Question

I have an odd situation, but here it is:

# a HAML file
:javascript
  #{ if session[:view].blank?
        "$.ajax({
            url: 'url_for params.merge(:action => 'index')',
            dataType: 'script'})"
    else
        "$.ajax({
            url: 'url_for companies_url',
            dataType: 'script'})"
    end }

So this is basically nesting javascript inside ruby, inside javascript, inside HAML. It doesn’t work because I’ve got improper nesting of quotes.

1. I imagine there’s a better way to do this. Any thoughts?
2. The ajax happening above renders some partials into the current view and changes the session variable. How can I update this javascript so it behaves correctly given the new session[:view]?

Answer 1

Use ERB and a helper method. It’s a lot cleaner:

# foo_helper.rb (or whichever helper is applicable for this view)
module FooHelper
  def url_for_ajax_call
    if session[:view].blank?
      url_for(params.merge(:action => 'index'))
    else
      # url_for(companies_url) is redundant
      companies_url
    end
  end
end

# view.js.erb
$.ajax({ url: <%= url_for_ajax_call %>, dataType: 'script' })