client_date

The client_date Ruby on Rails plugin uses client-side Javascript to format a date/time in a view instead of the server. The client is given UTC time for formatting so the server doesn’t have to store which time zone each user is in.

Of course it’s also very handy for users that haven’t logged in or do not have a login.

Installation

gem install ryanlowe-client_date --source http://gems.github.com/

Setup

First include the ClientDate mixin in your ApplicationHelper.

  module ApplicationHelper
    include ClientDate
    ...
  end

Then copy the javascript code in javascripts/client_date.js to
your project.  You can do this two ways:

1. Copy client_date.js to your javascripts/ directory and
   add it to your Rails project using javascript_include_tag.
2. Copy the code in client_date.js to javascripts/application.js
   which is pulled in by javascript_include_tag :defaults.

Usage

In a view you can use:

format_date(date)           # month, day
format_datetime(date)       # month, day, hour, minute
format_datetime(date,true)  # month, day, hour, minute, seconds

The date parameter should be a normal Ruby date, like the "datetime" used
in Rails migrations.

Example:

<p>Created at: <%= format_datetime(post.created_at) %></p>

Customization

Change how client_date formats dates and times by changing the
fd() and fdt() Javascript functions.