Recurly_CouponRedemption::get() method throws inappropriate Recurly_NotFoundError exception.

[trip-somers]

A Recurly_NotFoundError exception is thrown by Recurly_CouponRedemption::get() when a valid/active account code has no coupons. Given that there is no other way to look for active coupons on an account, it can not be considered bad practice to use the get() method to check for them. As such, the get() method should return FALSE (or null) instead of an exception when the account code is valid/active and only return a Recurly_NotFoundError exception when the account code is invalid.

[drewish]

Could you provide a little more sample code for what you're trying?

If you know the account you can just do:

$account = Recurly_Account::get('d1c1ded5e7c7c6db1cbfda420b1d5c');
if ($account->redemption) {
  var_dump($account->redemption->get());
}

[trip-somers]

I do know the account code. The problem is that get() throws an exception if the selected account has no coupon. Here is my code:

    try
    {
        return Recurly_CouponRedemption::get( $account->account_code );
    }
    catch (Recurly_NotFoundError $e)
    {
        return throw new Exception('Account not found.');
    }
    catch (Recurly_Error $e)
    {
        throw new Exception($e->getMessage());
    }

In this case, the account_code was '14'. Initially, there was no coupon on the account, and my code was spitting out 'Account not found.' Once I added a coupon to account, the exception disappeared. My conclusion: it throws an exception when there's no coupon.

I updated my function to look like this:

    try
    {
        return Recurly_CouponRedemption::get( $account->account_code );
    }
    catch (Recurly_NotFoundError $e)
    {
        return null;
    }
    catch (Recurly_Error $e)
    {
        throw new Exception($e->getMessage());
    }

I consider that a work-around because if there ever is a bad account code passed to this function, it will now just skip right over the exception.

[trip-somers]

Whoops. I just noticed that your comment suggested going through the Recurly_Account object. I will try that, but I still think the way this exception is thrown is an issue.

[drewish]

I definitely see what you're saying. While I agree that the throwing obnoxious, it is consistent with the rest of the API so I'm reluctant to change it. Give the approach I'd outlined with the fetch of the account a try.

[drewish]

Side note: we really need to a better job of documenting the use of ->get() to follow relations between records. It opens up a lot of functionality that's not obvious at first.

[trip-somers]

Yes. Agree about ->get(). I discovered it by accident on Friday.

I disagree about the consistency with the rest of the API, though. The other NotFoundError exceptions are typically thrown when looking for something specific (account, transaction, subscription, something with an ID), not something that may or may not exist (like a redemption that has no ID).

Ultimately, I can't make you change your mind, but at the very least, it would make sense to be able to differentiate between a "bad account code" and a "no redemptions found" response.

[trip-somers]

Your suggestion is working for me, so I will leave this issue here for you to handle as you see fit.

Thanks for the help and the quick responses.

[drewish]

Well thank you for the feedback. I'm going to close this but I updated the docs on http://docs.recurly.com/api/coupons/coupon-redemption#lookup-redemption-account to use the snipped I posted here. Hopefully it'll make it easier for the next person.