Rails - Feb 2009 - test if an external url is valid before redirecting to it?

In our site, users can have a url associated with their account to which
they are redirected when their login expires.  This can differ from user
to user, and is prone to being mis-copied, or the sites in question not
being there any more etc.  I''d like to test if the url is valid before
sending the user on to it.

So, i want, in the controller, to do something like this -

if external_url_is_valid?(user.expiry_url)
  redirect_to user.expiry_url
else
  redirect_to "our_default_expiry_page"
end

Can anyone tell me a nice, simple and efficient way of doing the
"external_url_is_valid?" bit?
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On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 6:56 PM, Max Williams <
rails-mailing-list-ARtvInVfO7ksV2N9l4h3zg@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>
> In our site, users can have a url associated with their account to which
> they are redirected when their login expires.  This can differ from user
> to user, and is prone to being mis-copied, or the sites in question not
> being there any more etc.  I''d like to test if the url is valid
before
> sending the user on to it.
>
> So, i want, in the controller, to do something like this -
>
> if external_url_is_valid?(user.expiry_url)
>  redirect_to user.expiry_url
> else
>  redirect_to "our_default_expiry_page"
> end
>
> Can anyone tell me a nice, simple and efficient way of doing the
> "external_url_is_valid?" bit?
> --
> Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.
>
> >
>
require ''net/http''
require ''uri''

def external_url_is_valid?(url)
  uri = URI.parse(url)
  response = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port) {|http|
http.head(uri.path)}
  response.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess) || response.is_a?(Net::HTTPRedirection)
end

Watch the validity of the url - www.google.com is not valid
http://www.google.com also won''t work, http://www.google.com/ will

I wouldn''t do this at the point of redirection, I would do it at the
point
of saving the redirection url

Andrew Timberlake
http://ramblingsonrails.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewtimberlake

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education" - Mark
Twain

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That''s perfect, thanks Andrew.

You''re probably right about testing the validity at the point of adding
it rather than (or as well as) the redirect.  I think i''ll put a remote
test button next to the input field, and maybe call it automatically on 
change of the field.

Anyway, thanks again.
max
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