ActionController::RecordIdentifier

• actionpack/lib/action_controller/record_identifier.rb

The record identifier encapsulates a number of naming conventions for dealing with records, like Active Records or Active Resources or pretty much any other model type that has an id. These patterns are then used to try elevate the view actions to a higher logical level. Example:

  # routes
  map.resources :posts

  # view
  <% div_for(post) do %>     <div id="post_45" class="post">
    <%= post.body %>           What a wonderful world!
  <% end %>                  </div>

  # controller
  def destroy
    post = Post.find(params[:id])
    post.destroy

    respond_to do |format|
      format.html { redirect_to(post) } # Calls polymorphic_url(post) which in turn calls post_url(post)
      format.js do
        # Calls: new Effect.fade('post_45');
        render(:update) { |page| page[post].visual_effect(:fade) }
      end
    end
  end

As the example above shows, you can stop caring to a large extent what the actual id of the post is. You just know that one is being assigned and that the subsequent calls in redirect_to and the RJS expect that same naming convention and allows you to write less code if you follow it.

• dom_class
• dom_id
• partial_path
• plural_class_name
• singular_class_name

The DOM class convention is to use the singular form of an object or class. Examples:

  dom_class(post)   # => "post"
  dom_class(Person) # => "person"

If you need to address multiple instances of the same class in the same view, you can prefix the dom_class:

  dom_class(post, :edit)   # => "edit_post"
  dom_class(Person, :edit) # => "edit_person"

The DOM id convention is to use the singular form of an object or class with the id following an underscore. If no id is found, prefix with "new_" instead. Examples:

  dom_id(Post.find(45))       # => "post_45"
  dom_id(Post.new)            # => "new_post"

If you need to address multiple instances of the same class in the same view, you can prefix the dom_id:

  dom_id(Post.find(45), :edit) # => "edit_post_45"

Returns plural/singular for a record or class. Example:

  partial_path(post)                   # => "posts/post"
  partial_path(Person)                 # => "people/person"
  partial_path(Person, "admin/games")  # => "admin/people/person"

Returns the plural class name of a record or class. Examples:

  plural_class_name(post)             # => "posts"
  plural_class_name(Highrise::Person) # => "highrise_people"

Returns the singular class name of a record or class. Examples:

  singular_class_name(post)             # => "post"
  singular_class_name(Highrise::Person) # => "highrise_person"