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138 changes: 137 additions & 1 deletion docs/content/1.guide/2.model/7.single-table-inheritance.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -126,7 +126,9 @@ class Adult extends Person {
}
```

> **NOTE:** If you import Models from other files, you might get circular reference error. Please take a look at [this section](#notes-on-circular-imports) for more detail and how to avoid it.
::alert{type="info"}
If you import Models from other files, you might get circular reference error. Please take a look at [this section](#notes-on-circular-imports) for more detail and how to avoid it.
::

Now, you can create mixed types of records at once.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -395,3 +397,137 @@ If you are using decorators you need to use `...super.schemas[super.entity]` ins
@Attr('terrier') declare race: string
}
````

## Notes on Circular Imports

If you decide to declare each entity model in a separate file, and use `import` calls to cross-reference entity models between your file, you may get an error at runtime saying:

```bash
TypeError: Super expression must either be null or a function, not undefined.
```

If so, it means that you have cycles in your dependency tree and that your bundler doesn't handle them (usually they don't). We describe here a solution, inspired by [Michel Weststrate's article](https://medium.com/visual-development/how-to-fix-nasty-circular-dependency-issues-once-and-for-all-in-javascript-typescript-a04c987cf0de).

### Initial setup

Here is an example of the initial setup you might have:

`Person.js` references its child `Adult.js` because it needs it for type definition.

```js
// File 1: Person.js

import { Model } from 'pinia-orm'
import Adult from './Adult'

export default class Person extends Model {
static entity = 'person'

static types () {
return {
PERSON: Person,
ADULT: Adult
}
}

static fields () {
return {
id: this.attr(null),
name: this.attr(''),
type: this.attr('PERSON')
}
}
}
```

`Adult.js` references its parent model, through `Person.js`.

```js
// File 2: Adult.js

import Person from './Person'

export default class Adult extends Person {
static entity = 'adult'

static baseEntity = 'person'

static fields() {
return {
...super.fields(),
job: this.attr('')
}
}
}
```

### Solution: How to Break Cycles

The solution, as presented in [this article](https://medium.com/visual-development/how-to-fix-nasty-circular-dependency-issues-once-and-for-all-in-javascript-typescript-a04c987cf0de), is to use an intermediate file which imports and exports all entities used in the hierarchy.

```js
// New file: PersonHierarchy.js

export * from './Person'
export * from './Adult'
```

You'll need to change the involved entities files to take into account the changes:

```js
// File 1: Person.js

import { Model } from 'pinia-orm'
import { Adult } from './PersonHierarchy' // Here, we change the import.

// We export directly the named class.
export class Person extends Model {
static entity = 'person'

static types () {
return {
PERSON: Person,
ADULT: Adult
}
}

static fields () {
return {
id: this.attr(null),
name: this.attr(''),
type: this.attr('PERSON')
}
}
}

// We also export a default.
export default Person
```

```js
// File 2: Adult.js

import { Person } from './PersonHierarchy' // Here, we change the import.
// import { Person } from './Person' // this should also work

// We export directly the named class.
export class Adult extends Person {
static entity = 'adult'

static baseEntity = 'person'

static fields() {
return {
...super.fields(),
job: this.attr('')
}
}
}

// We also export a default.
export default Adult;
```

### Default Export

In our solution, we also expose a `default` export in the different file, which can be used in subsequent files. Indeed, what is important in our case (in comparison with the generic case described in [Michel Weststrate's article](https://medium.com/visual-development/how-to-fix-nasty-circular-dependency-issues-once-and-for-all-in-javascript-typescript-a04c987cf0de)) is that the classes of a hierarchy **and** the store initialization file reference the intermediate file. But since all classes are "setup" when declaring the database, there is no risk in referencing the classes directly afterward (without going through the intermediate file).