Creating a URL for a file in / public in Rails 2 ERB mode

Question

In my rails application (v2.3.8), I have a static resource file that I put in /public/myfile.kml. Is route.rb correct for any special settings?

It is great for http: // localhost: 3000 / myfile.kml

When I deploy (for the passenger), it appears at http: //myserver/myappname/myfile.kml

Everything is fine so far ...

I have a view (erb file) that outputs javascript that should reference this file. The output should be "/myfile.kml" on localhost and "/myappname/myfile.kml" during production, or possibly the full URL as above, or perhaps the relative URL containing the bit ".. /../../'(comfortable with RESTful URLs).

Should I do something like <% = url_for 'myfile.kml'%>?

or '<% = ROOT_URL%> /myfile.kml'

I know there is an insanely easy answer to this question, but honestly, I was not lucky to find it. Quite a lot of people talk about root_url, but what is it? A variable that I can refer to in a view? It is undefined.

Answer 1

'<%= ENV["RAILS_RELATIVE_URL_ROOT"] %>/myfile.kml' 

Answer 2

I'm not sure about Rails 2.3.8, but in Rails 3 this default value is false.

edit config/environments/production.rb and install:

config.serve_static_assets = true

In addition, here is a blog post showing a helper for linking to a static resource (favicon) http://ilconnettivo.wordpress.com/2008/07/28/favicon-on-rails/

Answer 3

<%= RAILS_ROOT + "/public/myfile.kml" %>

Answer 4

The rake routes check shows an auxiliary root_path for use in views. For example, <%= root_path + 'myfile.kml' %> By default, the file will be displayed in the public / in the rails application.

Answer 5

The latter (> 2.3.6) is Rails.root, see http://joneslee85.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/the-dilemma-of-rails-root-vs-rails_root-complex/

Answer 6

Why not just localize your production environment? The web server is not very resource intensive, and it can help solve some of the ecosystem configuration problems that you see here.