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Quick summary of this article
Routing in Rails determines which controller action handles a given URL, and all routes are defined in the config/routes.rb file. Each route follows a simple pattern: an HTTP verb, a URL path, and a controller#action pair. Rails also provides a powerful resources method that automatically creates all standard RESTful routes for a resource with a single line of code.
- Basic route syntax:
verb "/path", to: "controller#action"— for example,get "/welcome", to: "pages#welcome"sends visitors of/welcometo thewelcomeaction inPagesController. - HTTP verbs map to actions:
getfor reading,postfor creating,patch/putfor updating, anddeletefor removing data. - The
resources :postsmethod generates seven RESTful routes, including paths for listing posts, showing a single post, creating new posts, editing, updating, and deleting. - Use the command
rails routesto view a complete list of all routes defined in your application. - Example practice: add
get "/home", to: "pages#home"for a homepage, useresources :postsfor post routes, and runrails routesto verify them.
Chapter 4: Routing in Rails
Routing is how Rails decides which controller action should handle a URL. All routes are defined in a single file: config/routes.rb. Understanding routes is the first step to controlling what your application does.
In this chapter you will learn the basic route syntax, how to create simple routes, and how the resources method generates RESTful routes automatically.
🔗 Basic Route Syntax
Every route has the format verb "/path", to: "controller#action". The part before the # is the controller name and the part after it is the action (a method) inside that controller.
# config/routes.rb
get "/welcome", to: "pages#welcome"This tells Rails: when a user visits /welcome, run the welcome action of the PagesController.
📑 Common HTTP Verbs
get– used to request a page (reading).post– used to create something (form submit).patch/put– used to update something.delete– used to remove something.
# config/routes.rb
get "/about", to: "pages#about"
post "/contact", to: "contacts#create"
patch "/posts/:id", to: "posts#update"
delete "/posts/:id", to: "posts#destroy"🔧 The resources Method
For a resource like posts, Rails provides the resources method, which creates all the standard RESTful routes with one line:
# config/routes.rb
resources :postsThis single line generates: GET /posts, GET /posts/new, POST /posts, GET /posts/:id, GET /posts/:id/edit, PATCH/PUT /posts/:id, and DELETE /posts/:id.
🔍 Seeing Your Routes
Rails has a built-in command that lists all the routes in your application:
rails routes🏠 Practice Exercises
# 1. Add a simple route for a home page
get "/home", to: "pages#home"
# 2. Use resources for posts
resources :posts
# 3. View all routes
rails routesIn the next chapter you will learn how controllers and views turn these routes into actual pages.