Question

I want to PUT to rails and avoid getting a 204. I am using this pattern:

class SomeController < ApplicationController
  respond_to :json

  def update
    # ...
    respond_with(some_object)
  end
end

However, when I do a put to update, I get a 204 back. I realize this is completely valid etc, but I explicitly want the content back. I can override it to some extent like this:

def update
  respond_with(some_object) do |format|
    format.json{render json: some_object}
  end
end

but this seems a bit too hands-on for rails. Is there any more idiomatic way of avoiding a 204 and requesting the full content to be sent back? This is Rails 3.2.

In summary: I want maximally idiomatic rails that avoids a 204.

Answer 1

I made a custom responder which always returns my JSON encoded resource even on PUT/POST.

I put this file in lib/responders/json_responder.rb. Your /lib dir should be autoloaded.

module Responders::JsonResponder
  protected

  # simply render the resource even on POST instead of redirecting for ajax
  def api_behavior(error)
    if post?
      display resource, :status => :created
    # render resource instead of 204 no content
    elsif put?
      display resource, :status => :ok
    else
      super
    end
  end
end

Now, explicitly modify the controller which requires this behavior, or place it in the application controller.

class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base

  protect_from_forgery

  responders :json

end

You should now get JSON encoded resources back on PUT.