Hi, i'm a php developer and am used to developing using the zend framework, recently i have discovered the wonders of rails, and have a simple question:
In zend in your controller you can make a function called init() which will always run for every action inside that controller, how can i make an initializer function in a rails controller?
I've searched but havent found much on initializer functions. Thanks.
Look up before_filter which does exactly what you describe. The before_filter runs before every action inside a controller. Rails is filled with filters on models and controllers. Specifically though check out:
http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActionController/Filters/ClassMethods.html
Basically,
In a controller
SomeController < AC::Base
before_filter :some_method_name
# your actions here
protected
def some_method_name # some filter action here end
You can even qualify filters so they run only for certain actions or skip certain actions:
before_filter :some_method, :only => ['action', 'action2']
or if you want even run the filter based on a inline condition using a plugin:
http://giantrobots.thoughtbot.com/2008/2/15/when-rails-plugin
thats just what i needed^^, thanks.
I was going to suggest you could make a definition called initialize and put your code in there, but before_filter is better and initialize probably doesn't work in controllers.
initialize is a RUBY thing, not a Rails thing, so it should work anywhere. However, the before/after/around filters are the appropriate solution.
@Evan: Be sure to use inheritance to your advantage. You can drop a single method (e.g., filter) into the ApplicationController (application.rb) and it will be inherited by ALL controllers in your application. If any of the individual controllers want to 'opt out' you can use skip_filter to bypass it.