field :content %>
<%= form.submit "Save" %>
<% end %>
and the ul is in the create_spec.rb
require 'spec_helper'
describe "Adding todo items" do
let!(:todo_list) { TodoList.create(title: "Grocery list", description: "Groceries") }
def visit_todo_list(list)
visit "/todo_lists"
within "#todo_list_#{list.id}" do
click_link "List Items"
end
end
it "is successful with valid content" do
visit_todo_list(todo_list)
click_link "New Todo Item"
fill_in "Content", with: "Milk"
click_button "Save"
expect(page).to have_content("Added todo list item.")
within("ul.todo_item")
expect(page).to have_content("Milk")
end
end
andrewgierke
7,661 PointsAlso the form for ul is in the todo_lists_form.html.erb seen here:
<%= form_for (@todo_list) do |f| %>
<% if @todo_list.errors.any? %>
<div id="error_explanation">
<h2><%= pluralize(@todo_list.errors.count, "error") %> prohibited this todo_list from being saved:</h2>
<ul>
<% @todo_list.errors.full_messages.each do |message| %>
<li><%= message %></li>
<% end %>
</ul>
</div>
<% end %>
<div class="field">
<%= f.label :title %><br>
<%= f.text_field :title %>
</div>
<div class="field">
<%= f.label :description %><br>
<%= f.text_area :description %>
</div>
<div class="actions">
<%= f.submit %>
</div>
<% end %>
Steve Hunter
57,712 PointsThe ul tags in here are to format any output error messages. The ul in the previous code is expecting your todo_item to be within a ul tag. Maybe the code is looking at the ul but because there's no errors, the first argument in your form is nil or empty?
I'd consider rewriting the test. What is your todo_item embedded in inside index.html.erb - a td tag?
Is the todo_lists_form relevant here? We're testing adding items - doesn't that use the todo_items new.html.erb?
andrewgierke
7,661 Pointsandrewgierke
7,661 PointsI dont know what that & # 13 after every line is, and I could not get the new.html.erb markdwn to format. Supremely frustrated.