I am trying to implement dynamic database-driven menu on my web
application. Menu is just a set of links to controller actions, but
each user has different set of menu items based on their privileges.
Menu items (labels and URLs) are stored in database as ActiveRecord
object called Menu.
The only problem is whenever browser is refreshed, it runs query to
pull out menu items. This would be performance overhead. Menu items
are not changed that often, so I am thinking it is better to put this
kind of information to session variable.
I would like to know if this approach is a good direction. If so, in
what format should I store menu item information, e.g., string, hash,
or activerecord object?
I would like to know if this approach is a good direction. If so, in
what format should I store menu item information, e.g., string, hash,
or activerecord object?
Hi Glen,
My menu has different sections based on the roles of the current user.
It's a sport schedule management application, so there are roles for
players, coaches, referees, parents, and administrators. The entire menu
structure is a collection of hashes and arrays, some of which get built
dynamically. It has to get redrawn on every full page load, and I
control access to the various sections via session variables. As the
expands/collapses menu options, I store in session which ones are open
so when the menu gets redrawn from page to page, it stays the same. In
order to accomplish that, I have a small ajax call that updates the menu
state in the session.
