require "action_controller/log_subscriber" module ActionController # Action Controllers are the core of a web request in \Rails. They are made up of one or more actions that are executed # on request and then either render a template or redirect to another action. An action is defined as a public method # on the controller, which will automatically be made accessible to the web-server through \Rails Routes. # # By default, only the ApplicationController in a \Rails application inherits from ActionController::Base. All other # controllers in turn inherit from ApplicationController. This gives you one class to configure things such as # request forgery protection and filtering of sensitive request parameters. # # A sample controller could look like this: # # class PostsController < ApplicationController # def index # @posts = Post.all # end # # def create # @post = Post.create params[:post] # redirect_to posts_path # end # end # # Actions, by default, render a template in the app/views directory corresponding to the name of the controller and action # after executing code in the action. For example, the +index+ action of the PostsController would render the # template app/views/posts/index.html.erb by default after populating the @posts instance variable. # # Unlike index, the create action will not render a template. After performing its main purpose (creating a # new post), it initiates a redirect instead. This redirect works by returning an external # "302 Moved" HTTP response that takes the user to the index action. # # These two methods represent the two basic action archetypes used in Action Controllers. Get-and-show and do-and-redirect. # Most actions are variations of these themes. # # == Requests # # For every request, the router determines the value of the +controller+ and +action+ keys. These determine which controller # and action are called. The remaining request parameters, the session (if one is available), and the full request with # all the HTTP headers are made available to the action through accessor methods. Then the action is performed. # # The full request object is available via the request accessor and is primarily used to query for HTTP headers: # # def server_ip # location = request.env["SERVER_ADDR"] # render :text => "This server hosted at #{location}" # end # # == Parameters # # All request parameters, whether they come from a GET or POST request, or from the URL, are available through the params method # which returns a hash. For example, an action that was performed through /posts?category=All&limit=5 will include # { "category" => "All", "limit" => 5 } in params. # # It's also possible to construct multi-dimensional parameter hashes by specifying keys using brackets, such as: # # # # # A request stemming from a form holding these inputs will include { "post" => { "name" => "david", "address" => "hyacintvej" } }. # If the address input had been named "post[address][street]", the params would have included # { "post" => { "address" => { "street" => "hyacintvej" } } }. There's no limit to the depth of the nesting. # # == Sessions # # Sessions allows you to store objects in between requests. This is useful for objects that are not yet ready to be persisted, # such as a Signup object constructed in a multi-paged process, or objects that don't change much and are needed all the time, such # as a User object for a system that requires login. The session should not be used, however, as a cache for objects where it's likely # they could be changed unknowingly. It's usually too much work to keep it all synchronized -- something databases already excel at. # # You can place objects in the session by using the session method, which accesses a hash: # # session[:person] = Person.authenticate(user_name, password) # # And retrieved again through the same hash: # # Hello #{session[:person]} # # For removing objects from the session, you can either assign a single key to +nil+: # # # removes :person from session # session[:person] = nil # # or you can remove the entire session with +reset_session+. # # Sessions are stored by default in a browser cookie that's cryptographically signed, but unencrypted. # This prevents the user from tampering with the session but also allows him to see its contents. # # Do not put secret information in cookie-based sessions! # # Other options for session storage: # # * ActiveRecord::SessionStore - Sessions are stored in your database, which works better than PStore with multiple app servers and, # unlike CookieStore, hides your session contents from the user. To use ActiveRecord::SessionStore, set # # MyApplication::Application.config.session_store :active_record_store # # in your config/initializers/session_store.rb and run script/rails g session_migration. # # == Responses # # Each action results in a response, which holds the headers and document to be sent to the user's browser. The actual response # object is generated automatically through the use of renders and redirects and requires no user intervention. # # == Renders # # Action Controller sends content to the user by using one of five rendering methods. The most versatile and common is the rendering # of a template. Included in the Action Pack is the Action View, which enables rendering of ERB templates. It's automatically configured. # The controller passes objects to the view by assigning instance variables: # # def show # @post = Post.find(params[:id]) # end # # Which are then automatically available to the view: # # Title: <%= @post.title %> # # You don't have to rely on the automated rendering. Especially actions that could result in the rendering of different templates will use # the manual rendering methods: # # def search # @results = Search.find(params[:query]) # case @results # when 0 then render :action => "no_results" # when 1 then render :action => "show" # when 2..10 then render :action => "show_many" # end # end # # Read more about writing ERB and Builder templates in ActionView::Base. # # == Redirects # # Redirects are used to move from one action to another. For example, after a create action, which stores a blog entry to a database, # we might like to show the user the new entry. Because we're following good DRY principles (Don't Repeat Yourself), we're going to reuse (and redirect to) # a show action that we'll assume has already been created. The code might look like this: # # def create # @entry = Entry.new(params[:entry]) # if @entry.save # # The entry was saved correctly, redirect to show # redirect_to :action => 'show', :id => @entry.id # else # # things didn't go so well, do something else # end # end # # In this case, after saving our new entry to the database, the user is redirected to the show method which is then executed. # # Learn more about redirect_to and what options you have in ActionController::Redirecting. # # == Calling multiple redirects or renders # # An action may contain only a single render or a single redirect. Attempting to try to do either again will result in a DoubleRenderError: # # def do_something # redirect_to :action => "elsewhere" # render :action => "overthere" # raises DoubleRenderError # end # # If you need to redirect on the condition of something, then be sure to add "and return" to halt execution. # # def do_something # redirect_to(:action => "elsewhere") and return if monkeys.nil? # render :action => "overthere" # won't be called if monkeys is nil # end # class Base < Metal abstract! def self.without_modules(*modules) modules = modules.map do |m| m.is_a?(Symbol) ? ActionController.const_get(m) : m end MODULES - modules end MODULES = [ AbstractController::Layouts, AbstractController::Translation, AbstractController::AssetPaths, Helpers, HideActions, UrlFor, Redirecting, Rendering, Renderers::All, ConditionalGet, RackDelegation, SessionManagement, Caching, MimeResponds, ImplicitRender, Cookies, Flash, RequestForgeryProtection, ForceSSL, Streaming, DataStreaming, RecordIdentifier, HttpAuthentication::Basic::ControllerMethods, HttpAuthentication::Digest::ControllerMethods, HttpAuthentication::Token::ControllerMethods, # Before callbacks should also be executed the earliest as possible, so # also include them at the bottom. AbstractController::Callbacks, # Add instrumentations hooks at the bottom, to ensure they instrument # all the methods properly. Instrumentation, # Params wrapper should come before instrumentation so they are # properly showed in logs ParamsWrapper, # The same with rescue, append it at the end to wrap as much as possible. Rescue ] MODULES.each do |mod| include mod end # Rails 2.x compatibility include ActionController::Compatibility ActiveSupport.run_load_hooks(:action_controller, self) end end