Building a Database Entry in Ruby on Rails without Using JavaScript

As a newbie in web development, I am embarking on a project using Ruby on Rails (3.2.9) and have some uncertainties about the capabilities of RoR without JavaScript. For instance, when using a Rails Scaffold, creating new database records by accessing the Controller's new method (subsequently calling the create method to save the record) is quite straightforward.

Now, I'm interested in creating new records without having a separate view for it. Picture this: "User clicks a button -> record is saved". To illustrate, let's say I have a view displaying articles generated from a Rails scaffold command and I've included a link to a "buy" method revealing the article name and available quantity with an input field for selecting the desired amount to purchase.

<p>
  <b>Name:</b>
  <%= @article.name %>
</p>

<p>
  <b>Available:</b>
  <%= @article.stocks %>
</p>

<%= form_for(@article) do |f| %>

 <div class="field">
    <b>How many?</b>
    <br />
    <%= f.number_field :amount %>
  </div>
<% end %> 

My objective now is to add a link or a button triggering an event that converts the selected article and quantity into an order item, essentially creating a record in the order_item table.

<td><%=link_to "Yes", :controller => "oderItem", :method => "create" %></td><br>

I'm uncertain about the approach to take. I considered solely utilizing the create method or any relevant method within the Controller like:

def match

    @apo = OrderItem.new(:amount :2, ...)
    @apo.save
end

However, it appears to redirect me to the new method of the controller or something similar.

Considering my explanations, can someone advise if I'm making a mistake with Rails or if I should resort to using JavaScript?

In conclusion, I would appreciate simple sample code (whether for Rails or JS) and links to straightforward code examples demonstrating projects like this on Rails. Keeping it basic would be ideal as I aim to make this functional without delving into advanced techniques like Ajax.

Answer №1

If you want to display a "mini" form on the page layout when a user clicks a specific element, you can achieve this by either rendering a new view or modifying the current document using JavaScript.

Here's an example of how you could implement this feature using JavaScript:

ERB:

# Iterate through each available article...
<% @articles.each do |article| %>

  <p>
    <b>Name:</b>
    <%= article.name %>
  </p>

  <p>
    <b>Available:</b>
    <%= article.stocks %>
  </p>

  <% button_tag(:type => 'button', :class => 'buy-btn', data-article-id="article.id") do %>
    <strong>Buy Me!</strong>
  <% end %>

  # Create a mini form for each article where users can input quantity...
  <div class="field hidden-item" id="form-#{article.id}" >
    <%= form_for(OrderItem.new) do |f| %>   
      <b>How many?</b>
      <br />
      <%= f.number_field_tag :amount%>
      <%= f.submit %>    
    <% end %> 
  </div>
<% end %>

CSS:

.field {
  display: none; // Hide the form by default
}

JavaScript to handle interaction:

$(document).ready(function() {
  
  $(".buy-btn").bind('click', function() {
      var id = $(this).data('article-id');
      $("#form-" + id).slideDown(); // Show the form with slide down effect
  });

});

In the ERB code, we provide a hidden mini-form for each article which becomes visible upon clicking the "Buy Me!" button. This setup also allows users to order multiple articles by adjusting the form declarations and controller actions accordingly.

If you prefer not to use JavaScript, you can pass parameters through links to conditionally display forms based on user interactions. Here's a simplified example:

# Iterate through each available article...
<% @articles.each do |article| %>

  <p>
    <b>Name:</b>
    <%= article.name %>
  </p>

  <p>
    <b>Available:</b>
    <%= article.stocks %>
  </p>

  # Set up a link that passes parameters to show a form
  <%= link_to( 'Buy Me!', "/articles?article=#{article.id}" ) %>

  # Render a form if the passed id matches the current article id
  <% if params[:article] && params[:article] == article.id %>

    <%= form_for(OrderItem.new) do |f| %>   
      <b>How many?</b>
      <br />
      <%= f.number_field_tag :amount%>
      <%= f.submit %>    
    <% end %> 
  </div>
<% end %>

This may require further tweaking, but it should give you a good starting point to implement the desired functionality!

Answer №2

Understanding Ruby on Rails does not require knowledge of Javascript, making it accessible for those focused solely on Ruby and Rails.

In clarification, the link_to method in Rails is related to HTTP methods like "POST", "GET", "PUT", or "DELETE," not the specific action being called. The :action attribute should be used to specify which controller action to execute.

If you're looking to start learning Ruby and Rails, there are several resources available:

  • Code School offers free courses, including a highly recommended one on Ruby on Rails.
  • Code Academy provides structured web development courses covering various technologies.
  • Railscasts offers valuable tutorials through free video content.

For additional sources, consider exploring the plethora of open-source projects on Github to see how others utilize Ruby and Rails in practice.

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