RESTful app and refactoring code in different controllers

Rails
1

My application contains following controllers:

  1. Topics
  2. Items
  3. Attachments
  4. Users

Following are the models:

  1. Topics has_many items
  2. Items has_many attachments
  3. Attachments
  4. Users has_many topics
  5. Cities has_many counties
  6. Counties has_many users, topics

A topic contains many items. When I try to display a topic, I need to
get its corresponding items, their attachments and display everything in
a single page. In addition I have some filters on who can
add/edit/delete topics/items. Previously I did it with ugly coding -
with all the code pressed in the Topics controller. Now I am trying to
make my application RESTful and stuck with many question marks.

How can I render all the topics, items, and attachments in a single
page. Previously I used lot of partials wherein main show page would
call _topics partial and it would then call _items partial etc…

Now with code being separated in different controllers I am not able to
use partials. Is there anyway I can do it? Also how can configure my
routes for this application. All I did was map.resources :topic,
:has_many => items, but I am not sure whether I doing it right way.

Any help appreciated.

CS.

2

How can I render all the topics, items, and attachments in a single
page. Previously I used lot of partials wherein main show page would
call _topics partial and it would then call _items partial etc…

There shouldn’t be any problem at all doing this.

You’d have a topics page, say yoursite.com/topics/sometopic

Then in the view you just loop through @topic.articles, etc. Just
because you have a restful URL scheme, it doesn’t mean that your view
can only display data from one model.

SH

–
Starr H.
My blog: http://starrhorne.com
Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: http://railskits.com/helpdesk/

3

Thanks Starr.

I tried that…
But each individual item in a topic can be edited/deleted or new one
could be added to the topic. In addition, each one has some filter on
who can edit/delete etc…

I am unable to add these add/edit/delete links to these items. Does it
mean something is wrong with my config/routes file?
Apart from default route, right now I have:
map.resources :topic, :has_many => items, :collection =>
{:populate_counties => post}
Step by step I will add other resource associations (e.g.: map.resources
:items :has_many :attachments) - when I am sure whats the right way to
do it.

Any clues?

Thanks,
CS.

Starr H. wrote:

How can I render all the topics, items, and attachments in a single
page. Previously I used lot of partials wherein main show page would
call _topics partial and it would then call _items partial etc…

There shouldn’t be any problem at all doing this.

You’d have a topics page, say yoursite.com/topics/sometopic

Then in the view you just loop through @topic.articles, etc. Just
because you have a restful URL scheme, it doesn’t mean that your view
can only display data from one model.

SH

–
Starr H.
My blog: http://starrhorne.com
Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: http://railskits.com/helpdesk/

4

I think I am doing some mistake in configuring routes.
Here is what I have in my routes:
map.resources :agendas do |agendas|
agendas.resources :items

end

I am not able to access items using this. I can fetch them (list items
related to a topic) into my view, but I am not able to form other CRUD
links to access them.

Any help appreciated…

Thanks,
CS.

Carlos S. wrote:

Thanks Starr.

I tried that…
But each individual item in a topic can be edited/deleted or new one
could be added to the topic. In addition, each one has some filter on
who can edit/delete etc…

I am unable to add these add/edit/delete links to these items. Does it
mean something is wrong with my config/routes file?
Apart from default route, right now I have:
map.resources :topic, :has_many => items, :collection =>
{:populate_counties => post}
Step by step I will add other resource associations (e.g.: map.resources
:items :has_many :attachments) - when I am sure whats the right way to
do it.

Any clues?

Thanks,
CS.

Starr H. wrote:

How can I render all the topics, items, and attachments in a single
page. Previously I used lot of partials wherein main show page would
call _topics partial and it would then call _items partial etc…

There shouldn’t be any problem at all doing this.

You’d have a topics page, say yoursite.com/topics/sometopic

Then in the view you just loop through @topic.articles, etc. Just
because you have a restful URL scheme, it doesn’t mean that your view
can only display data from one model.

SH

–
Starr H.
My blog: http://starrhorne.com
Check out my Helpdesk RailsKit: http://railskits.com/helpdesk/