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Including inline javascript using content_for in rails

Answer 1

+1 A:

I much prefer to have the layout's yield look like this:

<html>
  <!-- other stuff -->
  <body>
   <!-- other stuff  -->
   <%= yield :javascript
  </body>
</html>

Then in a view you can write:

<% content_for :javascript do %>
  <script type='text/javascript'>
    function doMagic() {
      //Mind-blowing awesome code here
    }
  </script>

<% end %>

<!-- More view Code -->

<%= render :partial => "sub_view_with_javascript" %>

And in the partial _sub_view_with_javascript.html.erb you can also write:

<% content_for :javascript do %>
  <script type='test/javascript'>
     function DoMoreMaths() {
       return 3+3;
     }
   </script>
<% end %>

My reasoning for this approach is that the yield and content_for are in different files. It is not DRY to put the script tag in for every content_for but it allows the syntax highlighter to recognize the change in language in each file and helps me there.

If you have multiple content_for calls in a single file to the same symbol (in our case, :javascript) I would consider consolidating them all to the top one, but its perfect for use with partials.

And HTML is perfectly happy to have as many script blocks as you would like. The only possible gotcha is when working with the code in developer tools like firebug, it takes a little bit more time to find the right script block for your function. This only happens for me when I need to set a javascript breakpoint to debug.

Tilendor 2010-03-17 18:14:44

I've read that it is best to put the javascript at the end of your layout just before the </body> tag so that the page loads faster. Did you mean to use the <head> element?

TenJack 2010-03-17 18:25:56

I've not heard that before, and included things in head as a matter of course, but you're right, according to yahoo, http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html scripts in the head can slow down loading. I changed my answer based on this.

Tilendor 2010-03-17 18:34:47

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Including inline javascript using content_for in rails

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