Paths Ruby on Rails

Start building web apps fast with Paths ruby on rails: learn the basics of MVC and get up and running quickly!

Routing

Ruby on Rails uses the Action Dispatch router to map URL paths to controller actions. The router is responsible for recognizing URLs and dispatching them to the appropriate controller. It also provides a way to generate URLs from route names, allowing you to use names rather than hardcoded URLs in your application.

Routes are defined in config/routes.rb and are written in a DSL (domain-specific language) that is easy to read and understand. For example, a typical route might look like this:

Rails.application.routes.draw do
  get '/articles' => 'articles#index'
end

This route defines a route called articles that maps to the index action of the articles controller. When a request for /articles is received, the router will call the index action of the ArticlesController class. The router will also generate a URL that points to this route when given the name of the route. For example:

Rails.application.routes.url_for(:controller => 'articles', :action => 'index')
# => /articles

In this example, the router generated the URL /articles from the name of the route and the controller action. This allows you to easily generate URLs without having to hardcode them in your application.

The router also supports advanced routing features such as constraints, namespaces, and constraints. Constraints allow you to define conditions that must be met for a route to be matched, while namespaces allow you to group related routes together. They are both powerful features that allow you to create complex routing systems.

Routes are an integral part of any Ruby on Rails application as they provide a way to map URLs to controller actions. The router makes it easy to define routes and generate URLs from route names, making your application more maintainable. It also supports advanced features such as constraints and namespaces, allowing you to create complex routing systems.