Using stylesheet_link_tag to call css in a database [Rails 4]

Question

I am building a forum and I wish for the admins to be able to edit the css in the admin control panel (like most PHP forums).

I've stored the css in a table called stylesheet.

I need to be able to call this specific row in the stylesheets table in layout/applications so the css shows on ALL pages.

I was wondering if there is a way of using the stylesheet_link_tag to call the location of the css inside the database table?

If not... How exactly do I do it?

I tried using this: Best way to handle dynamic css in a rails app but it did not work.

EDIT: All I am trying to do is instead of calling the assets/stylesheets/layout (<%= stylesheet_link_tag "application", media: "all", "data-turbolinks-track" => true %>) I call the database/stylesheet/id1.code.

I just need to get ID 1 and extract the code from it and display it for every single page as the main CSS.

This is the error I get now:

No route matches {:controller=>"stylesheets", :action=>"show", :id=>nil, :format=>:css} missing required keys: [:id]

Stylesheet Controller

class Admin::StylesheetsController < ApplicationController
    caches_page :show # magic happens here

    def index
        @stylesheets = Stylesheet.all
  end

    def show
        @stylesheet = Stylesheet.find(params[:id])
        respond_to do |format|
          format.html # regular ERB template
          format.css { render :text => @stylesheet.code, :content_type => "text/css" }
        end
    end

  def edit
    @stylesheet = Stylesheet.find(params[:id])
  end

    # When you edit/update the category, update the information
    def update
        @stylesheet = Stylesheet.find(params[:id])
        if @stylesheet.update_attributes(params[:stylesheet].permit!)
            redirect_to edit_stylesheet_path
        else
            render :edit
        end
    end
end

Layout/Application.html.erb

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Ruby Ibis | <%= yield(:title) %></title>

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="<%= stylesheet_path(@stylesheet, format: :css) %>" type="text/css" />

  <%= javascript_include_tag "application", "data-turbolinks-track" => true %>
  <%= csrf_meta_tags %>
   <%= render 'layouts/shim' %>

  </head>
   <body>
    <%= render 'layouts/header' %>
        <div class="container">
      <% flash.each do |key, value| %>
        <div class="alert alert-<%= key %>"><%= value %></div>
      <% end %>
      <%= yield %>
      <%= render 'layouts/footer' %>
      <%= debug(params) if Rails.env.development? %>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Results of test

$ rspec spec/controllers/stylesheets_controller_spec.rb ←[31mF←[0m

Failures:

1) StylesheetsController#show should have the correct css ←[31mFailure/Error:←[0m ←[31mlet(:stylesheet) { Factory(:stylesheet) }←[0m ←[31mNoMethodError←[0m: ←[31mundefined method Factory' for #<RSpec::Core::ExampleGroup::Nested_1 ::Nested_1:0x47793f0>←[0m ←[36m # ./spec/controllers/stylesheets_controller_spec.rb:42:inblock (3 le vels) in '←[0m ←[36m # ./spec/controllers/stylesheets_controller_spec.rb:44:in `block (3 le vels) in '←[0m

Finished in 0.02 seconds ←[31m1 example, 1 failure←[0m

Failed examples:

←[31mrspec ./spec/controllers/stylesheets_controller_spec.rb:43←[0m ←[36m# Style sheetsController#show should have the correct css←[0m

Randomized with seed 18359

AJcodez · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-28 05:57:15Z

3

Don't worry about caching right now. Just see if it renders at all:

class Admin::StylesheetsController < ApplicationController

  respond_to :css

  def show
    @stylesheet = Stylesheet.find(params[:id])
    render text: @stylesheet.code, content_type: "text/css"
  end

end

Write a test for GET /stylesheets/:id.css. And in the markup:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="<%= stylesheet_path(@stylesheet, format: :css) %>" type="text/css" />

It seems like you're confusing the stylesheet for the forum. The stylesheet is a resource, and it is requested implicitly with the <link> tag. You put the link to the stylesheet as part of the forum html page.

Your stylesheets/:id.css path returns the css only, no markup. A test for this assuming the field in your stylesheet model is called :code would be:

describe '#show' do
  let(:stylesheet) { Factory(:stylesheet) }
  it 'should have the correct css' do
    get :show, id: stylesheet.id
    expect(response.body).to eq(stylesheet.code)
  end  
end

Seems like you're confused about the way Rails works with requests. I'll walk you through the timeline:

Browser requests the forum page. This is handled by ForumsController#show or something like that.
In a before filter or otherwise, you need to determine the id for the stylesheet somehow, for the <link> tag.
Your layout application is wrapped around the page for the action, and the request ends.
Browser notices it needs to request stylesheets / javascripts, one of which is your custom stylesheet.
Your StylesheetsController#show is called, and the stylesheet is rendered back. This and all the other assets requests are completed.
Now the user with the browser can see the custom css.

So you see, the @stylesheet is not set when the page is rendered, and istance variables are set per controller per request. Not globally. Setting @stylesheet in StylesheetsController#show only sets it for the route GET /stylesheets/:id.css.

You might want to consider using sublayouts - http://www.ajostrow.me/thoughts/sublayouts-with-rails-revised

edited Oct 28, 2013 at 5:57

answered Oct 27, 2013 at 20:16

AJcodez

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13 Comments

Lindsiria Over a year ago

Okay, I changed my stylesheets controller to your code. How would I go about creating a test for a certain field in a database? I'm use to using rspecs for controllers, but not for finding an actual field in a table.

Lindsiria Over a year ago

undefined method `stylesheet' for nil:NilClass is an error I get when i put your markup in my application.

AJcodez Over a year ago

i have a sneaking suspicion you have no idea what you're doing! go through this tutorial until it all makes sense: ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

Lindsiria Over a year ago

I actually did that tutorial to learn RoR. I just do not know how to test the :id.css and where to put that link in the markup. Trust me, I went back to that tutorial when he posted that response. I can show you guys what I have for testing thus far, but I know it is not correct.

Lindsiria Over a year ago

I don't get what you mean by confusing the stylesheet for the forum. Yes, I know the stylesheet is a resource, and i need to request it with the link tag. I put the link to the stylesheet on the layout/application.html.erb page because I need to have it show up as the custom.css for every single page. If I put it in the forum html pages... it will only show up in the forum, not on every page. Isnt (@forum.stylesheet) stating you are trying to find stylesheet in the forum... because there is no foreign key. Forum is a completely different table than stylesheet.

|

Lindsiria · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-03 20:22:21Z

0

Due to my stylesheets being in the admin namespace, the code we have been trying to used failed. I figured out a way around it, even if it is probably not a good method of doing things.

I ended up linking directly to the stylesheet. It works perfectly, even if it isn't a conventional or probably accepted way. I can look for a better method later, I just needed to finish my project to graduate...

 <link href="/admin/stylesheets/1/" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />

answered Nov 3, 2013 at 20:22

Lindsiria

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