CODEWITHSUNDEEP
ruby-on-rails
Sreeraj Chundayil
Sreeraj Chundayil

Reputation: 5859

Pass non model parameter to controller action

How do I pass those arguments which are not of model to a controller?

script.rb

class Script < ActiveRecord::Base
   attr_accessor :directory
   attr_accessor :xmlFile
end

show.html.erb

<h1><%= @script.Name %></h1>

<%= simple_form_for @script, :url => script_execute_path(script_id: @script.id) do |f| %>
  <%= f.input :directory %>
  <%= f.input :xmlFile %>
  <%= f.button :submit, 'Run' %>
<% end %>

Here directory and xmlFile are used for taking inputs but it is not a part of Script model. Now I need to pass values contained in directory and xmlFile to my execute controller action

  def execute 
    @script = Script.find(params[:script_id])
    #something like this -- @xmlFile = params[:xmlFile]
  end

how do I access it here?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1305

Answers (3)

jeffdill2
jeffdill2

Reputation: 4114

It looks like you've actually already figured it out. By declaring

attr_accessor :directory
attr_accessor :xmlFile

in your Script model, you've effectively made them a part of the model. They just won't be persisted to the database when the object is saved. But as long as the object is in memory, those attributes will be available.

And since you've already got those attributes defined in your view:

<%= f.input :directory %>
<%= f.input :xmlFile %>

they'll be available to you in your controller via the params hash via params[:directory] and params[:xmlFile].

Upvotes: 1

gmcnaughton
gmcnaughton

Reputation: 2293

For arbitrary fields that aren't part of a model, you can use Rails' standalone tag helpers, such as text_field_tag:

<%= simple_form_for @script, :url => script_execute_path(script_id: @script.id) do |f| %>
  <%= text_field_tag :directory %>
  <%= text_field_tag :xmlFile %>
  <%= f.button :submit, 'Run' %>
<% end %>

If you want to pre-fill them with an existing value, you can pass that in as well:

<%= text_field_tag :directory, 'some default value' %>

Upvotes: 1

Simone Carletti
Simone Carletti

Reputation: 176402

They are indeed part of the Script model, because they are defined as attributes of the model. The fact they are not persisted is irrelevant.

You access them from the hash of params that represent the model itself. You can determine the exact name inspecting the logs of the request, you'll see how the parameters are structured.

Assuming the name of the model is Script, the hash key that contains the script attributes should be called script, therefore:

params[:script][:directory]

Please note that Ruby doesn't use camelCase, therefore the name xmlFile doesn't follow the conventions and may cause you issues. The name should be xml_file, not xmlFile.

Upvotes: 3

Related Questions