Action Pack Variants

By default, variants in the templates will be picked up if a variant is set
and there's a match. The format will be:

  app/views/projects/show.html.erb
  app/views/projects/show.html+tablet.erb
  app/views/projects/show.html+phone.erb

If request.variant = :tablet is set, we'll automatically be rendering the
html+tablet template.

In the controller, we can also tailer to the variants with this syntax:

  class ProjectsController < ActionController::Base
    def show
      respond_to do |format|
        format.html do |html|
          @stars = @project.stars

          html.tablet { @notifications = @project.notifications }
          html.phone  { @chat_heads    = @project.chat_heads }
        end

        format.js
        format.atom
      end
    end
  end

The variant itself is nil by default, but can be set in before filters, like
so:

  class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
    before_action do
      if request.user_agent =~ /iPad/
        request.variant = :tablet
      end
    end
  end

This is modeled loosely on custom mime types, but it's specifically not
intended to be used together. If you're going to make a custom mime type,
you don't need a variant. Variants are for variations on a single mime
types.

actionpack/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,3 +1,32 @@
+*   Introducing Variants
+
+    We often want to render different html/json/xml templates for phones,
+    tablets, and desktop browsers. Variants make it easy.
+
+    The request variant is a specialization of the request format, like :tablet,
+    :phone, or :desktop.
+
+    You can set the variant in a before_action:
+
+        request.variant = :tablet if request.user_agent =~ /iPad/
+
+    Respond to variants in the action just like you respond to formats:
+
+        respond_to do |format|
+          format.html do |html|
+            html.tablet # renders app/views/projects/show.html+tablet.erb
+            html.phone { extra_setup; render ... }
+          end
+        end
+
+    Provide separate templates for each format and variant:
+
+        app/views/projects/show.html.erb
+        app/views/projects/show.html+tablet.erb
+        app/views/projects/show.html+phone.erb
+
+    *Łukasz Strzałkowski*
+
 *   Fix header `Content-Type: #<Mime::NullType:...>` in localized template.
 
     When localized template has no format in the template name,

actionpack/lib/abstract_controller/collector.rb

@@ -23,7 +23,15 @@ module AbstractController
   protected
 
     def method_missing(symbol, &block)
-      mime_constant = Mime.const_get(symbol.upcase)
+      mime_const = symbol.upcase
+
+      raise NoMethodError, "To respond to a custom format, register it as a MIME type first:" +
+                           "http://guides.rubyonrails.org/action_controller_overview.html#restful-downloads." +
+                           "If you meant to respond to a variant like :tablet or :phone, not a custom format," +
+                           "be sure to nest your variant response within a format response: format.html" +
+                           "{ |html| html.tablet { ..." unless Mime.const_defined?(mime_const)
+
+      mime_constant = Mime.const_get(mime_const)
 
       if Mime::SET.include?(mime_constant)
         AbstractController::Collector.generate_method_for_mime(mime_constant)

actionpack/lib/abstract_controller/rendering.rb

@@ -102,6 +102,8 @@ module AbstractController
     # :api: private
     def _normalize_render(*args, &block)
       options = _normalize_args(*args, &block)
+      #TODO: remove defined? when we restore AP <=> AV dependency
+      options[:variant] = request.variant if defined?(request) && request.variant.present?
       _normalize_options(options)
       options
     end

actionpack/lib/action_controller/metal/mime_responds.rb

@@ -181,13 +181,40 @@ module ActionController #:nodoc:
     #     end
     #   end
     #
+    # Formats can have different variants.
+    #
+    # The request variant is a specialization of the request format, like <tt>:tablet</tt>,
+    # <tt>:phone</tt>, or <tt>:desktop<tt>.
+    #
+    # We often want to render different html/json/xml templates for phones,
+    # tablets, and desktop browsers. Variants make it easy.
+    #
+    # You can set the variant in a +before_action+:
+    #
+    #     request.variant = :tablet if request.user_agent =~ /iPad/
+    #
+    # Respond to variants in the action just like you respond to formats:
+    #
+    #   respond_to do |format|
+    #     format.html do |html|
+    #       html.tablet # renders app/views/projects/show.html+tablet.erb
+    #       html.phone { extra_setup; render ... }
+    #     end
+    #   end
+    #
+    # Provide separate templates for each format and variant:
+    #
+    #   app/views/projects/show.html.erb
+    #   app/views/projects/show.html+tablet.erb
+    #   app/views/projects/show.html+phone.erb
+    #
     # Be sure to check the documentation of +respond_with+ and
     # <tt>ActionController::MimeResponds.respond_to</tt> for more examples.
     def respond_to(*mimes, &block)
       raise ArgumentError, "respond_to takes either types or a block, never both" if mimes.any? && block_given?
 
       if collector = retrieve_collector_from_mimes(mimes, &block)
-        response = collector.response
+        response = collector.response(request.variant)
         response ? response.call : render({})
       end
     end
@@ -327,7 +354,7 @@ module ActionController #:nodoc:
       if collector = retrieve_collector_from_mimes(&block)
         options = resources.size == 1 ? {} : resources.extract_options!
         options = options.clone
-        options[:default_response] = collector.response
+        options[:default_response] = collector.response(request.variant)
         (options.delete(:responder) || self.class.responder).call(self, resources, options)
       end
     end
@@ -417,13 +444,28 @@ module ActionController #:nodoc:
         @responses[mime_type] ||= block
       end
 
-      def response
-        @responses.fetch(format, @responses[Mime::ALL])
+      def response(variant)
+        response = @responses.fetch(format, @responses[Mime::ALL])
+        if response.nil? || response.arity == 0
+          response
+        else
+          lambda { response.call VariantFilter.new(variant) }
+        end
       end
 
       def negotiate_format(request)
         @format = request.negotiate_mime(@responses.keys)
       end
+
+      class VariantFilter
+        def initialize(variant)
+          @variant = variant
+        end
+
+        def method_missing(name)
+          yield if name == @variant
+        end
+      end
     end
   end
 end

actionpack/lib/action_dispatch/http/mime_negotiation.rb

@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ module ActionDispatch
         self.ignore_accept_header = false
       end
 
+      attr_reader :variant
+
       # The MIME type of the HTTP request, such as Mime::XML.
       #
       # For backward compatibility, the post \format is extracted from the
@@ -64,6 +66,18 @@ module ActionDispatch
           end
       end
 
+      # Sets the \variant for template
+      def variant=(variant)
+        if variant.is_a? Symbol
+          @variant = variant
+        else
+          raise ArgumentError, "request.variant must be set to a Symbol, not a #{variant.class}. For security reasons," +
+                               "never directly set the variant to a user-provided value, like params[:variant].to_sym." +
+                               "Check user-provided value against a whitelist first, then set the variant:"+
+                               "request.variant = :tablet if params[:some_param] == 'tablet'"
+        end
+      end
+
       # Sets the \format by string extension, which can be used to force custom formats
       # that are not controlled by the extension.
       #

actionpack/test/abstract/collector_test.rb

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ module AbstractController
 
       test "does not register unknown mime types" do
         collector = MyCollector.new
-        assert_raise NameError do
+        assert_raise NoMethodError do
           collector.unknown
         end
       end

actionpack/test/controller/mime/respond_to_test.rb

@@ -146,6 +146,26 @@ class RespondToController < ActionController::Base
     end
   end
 
+  def variant_with_implicit_rendering
+  end
+
+  def variant_with_format_and_custom_render
+    request.variant = :mobile
+
+    respond_to do |type|
+      type.html { render text: "mobile" }
+    end
+  end
+
+  def multiple_variants_for_format
+    respond_to do |type|
+      type.html do |html|
+        html.tablet { render text: "tablet" }
+        html.phone  { render text: "phone" }
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   protected
     def set_layout
       case action_name
@@ -490,4 +510,38 @@ class RespondToControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
       get :using_defaults, :format => "invalidformat"
     end
   end
+
+  def test_invalid_variant
+    @request.variant = :invalid
+    assert_raises(ActionView::MissingTemplate) do
+      get :variant_with_implicit_rendering
+    end
+  end
+
+  def test_variant_not_set_regular_template_missing
+    assert_raises(ActionView::MissingTemplate) do
+      get :variant_with_implicit_rendering
+    end
+  end
+
+  def test_variant_with_implicit_rendering
+    @request.variant = :mobile
+    get :variant_with_implicit_rendering
+    assert_equal "text/html", @response.content_type
+    assert_equal "mobile", @response.body
+  end
+
+  def test_variant_with_format_and_custom_render
+    @request.variant = :phone
+    get :variant_with_format_and_custom_render
+    assert_equal "text/html", @response.content_type
+    assert_equal "mobile", @response.body
+  end
+
+  def test_multiple_variants_for_format
+    @request.variant = :tablet
+    get :multiple_variants_for_format
+    assert_equal "text/html", @response.content_type
+    assert_equal "tablet", @response.body
+  end
 end

actionpack/test/dispatch/request_test.rb

@@ -844,6 +844,19 @@ class RequestTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     end
   end
 
+  test "setting variant" do
+    request = stub_request
+    request.variant = :mobile
+    assert_equal :mobile, request.variant
+  end
+
+  test "setting variant with non symbol value" do
+    request = stub_request
+    assert_raise ArgumentError do
+      request.variant = "mobile"
+    end
+  end
+
 protected
 
   def stub_request(env = {})

actionpack/test/fixtures/respond_to/variant_with_implicit_rendering.html+mobile.erb

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+mobile

actionview/lib/action_view/lookup_context.rb

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ module ActionView
       locales
     end
     register_detail(:formats) { ActionView::Base.default_formats || [:html, :text, :js, :css,  :xml, :json] }
+    register_detail(:variants) { [] }
     register_detail(:handlers){ Template::Handlers.extensions }
 
     class DetailsKey #:nodoc:

actionview/lib/action_view/rendering.rb

@@ -88,10 +88,14 @@ module ActionView
 
     private
 
-      # Find and renders a template based on the options given.
+      # Find and render a template based on the options given.
       # :api: private
       def _render_template(options) #:nodoc:
+        variant = options[:variant]
+
         lookup_context.rendered_format = nil if options[:formats]
+        lookup_context.variants = [variant] if variant
+
         view_renderer.render(view_context, options)
       end
 

actionview/lib/action_view/template/resolver.rb

@@ -162,8 +162,8 @@ module ActionView
 
   # An abstract class that implements a Resolver with path semantics.
   class PathResolver < Resolver #:nodoc:
-    EXTENSIONS = [:locale, :formats, :handlers]
-    DEFAULT_PATTERN = ":prefix/:action{.:locale,}{.:formats,}{.:handlers,}"
+    EXTENSIONS = { :locale => ".", :formats => ".", :variants => "+", :handlers => "." }
+    DEFAULT_PATTERN = ":prefix/:action{.:locale,}{.:formats,}{+:variants,}{.:handlers,}"
 
     def initialize(pattern=nil)
       @pattern = pattern || DEFAULT_PATTERN
@@ -240,7 +240,9 @@ module ActionView
       end
 
       handler = Template.handler_for_extension(extension)
-      format  = pieces.last && Template::Types[pieces.last]
+      format  = pieces.last && pieces.last.split(EXTENSIONS[:variants], 2).first # remove variant from format
+      format  &&= Template::Types[format]
+
       [handler, format]
     end
   end
@@ -303,12 +305,13 @@ module ActionView
   # An Optimized resolver for Rails' most common case.
   class OptimizedFileSystemResolver < FileSystemResolver #:nodoc:
     def build_query(path, details)
-      exts = EXTENSIONS.map { |ext| details[ext] }
       query = escape_entry(File.join(@path, path))
 
-      query + exts.map { |ext|
-        "{#{ext.compact.uniq.map { |e| ".#{e}," }.join}}"
-      }.join
+      exts = EXTENSIONS.map do |ext, prefix|
+        "{#{details[ext].compact.uniq.map { |e| "#{prefix}#{e}," }.join}}"
+      end.join
+
+      query + exts
     end
   end
 

actionview/lib/action_view/testing/resolvers.rb

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ module ActionView #:nodoc:
 
     def query(path, exts, formats)
       query = ""
-      EXTENSIONS.each do |ext|
+      EXTENSIONS.each_key do |ext|
         query << '(' << exts[ext].map {|e| e && Regexp.escape(".#{e}") }.join('|') << '|)'
       end
       query = /^(#{Regexp.escape(path)})#{query}$/

actionview/test/template/lookup_context_test.rb

@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ class LookupContextTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     assert @lookup_context.formats.frozen?
   end
 
+  test "provides getters and setters for variants" do
+    @lookup_context.variants = [:mobile]
+    assert_equal [:mobile], @lookup_context.variants
+  end
+
   test "provides getters and setters for formats" do
     @lookup_context.formats = [:html]
     assert_equal [:html], @lookup_context.formats
@@ -254,7 +259,7 @@ class TestMissingTemplate < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   test "if a single prefix is passed as a string and the lookup fails, MissingTemplate accepts it" do
     e = assert_raise ActionView::MissingTemplate do
-      details = {:handlers=>[], :formats=>[], :locale=>[]}
+      details = {:handlers=>[], :formats=>[], :variants=>[], :locale=>[]}
       @lookup_context.view_paths.find("foo", "parent", true, details)
     end
     assert_match %r{Missing partial parent/_foo with .* Searched in:\n  \* "/Path/to/views"\n}, e.message

actionview/test/template/testing/fixture_resolver_test.rb

@@ -3,13 +3,13 @@ require 'abstract_unit'
 class FixtureResolverTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
   def test_should_return_empty_list_for_unknown_path
     resolver = ActionView::FixtureResolver.new()
-    templates = resolver.find_all("path", "arbitrary", false, {:locale => [], :formats => [:html], :handlers => []})
+    templates = resolver.find_all("path", "arbitrary", false, {:locale => [], :formats => [:html], :variants => [], :handlers => []})
     assert_equal [], templates, "expected an empty list of templates"
   end
 
   def test_should_return_template_for_declared_path
     resolver = ActionView::FixtureResolver.new("arbitrary/path.erb" => "this text")
-    templates = resolver.find_all("path", "arbitrary", false, {:locale => [], :formats => [:html], :handlers => [:erb]})
+    templates = resolver.find_all("path", "arbitrary", false, {:locale => [], :formats => [:html], :variants => [], :handlers => [:erb]})
     assert_equal 1, templates.size, "expected one template"
     assert_equal "this text",      templates.first.source
     assert_equal "arbitrary/path", templates.first.virtual_path