Expanded routing documentation with current best practices

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/response.rb

@@ -4,27 +4,26 @@ require 'active_support/core_ext/object/blank'
 require 'active_support/core_ext/class/attribute_accessors'
 
 module ActionDispatch # :nodoc:
-  # Represents an HTTP response generated by a controller action. One can use
-  # an ActionDispatch::Response object to retrieve the current state
-  # of the response, or customize the response. An Response object can
-  # either represent a "real" HTTP response (i.e. one that is meant to be sent
-  # back to the web browser) or a test response (i.e. one that is generated
-  # from integration tests). See CgiResponse and TestResponse, respectively.
+  # Represents an HTTP response generated by a controller action. Use it to
+  # retrieve the current state of the response, or customize the response. It can
+  # either represent a real HTTP response (i.e. one that is meant to be sent
+  # back to the web browser) or a TestResponse (i.e. one that is generated
+  # from integration tests).
   #
-  # Response is mostly a Ruby on Rails framework implement detail, and
+  # \Response is mostly a Ruby on \Rails framework implementation detail, and
   # should never be used directly in controllers. Controllers should use the
   # methods defined in ActionController::Base instead. For example, if you want
   # to set the HTTP response's content MIME type, then use
   # ActionControllerBase#headers instead of Response#headers.
   #
   # Nevertheless, integration tests may want to inspect controller responses in
-  # more detail, and that's when Response can be useful for application
+  # more detail, and that's when \Response can be useful for application
   # developers. Integration test methods such as
   # ActionDispatch::Integration::Session#get and
   # ActionDispatch::Integration::Session#post return objects of type
-  # TestResponse (which are of course also of type Response).
+  # TestResponse (which are of course also of type \Response).
   #
-  # For example, the following demo integration "test" prints the body of the
+  # For example, the following demo integration test prints the body of the
   # controller response to the console:
   #
   #  class DemoControllerTest < ActionDispatch::IntegrationTest

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/routing/mapper.rb

@@ -226,10 +226,24 @@ module ActionDispatch
           @set = set
         end
 
+        # You can specify what Rails should route "/" to with the root method:
+        #
+        #   root :to => 'pages#main'
+        #
+        # You should put the root route at the end of <tt>config/routes.rb</tt>.
         def root(options = {})
           match '/', options.reverse_merge(:as => :root)
         end
 
+        # When you set up a regular route, you supply a series of symbols that
+        # Rails maps to parts of an incoming HTTP request.
+        #
+        #   match ':controller/:action/:id/:user_id'
+        #
+        # Two of these symbols are special: :controller maps to the name of a
+        # controller in your application, and :action maps to the name of an
+        # action within that controller. Anything other than :controller or
+        # :action will be available to the action as part of params.
         def match(path, options=nil)
           mapping = Mapping.new(@set, @scope, path, options || {}).to_route
           @set.add_route(*mapping)
@@ -258,22 +272,29 @@ module ActionDispatch
       end
 
       module HttpHelpers
+        # Define a route that only recognizes HTTP GET.
         def get(*args, &block)
           map_method(:get, *args, &block)
         end
 
+        # Define a route that only recognizes HTTP POST.
         def post(*args, &block)
           map_method(:post, *args, &block)
         end
 
+        # Define a route that only recognizes HTTP PUT.
         def put(*args, &block)
           map_method(:put, *args, &block)
         end
 
+        # Define a route that only recognizes HTTP DELETE.
         def delete(*args, &block)
           map_method(:delete, *args, &block)
         end
 
+        # Redirect any path to another path:
+        #
+        #   match "/stories" => redirect("/posts")
         def redirect(*args, &block)
           options = args.last.is_a?(Hash) ? args.pop : {}
 
@@ -314,12 +335,72 @@ module ActionDispatch
           end
       end
 
+      # You may wish to organize groups of controllers under a namespace.
+      # Most commonly, you might group a number of administrative controllers
+      # under an +admin+ namespace. You would place these controllers under
+      # the app/controllers/admin directory, and you can group them together
+      # in your router:
+      #
+      #   namespace "admin" do
+      #     resources :posts, :comments
+      #   end
+      # 
+      # This will create a number of routes for each of the posts and comments
+      # controller. For Admin::PostsController, Rails will create:
+      # 
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/new
+      #   POST	  /admin/photos
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/1
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/1/edit
+      #   PUT	    /admin/photos/1
+      #   DELETE  /admin/photos/1
+      # 
+      # If you want to route /photos (without the prefix /admin) to
+      # Admin::PostsController, you could use
+      # 
+      #   scope :module => "admin" do
+      #     resources :posts, :comments
+      #   end
+      #
+      # or, for a single case
+      # 
+      #   resources :posts, :module => "admin"
+      # 
+      # If you want to route /admin/photos to PostsController
+      # (without the Admin:: module prefix), you could use
+      # 
+      #   scope "/admin" do
+      #     resources :posts, :comments
+      #   end
+      #
+      # or, for a single case
+      # 
+      #   resources :posts, :path => "/admin"
+      #
+      # In each of these cases, the named routes remain the same as if you did
+      # not use scope. In the last case, the following paths map to
+      # PostsController:
+      # 
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/new
+      #   POST	  /admin/photos
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/1
+      #   GET	    /admin/photos/1/edit
+      #   PUT	    /admin/photos/1
+      #   DELETE  /admin/photos/1
       module Scoping
         def initialize(*args) #:nodoc:
           @scope = {}
           super
         end
 
+        # Used to route <tt>/photos</tt> (without the prefix <tt>/admin</tt>)
+        # to Admin::PostsController:
+        #
+        #   scope :module => "admin" do
+        #     resources :posts
+        #   end
         def scope(*args)
           options = args.extract_options!
           options = options.dup
@@ -441,6 +522,37 @@ module ActionDispatch
           end
       end
 
+      # Resource routing allows you to quickly declare all of the common routes
+      # for a given resourceful controller. Instead of declaring separate routes
+      # for your +index+, +show+, +new+, +edit+, +create+, +update+ and +destroy+
+      # actions, a resourceful route declares them in a single line of code:
+      #
+      #  resources :photos
+      #
+      # Sometimes, you have a resource that clients always look up without
+      # referencing an ID. A common example, /profile always shows the profile of
+      # the currently logged in user. In this case, you can use a singular resource
+      # to map /profile (rather than /profile/:id) to the show action.
+      #
+      #  resource :profile
+      #
+      # It's common to have resources that are logically children of other
+      # resources:
+      #
+      #   resources :magazines do
+      #     resources :ads
+      #   end
+      #
+      # You may wish to organize groups of controllers under a namespace. Most
+      # commonly, you might group a number of administrative controllers under
+      # an +admin+ namespace. You would place these controllers under the
+      # app/controllers/admin directory, and you can group them together in your
+      # router:
+      #
+      #   namespace "admin" do
+      #     resources :posts, :comments
+      #   end
+      #
       module Resources
         # CANONICAL_ACTIONS holds all actions that does not need a prefix or
         # a path appended since they fit properly in their scope level.
@@ -549,6 +661,24 @@ module ActionDispatch
           @scope[:path_names].merge!(options)
         end
 
+        # Sometimes, you have a resource that clients always look up without
+        # referencing an ID. A common example, /profile always shows the
+        # profile of the currently logged in user. In this case, you can use
+        # a singular resource to map /profile (rather than /profile/:id) to
+        # the show action:
+        #
+        #   resource :geocoder
+        #
+        # creates six different routes in your application, all mapping to
+        # the GeoCoders controller (note that the controller is named after
+        # the plural):
+        #
+        #   GET     /geocoder/new
+        #   POST    /geocoder
+        #   GET     /geocoder
+        #   GET     /geocoder/edit
+        #   PUT     /geocoder
+        #   DELETE  /geocoder
         def resource(*resources, &block)
           options = resources.extract_options!
 
@@ -578,6 +708,22 @@ module ActionDispatch
           self
         end
 
+        # In Rails, a resourceful route provides a mapping between HTTP verbs
+        # and URLs and controller actions. By convention, each action also maps
+        # to particular CRUD operations in a database. A single entry in the
+        # routing file, such as
+        #
+        #   resources :photos
+        #
+        # creates seven different routes in your application, all mapping to
+        # the Photos controller:
+        #
+        #   GET     /photos/new
+        #   POST    /photos
+        #   GET     /photos/:id
+        #   GET     /photos/:id/edit
+        #   PUT     /photos/:id
+        #   DELETE  /photos/:id
         def resources(*resources, &block)
           options = resources.extract_options!
 
@@ -608,6 +754,18 @@ module ActionDispatch
           self
         end
 
+        # To add a route to the collection:
+        #
+        #   resources :photos do
+        #     collection do
+        #       get 'search'
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        #
+        # This will enable Rails to recognize paths such as <tt>/photos/search</tt>
+        # with GET, and route to the search action of PhotosController. It will also
+        # create the <tt>search_photos_url</tt> and <tt>search_photos_path</tt>
+        # route helpers.
         def collection
           unless @scope[:scope_level] == :resources
             raise ArgumentError, "can't use collection outside resources scope"
@@ -618,6 +776,17 @@ module ActionDispatch
           end
         end
 
+        # To add a member route, add a member block into the resource block:
+        #
+        #   resources :photos do
+        #     member do
+        #       get 'preview'
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        #
+        # This will recognize <tt>/photos/1/preview</tt> with GET, and route to the
+        # preview action of PhotosController. It will also create the
+        # <tt>preview_photo_url</tt> and <tt>preview_photo_path</tt> helpers.
         def member
           unless resource_scope?
             raise ArgumentError, "can't use member outside resource(s) scope"

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/routing/polymorphic_routes.rb

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ module ActionDispatch
     #
     # == Usage within the framework
     #
-    # Polymorphic URL helpers are used in a number of places throughout the Rails framework:
+    # Polymorphic URL helpers are used in a number of places throughout the \Rails framework:
     #
     # * <tt>url_for</tt>, so you can use it with a record as the argument, e.g.
     #   <tt>url_for(@article)</tt>;

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/routing/url_for.rb

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 module ActionDispatch
   module Routing
-    # In <b>routes.rb</b> one defines URL-to-controller mappings, but the reverse
+    # In <tt>config/routes.rb</tt> you define URL-to-controller mappings, but the reverse
     # is also possible: an URL can be generated from one of your routing definitions.
     # URL generation functionality is centralized in this module.
     #
@@ -12,15 +12,14 @@ module ActionDispatch
     #
     # == URL generation from parameters
     #
-    # As you may know, some functions - such as ActionController::Base#url_for
+    # As you may know, some functions, such as ActionController::Base#url_for
     # and ActionView::Helpers::UrlHelper#link_to, can generate URLs given a set
     # of parameters. For example, you've probably had the chance to write code
     # like this in one of your views:
     #
     #   <%= link_to('Click here', :controller => 'users',
     #           :action => 'new', :message => 'Welcome!') %>
-    #
-    #   # Generates a link to /users/new?message=Welcome%21
+    #   # => "/users/new?message=Welcome%21"
     #
     # link_to, and all other functions that require URL generation functionality,
     # actually use ActionController::UrlFor under the hood. And in particular,
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ module ActionDispatch
     #
     # UrlFor also allows one to access methods that have been auto-generated from
     # named routes. For example, suppose that you have a 'users' resource in your
-    # <b>routes.rb</b>:
+    # <tt>config/routes.rb</tt>:
     #
     #   resources :users
     #

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/testing/integration.rb

@@ -115,8 +115,8 @@ module ActionDispatch
       end
     end
 
-    # An integration Session instance represents a set of requests and responses
-    # performed sequentially by some virtual user. Because you can instantiate
+    # An instance of this class represents a set of requests and responses
+    # performed sequentially by a test process. Because you can instantiate
     # multiple sessions and run them side-by-side, you can also mimic (to some
     # limited extent) multiple simultaneous users interacting with your system.
     #
@@ -373,12 +373,12 @@ module ActionDispatch
     end
   end
 
-  # An IntegrationTest is one that spans multiple controllers and actions,
+  # An test that spans multiple controllers and actions,
   # tying them all together to ensure they work together as expected. It tests
   # more completely than either unit or functional tests do, exercising the
   # entire stack, from the dispatcher to the database.
   #
-  # At its simplest, you simply extend IntegrationTest and write your tests
+  # At its simplest, you simply extend <tt>IntegrationTest</tt> and write your tests
   # using the get/post methods:
   #
   #   require "test_helper"
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ module ActionDispatch
   # However, you can also have multiple session instances open per test, and
   # even extend those instances with assertions and methods to create a very
   # powerful testing DSL that is specific for your application. You can even
-  # reference any named routes you happen to have defined!
+  # reference any named routes you happen to have defined.
   #
   #   require "test_helper"
   #