Combine Mongo Output with Node for API - node.js

Question

I''m really new to Node but I currently have a NodeJS / Express open source CMS and would like to output some API data for an app that I am working. Forgive me if I'm not using the correct terminology or whatnot, this is new to me.
What I currently have are two collections, locations and tours. The CMS allows me to create a relationship between the two. This simply stores an array of ObjectID's in the locations record for each associated tour record.
What I want to do is take my API output code (below) and have it output the entire tours array, complete with all the fields (title, description, etc), in with each location record. Currently it only outputs an array of the ID's.
Here is my current code:
var async = require('async'),
landmark = require('keystone');
var Location = keystone.list('Location'),
Tour = keystone.list('Tour');
/**
* List Locations
*/
exports.list = function(req, res) {
Location.model.find(function(err, items) {
if (err) return res.apiError('database error', err);
res.apiResponse({
locations: items
});
});
}
/**
* Get Location by ID
*/
exports.get = function(req, res) {
Location.model.findById(req.params.id).exec(function(err, item) {
if (err) return res.apiError('database error', err);
if (!item) return res.apiError('not found');
res.apiResponse({
location: item
});
});
}
Current API output (truncated):
{
"locations": [
{
"_id": "53a47997ebe91d8a4a26d251",
"slug": "test-location",
"lastModified": "2014-06-20T20:19:14.484Z",
"commonName": "test location",
"__v": 3,
"url": "",
"tours": [
"53a47963ebe91d8a4a26d250"
],
"images": []
}
]
}
What I'm looking for:
{
"locations": [
{
"_id": "53a47997ebe91d8a4a26d251",
"slug": "test-location",
"lastModified": "2014-06-20T20:19:14.484Z",
"commonName": "test location",
"__v": 3,
"url": "",
"tours": [
{
"_id": "53a47963ebe91d8a4a26d250",
"title": "my test tour title",
"url": "url_to_audio_file"
}
],
"images": []
}
]
}
Anyone know if this is possible? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

It looks like you have setup your Location model to have a reference to the Tours, defined as an array of Tours. This means that when you store the Tour within your Location, you're not storing the data that represents that Tour, but instead an ID that references the Tour. When you perform the find operation, you're seeing that in the response that you send back to the client.
If this is the case, then you might want to take a look at Mongoose's populate function. This will take those references and populate them fully with the data that they contain.
So for instance, you can change your query to the following:
Location.model.find().populate('tours').exec(function(err, items) {
// items should now contain fully populated tours
}
Let me know if this isn't what you mean and I can try to help further.

Answer 2

The solution provided by #dylants is absolutely correct. However, for it to work you need to have tours declared as a Types.Relationship field in your Location list with the ref option set to Tour.
Check out the Keystone docs on Relationship Fields.
I included the many: true option in my example below, because I assumed this is a one-to-many relationship. If it isn't, you can discard it.
var keystone = require('keystone'),
Location = keystone.list('Location');
Location.add({
...
tours: { type: Types.Relationship, ref: 'Tour', many: true },
...
});
The List.relationship() method you mentioned is meant to be used only if you want a list of related documents to automatically appear in the Keystone Admin UI, and not to establish the actual relationship.
Hope this helps.