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node.jsmongodbmongoosesubdocument

mongoose - ObjectId that references a Sub-Document

Would it be possible for an ObjectId in ModelA to reference a sub-document in modelB?

var C = new Schema({...});  
var B = new Schema({c: [C]});  
var A = new Schema({c: { type: ObjectId, ref: 'ModelB.ModelC' });  

var Model_A = mongoose.model('ModelA', A);  
var Model_B = mongoose.model('ModelB', B);  
var Model_C = mongoose.model('ModelC', C);
Solution

  • Yes it is possible, but you have a few options.

    Option 1: C as a Subdocument

    If you really want to use subdocuments, you don't need to create a separate model. You need to change your reference to the 'c' array.

    var C = new Schema({...});  
var B = new Schema({c: [C]});  
var A = new Schema({c: { type: ObjectId, ref: 'ModelB.c' });  

var Model_A = mongoose.model('ModelA', A);  
var Model_B = mongoose.model('ModelB', B);

    Option 2: C as a Model

    (I only present this as an alternative - since your example seems redundant since you create 'C' as a separate Model as well as a subdocument)

    Alternatively, it may make sense to have separate collections, you can create a mongoose model for each. Each will be a separate collection:

    var Model_A = mongoose.model('ModelA', A);  
var Model_B = mongoose.model('ModelB', B);  
var Model_C = mongoose.model('ModelC', C);

    In this case you may want to directly reference each model:

    var C = new Schema({...});  
var B = new Schema({c: { type: ObjectId, ref: 'ModelC' }});  
var A = new Schema({c: { type: ObjectId, ref: 'ModelC' });

    The Point

    Yes its possible, but you need to pick if you want C as a model or subdocument.