In some book, it is recommended that to_param is changed to
class Story < ActiveRecord::Base
def to_param
"#{id}-#{name.gsub(/\W/, ''-'').downcase}"
end
end
so that the URL is
http://www.mysite.com/stories/1-css-technique-blog
instead of
http://www.mysite.com/stories/1
so that the URL is more search engine friendly.
So probably to_param() doesn''t need to be used by other parts of Rails
that changing it may have any side effect? Or maybe the only purpose is
to construct a URL for linking?
Another thing is, won''t it require to limit the URL size to be less
than
2k in length -- will it choke IE if it is more than 2k or maybe the part
more than 2k is just ignored by IE and so the URL still works. It might
be better to be limited to 30 or 40 characters or something that will
make the URL not exceedingly long.
Also, the `ri` doc of to_param:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
def to_param # overridden
name
end
end
if to_param is changed like that, then the link actually won''t work, as
http://www.mysite.com/stories/1-css-technique-blog
will work, but
http://www.mysite.com/stories/css-technique-blog
will not work as the ID is missing. Are there other ways to change the
to_param method?
**Update:** on second thought, maybe
http://www.mysite.com/stories/css-technique-blog
won''t work well if there are many webpages with similar title. but
then
http://www.mysite.com/user/johnchan
will work. Will it be params[:id] being "johnchan"? So then we will
use
user = User.find_by_login_name(params[:id])
to get the user. So it just depends on how we use the param on the URL.
C:\ror>ri ActiveRecord::Base#to_param
--------------------------------------------
ActiveRecord::Base#to_param
to_param()
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Returns a String, which Action Pack uses for constructing an
URL to
this object. The default implementation returns this record''s
id as
a String, or nil if this record''s unsaved.
For example, suppose that you have a User model, and that you
have
a +map.resources :users+ route. Normally, +user_path+ will
construct a path with the user object''s ''id''
in it:
user = User.find_by_name(''Phusion'')
user_path(user) # => "/users/1"
You can override +to_param+ in your model to make +user_path+
construct a path using the user''s name instead of the
user''s
id:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
def to_param # overridden
name
end
end
user = User.find_by_name(''Phusion'')
user_path(user) # => "/users/Phusion"
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Jian, This was a common practice a while ago but I would recommend against changing to_params. It will work but my experience has been that code gets messy as you find fringe cases. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you look at norman''s friendly_id gem. It is extremely easy to setup and all you do is drop one line of code in your model and everything works like magic. http://github.com/norman/friendly_id Matt On May 24, 4:08 am, Jian Lin <li...-fsXkhYbjdPsEEoCn2XhGlw@public.gmane.org> wrote:> In some book, it is recommended that to_param is changed to > > class Story < ActiveRecord::Base > > def to_param > "#{id}-#{name.gsub(/\W/, ''-'').downcase}" > end > > end > > so that the URL is > > http://www.mysite.com/stories/1-css-technique-blog > > instead of > > http://www.mysite.com/stories/1 > > so that the URL is more search engine friendly. > > So probably to_param() doesn''t need to be used by other parts of Rails > that changing it may have any side effect? Or maybe the only purpose is > to construct a URL for linking? > > Another thing is, won''t it require to limit the URL size to be less than > 2k in length -- will it choke IE if it is more than 2k or maybe the part > more than 2k is just ignored by IE and so the URL still works. It might > be better to be limited to 30 or 40 characters or something that will > make the URL not exceedingly long. > > Also, the `ri` doc of to_param: > > class User < ActiveRecord::Base > def to_param # overridden > name > end > end > > if to_param is changed like that, then the link actually won''t work, as > > http://www.mysite.com/stories/1-css-technique-blog > > will work, but > > http://www.mysite.com/stories/css-technique-blog > > will not work as the ID is missing. Are there other ways to change the > to_param method? > > **Update:** on second thought, maybe > > http://www.mysite.com/stories/css-technique-blog > > won''t work well if there are many webpages with similar title. but then > > http://www.mysite.com/user/johnchan > > will work. Will it be params[:id] being "johnchan"? So then we will > use > > user = User.find_by_login_name(params[:id]) > > to get the user. So it just depends on how we use the param on the URL. > > C:\ror>ri ActiveRecord::Base#to_param > -------------------------------------------- > ActiveRecord::Base#to_param > to_param() > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Returns a String, which Action Pack uses for constructing an > URL to > this object. The default implementation returns this record''s > id as > a String, or nil if this record''s unsaved. > > For example, suppose that you have a User model, and that you > have > a +map.resources :users+ route. Normally, +user_path+ will > construct a path with the user object''s ''id'' in it: > > user = User.find_by_name(''Phusion'') > user_path(user) # => "/users/1" > > You can override +to_param+ in your model to make +user_path+ > construct a path using the user''s name instead of the user''s > id: > > class User < ActiveRecord::Base > def to_param # overridden > name > end > end > > user = User.find_by_name(''Phusion'') > user_path(user) # => "/users/Phusion" > -- > Posted viahttp://www.ruby-forum.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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.-- 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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.
Marnen Laibow-Koser
2010-May-24 23:11 UTC
Re: does changing to_param() have any side effect?
M Daubs wrote:> Jian, > > This was a common practice a while ago but I would recommend against > changing to_params.Why? I can''t think of a good reason.> It will work but my experience has been that code > gets messy as you find fringe cases.Huh?> I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend > you look at norman''s friendly_id gem. It is extremely easy to setup > and all you do is drop one line of code in your model and everything > works like magic. > > http://github.com/norman/friendly_idYeah, there are several gems like that. They look great.> > MattBest, -- Marnen Laibow-Koser http://www.marnen.org marnen-sbuyVjPbboAdnm+yROfE0A@public.gmane.org -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.
Philip Hallstrom
2010-May-24 23:23 UTC
Re: Re: does changing to_param() have any side effect?
On May 24, 2010, at 4:11 PM, Marnen Laibow-Koser wrote:> M Daubs wrote: >> Jian, >> >> This was a common practice a while ago but I would recommend against >> changing to_params. > > Why? I can''t think of a good reason. > >> It will work but my experience has been that code >> gets messy as you find fringe cases. > > Huh?The only case I come across after changing to_param is when I pass params[:id] (= "123-foo-bar") into find_by_id and forget to call to_i on it. find() by itself will do the right thing, but find_by_id won''t. Not a big deal though. -philip -- 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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.
I don''t enjoy reinventing functionality when there''s already a good gem to get the job done. Changing to_param will work but my preference is to not change it because then I have to modify all of my calls to find for every model class involved. And if I''m going to change to_param, you might as well rip out the integer ID as well so that you are SEO and human-optimized at the same time. With that comes the responsibility to ensure another unique column which might be trivial or may be a pain depending on your existing data requirements. Nothing here is a deal breaker but the way I see it it''s all a lot more work than just using friendly_id. Less code to test and less code to break. That''s just my preference, though. Everyone''s different. On May 24, 7:23 pm, Philip Hallstrom <phi...-LSG90OXdqQE@public.gmane.org> wrote:> On May 24, 2010, at 4:11 PM, Marnen Laibow-Koser wrote: > > > M Daubs wrote: > >> Jian, > > >> This was a common practice a while ago but I would recommend against > >> changing to_params. > > > Why? I can''t think of a good reason. > > >> It will work but my experience has been that code > >> gets messy as you find fringe cases. > > > Huh? > > The only case I come across after changing to_param is when I pass params[:id] (= "123-foo-bar") into find_by_id and forget to call to_i on it. find() by itself will do the right thing, but find_by_id won''t. Not a big deal though. > > -philip > > -- > 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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.-- 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-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFF+G/Ez6ZCGd0@public.gmane.org To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rubyonrails-talk+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.