Redirect and render in Ruby on Rails - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Redirect and Render in Rails Controller

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple Rails web app that manages books. You want to practice how to control what the app shows or where it sends the user after certain actions.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use redirect_to and render in a Rails controller to control page flow and display.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a controller action with a variable

Add a configuration variable to decide behavior

Use redirect_to or render based on the variable

Complete the controller action with correct Rails syntax

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Redirecting and rendering are common in web apps to control what users see after actions like form submissions or page visits.

💼 Career

Understanding redirect_to and render is essential for Rails developers to manage user navigation and display content correctly.

1

Create a controller action with a variable

In the BooksController, create an action called show_message. Inside it, create a variable called message and set it to the string 'Welcome to the Book Store'.

Ruby on Rails

class BooksController < ApplicationController
  # Create show_message action with message variable
  # Your code here
end

Need a hint?

Define a method show_message inside the controller and assign the string to message.

2

Add a configuration variable to decide behavior

Inside the show_message action, add a variable called should_redirect and set it to true.

Ruby on Rails

class BooksController < ApplicationController
  def show_message
    message = 'Welcome to the Book Store'
    # Add should_redirect variable here
    # Your code here
  end
end

Need a hint?

Just add should_redirect = true inside the action.

3

Use redirect_to or render based on the variable

Inside the show_message action, add an if statement that checks should_redirect. If it is true, use redirect_to root_path. Otherwise, use render plain: message.

Ruby on Rails

class BooksController < ApplicationController
  def show_message
    message = 'Welcome to the Book Store'
    should_redirect = true
    # Use if statement to redirect or render
    # Your code here
  end
end

Need a hint?

Use if should_redirect then redirect_to root_path, else render plain: message.

4

Complete the controller action with correct Rails syntax

Ensure the show_message action is properly closed with end keywords for both the if and the method. The full controller should be valid Ruby code.

Ruby on Rails

class BooksController < ApplicationController
  def show_message
    message = 'Welcome to the Book Store'
    should_redirect = true
    if should_redirect
      redirect_to root_path
    else
      render plain: message
    end
  end
end
# Check syntax and completeness

Need a hint?

Make sure all end keywords are present to close the method and the class.