I discovered this quite by accident. I have a single controller setup
and it is named, ''main''. If I add a view, /app/views/main/
test1.rhtml, that view is displayed via the URL host/main/test1 even
though there is no action called ''test1'' in the main
controller. I
always thought the displaying of a view was contingent on the presence
of an action. I know that a view only shares the same name as the
action by default and that that can be changed from within the action;
but, I certainly didn''t realize that a view could be accessed in the
total absence of an associated action. Is this truly the way things
are supposed to work? Thanks for any input.
... doug
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On Nov 25, 2007, at 2:18 PM, doug wrote:> If I add a view, /app/views/main/ > test1.rhtml, that view is displayed via the URL host/main/test1 even > though there is no action called ''test1'' in the main controller. ... > Is this truly the way things > are supposed to work?I think of the controller action as a before_render callback which gives me a chance to do any prep work I might need. I have one view that has no associated controller action, but gets rendered from several other methods that set up some variables in different ways. It''s essentially a one-field form, and instead of having a separate .rhtml file for each one, they each set variable that control the labeling and where the submit goes to. It''s very convenient. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
> I have one view that has no associated controller action, but gets > rendered from several other methods that set up some variables in > different ways.Let me re-phrase that to make sure that I understand: You have one view that has no default association with any controller action (i.e., the view does not have the same name as any controller action). However, the one view is associated on a non-default basis (presumably by means of render) with several different actions. Then you use each action to configure what your one view is going to do. Cool. You also could have had your view be the default view for one of your actions, right?> I think of the controller action as a before_render callback which > gives me a chance to do any prep work I might need.I have difficulty with thinking of it that way because it''s the action that calls the view not the other way around. That''s why it sort of upsets my universe to learn that apparently a view can be called directly without having an action associated with it. It appears that it is like every view has a default empty action in the appropriate controller if there is no explicit action in the controller. That takes some getting used to. Thanks for the input. ... doug --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On Nov 25, 2:18 pm, doug <ddjol...-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> I discovered this quite by accident. I have a single controller setup > and it is named, ''main''. If I add a view, /app/views/main/ > test1.rhtml, that view is displayed via the URL host/main/test1 even > though there is no action called ''test1'' in the main controller. I[snip] Rails first determins the controller and action from your routes.rb patterns. Then it looks for the controller, which must exist. It will also require a view template that corresponds to the action name. Code in your controller for the action is totally optional. If you provide a method in your controller with the same name as the action, Rails will call it before it renders your view, giving you a chance to run whatever code you want first. Unless you explicity redirect or render a different action in that code, it will continue to search for and render the view. Does that help? Basically, controller code for a given action is optional, not required - only the view is required. Jeff softiesonrails.com essentialrails.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
> Does that help?It helps a whole heck of a lot. One thing I think I learned that I was apparently misinformed about is the definition of ''action''. I thought that the method in the controller *WAS* the action. Apparently, that''s not the case. Apparently the action is determined from patterns contained in the routes.rb file and then we may optionally include a method with the same name as the action in the controller. I think when you said:> It will also require a view template that corresponds > to the action name.it was intended to mean that unless code in the controller method of the same name as the action specifies otherwise. Finally, I would just like to point one thing out that I think may have contributed to my misunderstanding. That thing is that if you call main/doc1 and no template for doc1 exists, the error message is that ''No action responded to doc1.'' I think that really the error that it is talking about is that the template is missing, not the action. Thanks ever so much for the input. It has been most helpful ... doug --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On Nov 25, 2007, at 4:18 PM, doug wrote:> Let me re-phrase that to make sure that I understand: > > You have one view that has no default association with any controller > action (i.e., the view does not have the same name as any controller > action). However, the one view is associated on a non-default basis > (presumably by means of render) with several different actions. Then > you use each action to configure what your one view is going to do. > Cool. You also could have had your view be the default view for one > of your actions, right?The application is an in-house one, and when something unusual happens we need a special way to handle those events for a given client. It''s outside of the normal work-flow, and they don''t come up often but I had to make a way to quickly deal with it. So I have a file called set_client.rhtml, which contains a one-field form. I have no set_client method in my controller. Other methods will do something like this: @headline = "Send money to this client" @action_to_call = "special_payment" render :action => :set_client I''m not allowed to use any Javascript, and before they can actually handle the problem the person usually has to review a list of items related in one way or another to this client. So this way I can take them to the proper place and at the same time show the the correct list of items. The form looks something like this: <p> <%= @headline.titlecase -%> </p> <%= form_tag :action => @action_to_call %> <p> <%= text_field_tag :client_id, params[:client_id] %> </p> <p> <%= submit_tag "Next..." %> </p> <%= end_form_tag %> And so the submitted form will go where ever @action_to_call says. I''m sure there''s a more clever way to handle this, but this does what I need for those out-of-the-normal-flow cases. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
On Nov 25, 2007, at 8:27 PM, doug wrote:> That thing is that if you > call main/doc1 and no template for doc1 exists, the error message is > that ''No action responded to doc1.'' I think that really the error > that it is talking about is that the template is missing, not the > action.You don''t need the template if your controller doesn''t let it get that far. So either the controller, the template, or both have to be there. If your controller method always redirects or renders then rails will never even look for the template. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk-unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---