Class: ActionView::Base
- Includes:
- CompiledTemplates, ERB::Util
- Defined in:
- lib/action_view/base.rb,
lib/action_view/helpers/form_helper.rb,
lib/action_view/helpers/active_record_helper.rb
Overview
Action View templates can be written in three ways. If the template file has a .erb
(or .rhtml
) extension then it uses a mixture of ERb (included in Ruby) and HTML. If the template file has a .builder
(or .rxml
) extension then Jim Weirich’s Builder::XmlMarkup library is used.
ERb
You trigger ERb by using embeddings such as <% %>, <% -%>, and <%= %>. The <%= %> tag set is used when you want output. Consider the following loop for names:
<b>Names of all the people</b>
<% for person in @people %>
Name: <%= person.name %><br/>
<% end %>
The loop is setup in regular embedding tags <% %> and the name is written using the output embedding tag <%= %>. Note that this is not just a usage suggestion. Regular output functions like print or puts won’t work with ERb templates. So this would be wrong:
Hi, Mr. <% puts "Frodo" %>
If you absolutely must write from within a function, you can use the TextHelper#concat.
<%- and -%> suppress leading and trailing whitespace, including the trailing newline, and can be used interchangeably with <% and %>.
Using sub templates
Using sub templates allows you to sidestep tedious replication and extract common display structures in shared templates. The classic example is the use of a header and footer (even though the Action Pack-way would be to use Layouts):
<%= render "shared/header" %>
Something really specific and terrific
<%= render "shared/footer" %>
As you see, we use the output embeddings for the render methods. The render call itself will just return a string holding the result of the rendering. The output embedding writes it to the current template.
But you don’t have to restrict yourself to static includes. Templates can share variables amongst themselves by using instance variables defined using the regular embedding tags. Like this:
<% @page_title = "A Wonderful Hello" %>
<%= render "shared/header" %>
Now the header can pick up on the @page_title
variable and use it for outputting a title tag:
<title><%= @page_title %></title>
Passing local variables to sub templates
You can pass local variables to sub templates by using a hash with the variable names as keys and the objects as values:
<%= render "shared/header", { :headline => "Welcome", :person => person } %>
These can now be accessed in shared/header
with:
Headline: <%= headline %>
First name: <%= person.first_name %>
If you need to find out whether a certain local variable has been assigned a value in a particular render call, you need to use the following pattern:
<% if local_assigns.has_key? :headline %>
Headline: <%= headline %>
<% end %>
Testing using defined? headline
will not work. This is an implementation restriction.
Template caching
By default, Rails will compile each template to a method in order to render it. When you alter a template, Rails will check the file’s modification time and recompile it.
Builder
Builder templates are a more programmatic alternative to ERb. They are especially useful for generating XML content. An XmlMarkup object named xml
is automatically made available to templates with a .builder
extension.
Here are some basic examples:
xml.em("emphasized") # => <em>emphasized</em>
xml.em { xml.b("emph & bold") } # => <em><b>emph & bold</b></em>
xml.a("A Link", "href"=>"http://onestepback.org") # => <a href="http://onestepback.org">A Link</a>
xml.target("name"=>"compile", "option"=>"fast") # => <target option="fast" name="compile"\>
# NOTE: order of attributes is not specified.
Any method with a block will be treated as an XML markup tag with nested markup in the block. For example, the following:
xml.div {
xml.h1(@person.name)
xml.p(@person.bio)
}
would produce something like:
<div>
<h1>David Heinemeier Hansson</h1>
<p>A product of Danish Design during the Winter of '79...</p>
</div>
A full-length RSS example actually used on Basecamp:
xml.rss("version" => "2.0", "xmlns:dc" => "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/") do
xml.channel do
xml.title(@feed_title)
xml.link(@url)
xml.description "Basecamp: Recent items"
xml.language "en-us"
xml.ttl "40"
for item in @recent_items
xml.item do
xml.title(item_title(item))
xml.description(item_description(item)) if item_description(item)
xml.pubDate(item_pubDate(item))
xml.guid(@person.firm.account.url + @recent_items.url(item))
xml.link(@person.firm.account.url + @recent_items.url(item))
xml.tag!("dc:creator", item.) if item_has_creator?(item)
end
end
end
end
More builder documentation can be found at builder.rubyforge.org.
JavaScriptGenerator
JavaScript templates end in .js.erb
. Work like conventional erb templates which are used to render the results of an action, but these templates can generate instructions on how to modify an already rendered page. This makes it easy to modify multiple elements on your page in one declarative Ajax response. Actions with these templates are called in the background with Ajax and make updates to the page where the request originated from.
When an .js.erb
action is called with link_to_remote
, the generated JavaScript is automatically evaluated. Example:
link_to_function("Delete", "new Ajax.Request('delete', { method: 'DELETE' })");
The subsequently rendered delete.js.erb
might look like:
$('sidebar').inner_html = '<%=j render :partial => "sidebar" %>';
Element.remove('person-<%= @person.id %>');
new Effect.Highlight('user-list');
This refreshes the sidebar, removes a person element and highlights the user list.
Defined Under Namespace
Modules: CompiledTemplates Classes: ObjectWrapper
Constant Summary collapse
- @@erb_trim_mode =
Specify trim mode for the ERB compiler. Defaults to ‘-’. See ERb documentation for suitable values.
'-'
- @@cache_template_loading =
Specify whether file modification times should be checked to see if a template needs recompilation
false
- @@erb_variable =
'_erbout'
- @@method_names =
{}
- @@template_args =
Map method names to the names passed in local assigns so far
{}
- @@computed_public_paths =
{}
- @@field_error_proc =
Proc.new{ |html_tag, instance| "<div class=\"fieldWithErrors\">#{html_tag}</div>" }
Constants included from ERB::Util
ERB::Util::HTML_ESCAPE, ERB::Util::JSON_ESCAPE
Instance Attribute Summary collapse
-
#assigns ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute assigns.
-
#base_path ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute base_path.
-
#controller ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute controller.
-
#current_render_extension ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute current_render_extension.
-
#finder ⇒ Object
readonly
Returns the value of attribute finder.
-
#first_render ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute first_render.
-
#template_extension ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute template_extension.
-
#template_format ⇒ Object
Returns a symbolized version of the
:format
parameter of the request, or:html
by default.
Class Method Summary collapse
Instance Method Summary collapse
-
#file_public?(template_path) ⇒ Boolean
Returns true is the file may be rendered implicitly.
-
#initialize(view_paths = [], assigns_for_first_render = {}, controller = nil) ⇒ Base
constructor
:nodoc:.
-
#render(options = {}, local_assigns = {}, &block) ⇒ Object
Renders the template present at
template_path
(relative to the view_paths array). -
#render_file(template_path, use_full_path = true, local_assigns = {}) ⇒ Object
Renders the template present at
template_path
. -
#render_template(template) ⇒ Object
:nodoc:.
Methods included from ERB::Util
Constructor Details
#initialize(view_paths = [], assigns_for_first_render = {}, controller = nil) ⇒ Base
:nodoc:
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 216 def initialize(view_paths = [], assigns_for_first_render = {}, controller = nil)#:nodoc: @assigns = assigns_for_first_render @assigns_added = nil @controller = controller @finder = TemplateFinder.new(self, view_paths) end |
Instance Attribute Details
#assigns ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute assigns.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 154 def assigns @assigns end |
#base_path ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute base_path.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 154 def base_path @base_path end |
#controller ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute controller.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 155 def controller @controller end |
#current_render_extension ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute current_render_extension.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 158 def current_render_extension @current_render_extension end |
#finder ⇒ Object (readonly)
Returns the value of attribute finder.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 153 def finder @finder end |
#first_render ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute first_render.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 154 def first_render @first_render end |
#template_extension ⇒ Object
Returns the value of attribute template_extension.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 154 def template_extension @template_extension end |
#template_format ⇒ Object
Returns a symbolized version of the :format
parameter of the request, or :html
by default.
EXCEPTION: If the :format
parameter is not set, the Accept header will be examined for whether it contains the JavaScript mime type as its first priority. If that’s the case, it will be used. This ensures that Ajax applications can use the same URL to support both JavaScript and non-JavaScript users.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 291 def template_format return @template_format if @template_format if controller && controller.respond_to?(:request) parameter_format = controller.request.parameters[:format] case when parameter_format.blank? && !controller.request.xml_http_request? @template_format = :html when parameter_format.blank? && controller.request.xml_http_request? @template_format = :js else @template_format = parameter_format.to_sym end else @template_format = :html end end |
Class Method Details
.cache_template_extensions=(*args) ⇒ Object
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 169 def self.cache_template_extensions=(*args) ActiveSupport::Deprecation.warn("config.action_view.cache_template_extensions option has been deprecated and has no affect. " << "Please remove it from your config files.", caller) end |
.helper_modules ⇒ Object
:nodoc:
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 203 def self.helper_modules #:nodoc: helpers = [] Dir.entries(File.("#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}/helpers")).sort.each do |file| next unless file =~ /^([a-z][a-z_]*_helper).rb$/ require "action_view/helpers/#{$1}" helper_module_name = $1.camelize if Helpers.const_defined?(helper_module_name) helpers << Helpers.const_get(helper_module_name) end end return helpers end |
Instance Method Details
#file_public?(template_path) ⇒ Boolean
Returns true is the file may be rendered implicitly.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 280 def file_public?(template_path)#:nodoc: template_path.split('/').last[0,1] != '_' end |
#render(options = {}, local_assigns = {}, &block) ⇒ Object
Renders the template present at template_path
(relative to the view_paths array). The hash in local_assigns
is made available as local variables.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 245 def render( = {}, local_assigns = {}, &block) #:nodoc: if .is_a?(String) render_file(, true, local_assigns) elsif .is_a?(Hash) use_full_path = [:use_full_path] = .reverse_merge(:locals => {}, :use_full_path => true) if partial_layout = .delete(:layout) if block_given? wrap_content_for_layout capture(&block) do concat(render(.merge(:partial => partial_layout)), block.binding) end else wrap_content_for_layout render() do render(.merge(:partial => partial_layout)) end end elsif [:file] render_file([:file], use_full_path || false, [:locals]) elsif [:partial] && [:collection] render_partial_collection([:partial], [:collection], [:spacer_template], [:locals]) elsif [:partial] render_partial([:partial], ActionView::Base::ObjectWrapper.new([:object]), [:locals]) elsif [:inline] template = InlineTemplate.new(self, [:inline], [:locals], [:type]) render_template(template) end end end |
#render_file(template_path, use_full_path = true, local_assigns = {}) ⇒ Object
Renders the template present at template_path
. If use_full_path
is set to true, it’s relative to the view_paths array, otherwise it’s absolute. The hash in local_assigns
is made available as local variables.
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 226 def render_file(template_path, use_full_path = true, local_assigns = {}) #:nodoc: if defined?(ActionMailer) && defined?(ActionMailer::Base) && controller.is_a?(ActionMailer::Base) && !template_path.include?("/") raise ActionViewError, <<-END_ERROR Due to changes in ActionMailer, you need to provide the mailer_name along with the template name. render "user_mailer/signup" render :file => "user_mailer/signup" If you are rendering a subtemplate, you must now use controller-like partial syntax: render :partial => 'signup' # no mailer_name necessary END_ERROR end Template.new(self, template_path, use_full_path, local_assigns).render_template end |
#render_template(template) ⇒ Object
:nodoc:
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# File 'lib/action_view/base.rb', line 275 def render_template(template) #:nodoc: template.render_template end |