Question

I have this code in my html.erb at many places.

<div id="left-nav">
  <%= render :partial => 'tests/tests_left_menu' %>
</div>

Is it a good idea to create helper method for this type of code ?

How to write this code in helper ?

Answer 1

I see a few good strategies to use in your situation. Pick and choose based on your project’s specific requirements.

• You can just put div#left-nav and its contents into yet another partial like tests/tests_left_menu_with_wrapper. This saves you a couple of lines.
• If you can generalize the cases when the entire segment appears, you can move it into a layout. This way, once you declare the layout for a particular action using the ActionController::Base.layout method, you’ll be able to skip writing the entire segment altogether.
• You can write a helper, but it’s not clear what advantage it confers over simply using content_tag. You’re probably better off using partials or layouts.