Passing ruby variables to javascript function in rails view

Question

I'm wondering what the best practice is for passing variables to JavaScript functions in a rails view. Right now I'm doing something like:

<% content_for :javascript do %> 
  <script type="text/javascript">
    Event.observe(window, 'load', function(){          
        js_function(<%= @ruby_array.to_json %>, <%= @ruby_var %>); )}
  </script>
<% end %>

Is this the right way to go about it?

Answer 1

There's a technique called "unobtrusive javascript". Here's a Railscast about it: link text . It works both with prototype an jQuery. There are also plugins that can help simplify some of the tasks described in the article.