Chapter 15. Routing
For me, in songwriting, I have a route I can take. Maybe thereâs some forks; I can go this way, this way. But I know those roads. I still have the experience behind me.
Dave Matthews
Rails routing can shock developers who are used to putting their code in files wherever they want to put them. After the directory-based approach of traditional HTML and template-based development, the highly structured Rails approach looks very strange. Almost nothing, except for a few pieces in the public folder, is anywhere near where its URI might have suggested it was. Of course, this may not be so shocking if youâve spent a lot of time with other frameworks or blogsâthere are many applications that control the meanings of URIs through mechanisms other than the filesystem.
Note
If you prefer to read âURIâ as the older and more familiar URL, thatâs fine. Everything works the same here. (And the core method Rails uses to generate URIs is, of course, url_for
, in the UrlModule
.)
Rails routing turns requests to particular URIs into calls to particular controllers and lets you create URIs from within your applications. Its default routing behavior, especially when combined with resource routes generated through scaffolding, is often enough to get you started building an application, but thereâs a lot more potential if youâre willing to explore Rails routing more directly. You can create interfaces with memorable (and easily bookmarkable) addresses, arrange related ...
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