Rails 3 Combine Two Variables

Question

I have the following code which I need to update...

<% @users.each do |user| %>
  <tr>
    <td><%= link_to user.fname, user %></td>
  </tr>
<% end %>

I want to learn how to update that so instead of just showing the fname, it shows fname + lname

so for a record like James Bond, it shows james bond and links it to the user in Rails.

thanks

Answer 1

You can join the string right in the ERB:

<%= link_to user.fname + " " + user.lname, user %>
<!-- or, slightly better: avoids problems with nil values -->
<%= link_to "#{user.fname} #{user.lname}", user %>
<!-- or, even better -->
<%= link_to [user.fname, user.lname].join(" "), user %>

Or, you can move that ugly logic into a helper method, e.g. in app/helpers/users_helper.rb:

module UsersHelper
  def full_name(user)
    [user.fname, user.lname].join(" ")
  end
end

<%= link_to full_name(user), user %>

Or, (this is what I would do) you can put a full_name method in the model:

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  def full_name
    [fname, lname].join(" ")
  end
end

<%= link_to user.full_name, user %>