difference between collection route and member route in ruby on rails?
1) :collection - Add named routes for other actions that operate on the collection. Takes a hash of #{action} => #{method}
, where method is :get/:post/:put/:delete
, an array of any of the previous, or :any if the method does not matter. These routes map to a URL like /users/customers_list, with a route of customers_list_users_url.
map.resources :users, :collection => { :customers_list=> :get }
2) :member
- Same as :collection
, but for actions that operate on a
specific member.
map.resources :users, :member => { :inactive=> :post }
it treated as /users/1;inactive=> [:action => 'inactive', :id => 1]
URL Helper Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
member /photos/1/preview preview_photo_path(photo) Acts on a specific resource so required id (preview specific photo)
collection /photos/search search_photos_path Acts on collection of resources(display all photos)
Theo's answer is correct. For documentation's sake, I'd like to also note that the two will generate different path helpers.
member {get 'preview'}
will generate:
preview_photo_path(@photo) # /photos/1/preview
collection {get 'search'}
will generate:
search_photos_path # /photos/search
Note plurality!
A member route will require an ID, because it acts on a member. A collection route doesn't because it acts on a collection of objects. Preview is an example of a member route, because it acts on (and displays) a single object. Search is an example of a collection route, because it acts on (and displays) a collection of objects.