I would like to add a couple of instance variables to my controller, since the variables in question are required from within more than one action's view. However, the below example does not work as I would expect.
class ExampleController < ApplicationController
@var1 = "Cheese"
@var2 = "Tomato"
def show_pizza_topping
# What I want is the above instance vars from within the view here
end
def show_sandwich_filling
# What I want is the above instance vars from within the view here
end
end
As I understand it, Rails takes the instance variables from the controller and makes them available in the view. If I assign the same variables within the action methods, it works fine - but I don't want to do it twice. Why does my way not work?
(Note: this is a bit of a rubbish example, but I hope it makes sense)
EDIT: I have found the answer to this question here: When do Ruby instance variables get set?
EDIT 2: when is the best time to use filters such as before_filter and the initialize method?
These types of things should be handled in a before_filter
. A before filter, like the name implies, is a method that will get called before any actions, or only the ones you declare. An example:
class ExampleController < ApplicationController
before_filter :set_toppings
def show_pizza_topping
# What I want is the above instance vars from within the view here
end
def show_sandwich_filling
# What I want is the above instance vars from within the view here
end
protected
def set_toppings
@var1 = "Cheese"
@var2 = "Tomato"
end
end
Or, you could have your before_filter only work on one of your actions
before_filter :set_toppings, :only => [ :show_pizza_topping ]
Hope this helps.
EDIT: Here's some more information on filters in ActionController.
Those aren't instance variables, are they?
class A
@x = 5
def f
puts @x
end
end
A.new.f
=> nil
You're defining it at the class-level, not the instance-level. As "theIV" points out, you need to assign them inside an instance method.
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