envelope-0.2.0.1: README.md
Web.Envelope
============
[](https://hackage.haskell.org/package/envelope) [](http://travis-ci.org/cdepillabout/envelope)
This module exports an `Envelope` type that can be used to wrap reponses from a JSON REST API. It provides a successful `Success` response, and a failure `Err` response.
Here is a small demonstration of returning a success response:
```haskell
>>> import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as C8
>>> import Data.Aeson (decode, encode)
>>> let successEnvelope = toSuccessEnvelope 3 :: Envelope Text Int
>>> C8.putStrLn $ encode successEnvelope
{"data":3}
>>> decode "{\"data\":3}" :: Maybe (Envelope Text Int)
Just (EnvelopeSuccess (Success 3))
```
Your data gets wrapped in an object with a single `"data"` field:
```json
{
"data": 3
}
```
Now lets look at how an error response is encoded and decoded. It is encoded
as an object with two members: @\"extra\"@ and @\"error\"@.
```haskell
>>> let errorEnvelope = toErrEnvelope "DB_ERROR" "there was an error in the database" :: Envelope String Int
>>> C8.putStrLn $ encode errorEnvelope
{"extra":"there was an error in the database","error":"DB_ERROR"}
>>> decode "{\"extra\":\"there was an error in the database\",\"error\":\"DB_ERROR\"}" :: Maybe (Envelope String Int)
Just (EnvelopeErr (Err {errErr = "DB_ERROR", errExtra = Just "there was an error in the database"}))
```
Your error type and extra message get wrapped in an object:
```json
{
"extra": "there was an error in the database",
"error": "DB_ERROR"
}
```