Is it possible to utilize a route path in a JavaScript AJAX request?

Question

Is it possible to utilize a route path in a JavaScript AJAX request?

So I have a situation with an ajax call that is currently functioning in a .js file, utilizing:

...
update: function(){
   $.ajax({
     url: '/groups/order_links',
...

However, my preference would be to use the route path instead.

To achieve this, I changed the file extension to .js.erb and attempted the following:

...
update: function(){
   $.ajax({
     url: "#{order_links_groups_path}",
     ...

I also tried:

     ...
     url: "#{order_links_groups_url}",
     ...

Unfortunately, I am encountering a 404 error in both cases - [HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found 76ms]
This error originates from a POST request to http://localhost:3000/groups/49

Upon executing rake routes, it becomes evident that my routes include:

...               
PUT      /groups/:group_id/links/:id(.:format)      links#update
DELETE   /groups/:group_id/links/:id(.:format)      links#destroy
order_links_groups POST     /groups/order_links(.:format)    groups#order_links
groups GET      /groups(.:format)                   groups#index
POST     /groups(.:format)                        groups#create
new_group GET      /groups/new(.:format)               groups#new
edit_group GET      /groups/:id/edit(.:format)         groups#edit

These routes are defined as follows:

resources :groups do
  resources :links
  collection do
    post 'order_links'
  end 
end

In the GroupsController you'll find:

class GroupsController < ApplicationController

  ...
  def order_links
    params[:link].each_with_index do |id, index|
      Link.where(id: id).update_all(['position = ?',index+1])
    end 
    render :nothing => true
  end 
  ...

Environment: Rails 4.1

javascript ruby-on-rails ajax ruby-on-rails-4 url-routing

Answer 1

Answer №1

"#{}" is typically used for string interpolation in Coffeescript, so it seems like there might be an error here. It appears that the ajax request is being made from the url http://localhost:3000/groups/49, as failing to provide a proper url will default to using the current path.

In the context of Ruby,

"<%= order_links_groups_path %>"

would be searching for a variable. However, JavaScript files in the assets directory are compiled without access to your application's context, resulting in order_links_groups_path being undefined.

If you're facing this issue, the following solution may be helpful: Route helpers in asset pipeline

<% url = MyRailsApp::Application.routes.url_helpers %>
url: "<%= url.order_links_groups_url %>"

Answer 2

"#{}" is typically used for string interpolation in Coffeescript, so it seems like there might be an error here. It appears that the ajax request is being made from the url http://localhost:3000/groups/49, as failing to provide a proper url will default to using the current path.

In the context of Ruby,

"<%= order_links_groups_path %>"

would be searching for a variable. However, JavaScript files in the assets directory are compiled without access to your application's context, resulting in order_links_groups_path being undefined.

If you're facing this issue, the following solution may be helpful: Route helpers in asset pipeline

<% url = MyRailsApp::Application.routes.url_helpers %>
url: "<%= url.order_links_groups_url %>"

Answer 3

Answer №2

Let me start by clarifying a few things:

--

Different Mime Types

When it comes to mime types, Rails handles them at the controller level rather than in middleware.

So, if you want to request a resource using ajax's js mime type, you will need to define how it is handled in the controller, not the routing structure.

You can learn more about how Rails deals with mime types here:

If the client requests HTML, we redirect them back to the list of people. If they ask for JavaScript, it means it is an Ajax request and we render the corresponding JavaScript template for this action. And finally, if the client wants XML, we render the person created as XML, including the person's company in the output XML.

So, when handling a JS response, you can do something like this:

#app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
class GroupsController < ApplicationController
   def order_links
      ...
      respond_to do |format|
         format.js 
         format.html
      end
   end
end

This allows you to create and call different responses based on the mime type sent to the controller.

--

Ajax Considerations

When dealing with Ajax calls, avoid using dynamic linking in your asset pipeline. Even though Rails documentation might suggest otherwise, serving static assets (as recommended for production) can limit your ability to access those routes.

However, as mentioned by Ahmed, you can leverage coffeescript or erb preprocessing to work around this issue:

#app/assets/javascripts/application.js.coffee
update: function(){
   $.ajax({
     url: <%= order_links_groups_path %>,
     ...

By doing this, you can route your JavaScript request properly and handle the mime type in the controller as needed.

Answer 4

Let me start by clarifying a few things:

--

Different Mime Types

When it comes to mime types, Rails handles them at the controller level rather than in middleware.

So, if you want to request a resource using ajax's js mime type, you will need to define how it is handled in the controller, not the routing structure.

You can learn more about how Rails deals with mime types here:

If the client requests HTML, we redirect them back to the list of people. If they ask for JavaScript, it means it is an Ajax request and we render the corresponding JavaScript template for this action. And finally, if the client wants XML, we render the person created as XML, including the person's company in the output XML.

So, when handling a JS response, you can do something like this:

#app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
class GroupsController < ApplicationController
   def order_links
      ...
      respond_to do |format|
         format.js 
         format.html
      end
   end
end

This allows you to create and call different responses based on the mime type sent to the controller.

--

Ajax Considerations

When dealing with Ajax calls, avoid using dynamic linking in your asset pipeline. Even though Rails documentation might suggest otherwise, serving static assets (as recommended for production) can limit your ability to access those routes.

However, as mentioned by Ahmed, you can leverage coffeescript or erb preprocessing to work around this issue:

#app/assets/javascripts/application.js.coffee
update: function(){
   $.ajax({
     url: <%= order_links_groups_path %>,
     ...

By doing this, you can route your JavaScript request properly and handle the mime type in the controller as needed.

Is it possible to utilize a route path in a JavaScript AJAX request?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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