# Return response\['location'\]

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [November 24, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037 "2008-11-24T19:37:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/1 "2008-11-24T19:37:29Z")

</div>

I’m building an extension to an existing Rails app but have hit a  
problem the developers cannot seem to help me with. From a javascript-  
based shadowbox, I post an addition to a RDF triplestore via a proxy  
call: with the following in the Rails app (‘uri’ is the triplestore  
address, ‘claim’ the RDF to be added):

response = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port) { |http|  
http.request\_post(uri.path, claim, { ‘Content-type’ =\> ‘text/  
turtle’ })  
}

and want to return the triplestore response to the javascript call. I  
was told to use:

send\_data(response.body, :type =\> response[‘content-type’],  
:status =\> “#{response.code}”)

which half works. But I need to return the response[‘location’] value  
as it contains the uri of the added rdf. But send\_data does not seem  
to allow the return of the location: is there any way that I can do  
this?

Thanks,  
Tony.

(Apologies if this is a simple or stupid question: I’m trying to do  
this complex (to me) stuff with very little Rails knowledge)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/2 "2008-11-24T19:43:23Z")

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On Nov 24, 6:34 pm, Tony [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> }  
> this?

Where were you planning on storing it ? It’s either the body or a  
header of some sort.  
For a javascript client you might set  
response.headers[‘X-JSON’] = {:location =\> foo}.to\_json  
Prototype response handlers get passed this header (after it has been  
parsed into a JS object)

Fred

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/3 "2008-11-25T11:59:00Z")

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Thanks for the reply, Fred. It isn’t for storage, just to assure the  
user that it has been received by the triplestore.

I’m afraid I’m too much of a novice to understand what you’ve  
suggested. The response variable contains the return I received from  
the triplestore which includes the location as response[‘location’]  
and I just want to send this response back to the javascript client.  
If I set the response.headers[‘X-JSON’] as you’ve suggested, how does  
this get to the client using send\_data as it seems only body, type and  
status can be sent.

Cheers,  
Tony.

On Nov 24, 6:42 pm, Frederick C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 12:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/4 "2008-11-25T12:13:05Z")

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On 25 Nov 2008, at 10:57, Tony wrote:

> status can be sent.

It just does. send\_data won’t unset headers previously set.

Fred

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/5 "2008-11-26T21:59:08Z")

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On Nov 26, 8:52 pm, Tony [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> ```
> :status => "#{response.code} #{response.message}")
> 
> ```
> 
> but the javascript completed before I could get to the debugger.

As in the onComplete was called ? did you start the server with the –  
debugger option ?

Fred

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/6 "2008-11-26T21:53:14Z")

</div>

Thanks, Fred. Though it looks a bit more complicated. I was going to  
test your suggestion and so stuck a breakpoint in proxy\_controller  
before the send\_data:

```
response = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port) { |http|
  http.request_post(uri.path, claim, { 'Content-type' => 'text/

```

turtle’ })  
}  
debugger  
send\_data(response.body, :type =\> response[‘content-type’],  
:status =\> “#{response.code} #{response.message}”)

but the javascript completed before I could get to the debugger. The  
js (using prototype) looks like:

new Ajax.Request(‘/proxy’,  
{  
method:‘post’,  
parameters: { ‘claimType’: claim\_type, ‘claimId’: claim\_id,  
‘sacURL’:sac, ‘notes’:notes, ‘rating’:rating, ‘tags’:tags.toString  
() },  
onSuccess: function(transport){  
alert('Added claim at: ’ + transport.body);  
Shadowbox.close();  
return;  
},  
onFailure: function(transport){  
alert('Something went wrong…\nProbably incorrect SAC address\n  
\nStatus: ’ + transport.status + 'Text: ’ + transport.responseText);  
Shadowbox.close();  
return;  
}  
});

so it looks as though the post is coming back as successful before the  
proxy\_controller can do the send\_data though the page is held up from  
refreshing until proxy\_controller completes.

Why would this be? I thought the post to /proxy would not know whether  
the post was complete and successful or not (same thing happens if I  
change onSuccess to onComplete) until the proxy\_controller has  
finished.

Hmm, maybe the post is asynch. I’ll do some more digging but any  
suggestions meantime would be appreciated.

Cheers,  
Tony.

On Nov 25, 11:12 am, Frederick C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/7 "2008-11-26T22:19:40Z")

</div>

Yes, I did and it waits for me to type continue.

Just checked Prototype docs and it seems Ajax.Request is asynch so I  
guess the complete/success states merely relate to making the call  
rather than getting anything back from the callee.

Yes, setting ‘asynchronous: false’ in the request does hold up the  
onSuccess. And it enables any error to be trapped by the onFailure.

So, although it is considered bad practice, seems I have no option but  
to use a synchronous call to the proxy\_controller otherwise the  
success/failure does not work.

now back to the send\_data issue 🙂

T.

On Nov 26, 8:58 pm, Frederick C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/8 "2008-11-26T22:43:08Z")

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That’s what I would have thought. Maybe it is Rails and how it handles  
asynch requests- wil dig some more tomorrow - got an early flight so  
off to bed.

Cheers,  
Tony.

On Nov 26, 9:30 pm, Frederick C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@tony](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tony)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/return-response-location/154037/9 "2008-11-26T22:31:23Z")

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On Nov 26, 9:18 pm, Tony [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Yes, I did and it waits for me to type continue.
> 
> Just checked Prototype docs and it seems Ajax.Request is asynch so I  
> guess the complete/success states merely relate to making the call  
> rather than getting anything back from the callee.

That’s incorrect. onSuccess/onComplete are called when a response is  
received from the remote server (half the point of those callbacks is  
to do something with the response from the server)

Fred