= Sinatra
Sinatra is a DSL for quickly creating web-applications in Ruby with minimal
effort:
# myapp.rb
require 'rubygems'
require 'sinatra'
get '/' do
'Hello world!'
end
Run with ruby myapp.rb and view at http://localhost:4567
== HTTP Methods
get '/' do
.. show things ..
end
post '/' do
.. create something ..
end
put '/' do
.. update something ..
end
delete '/' do
.. annihilate something ..
end
== Routes
Routes are matched based on the order of declaration. The first route that
matches the request is invoked.
Basic routes:
get '/hi' do
...
end
Route patterns may include named parameters, accessible via the
params hash:
get '/:name' do
# matches "GET /foo" and "GET /bar"
# params[:name] is 'foo' or 'bar'
"Hello #{params[:name]}!"
end
Route patterns may also include splat (or wildcard) parameters, accessible
via the params[:splat] array.
get '/say/*/to/*' do
# matches /say/hello/to/world
params[:splat] # => ["hello", "world"]
end
get '/download/*.*' do
# matches /download/path/to/file.xml
params[:splat] # => ["path/to/file", "xml"]
end
Route matching with Regular Expressions:
get %r{/hello/([\w]+)} do
"Hello, #{params[:captures].first}!"
end
Routes may include a variety of matching conditions, such as the user agent:
get '/foo', :agent => /Songbird (\d\.\d)[\d\/]*?/ do
"You're using Songbird version #{params[:agent][0]}"
end
get '/foo' do
# Matches non-songbird browsers
end
== Static Files
Static files are served from the ./public directory. You can specify
a different location by setting the :public option:
set :public, File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/static'
== Views / Templates
Templates are assumed to be located directly under a ./views
directory. To use a different views directory:
set :views, File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/templates'
=== Haml Templates
The haml gem/library is required to render HAML templates:
get '/' do
haml :index
end
Renders ./views/index.haml.
=== Erb Templates
get '/' do
erb :index
end
Renders ./views/index.erb
=== Builder Templates
The builder gem/library is required to render builder templates:
get '/' do
content_type 'application/xml', :charset => 'utf-8'
builder :index
end
Renders ./views/index.builder.
=== Sass Templates
The sass gem/library is required to render Sass templates:
get '/stylesheet.css' do
content_type 'text/css', :charset => 'utf-8'
sass :stylesheet
end
Renders ./views/stylesheet.sass.
=== Inline Templates
get '/' do
haml '%div.title Hello World'
end
Renders the inlined template string.
=== Accessing Variables
Templates are evaluated within the same context as the route blocks. Instance
variables set in route blocks are available in templates:
get '/:id' do
@foo = Foo.find(params[:id])
haml '%h1= @foo.name'
end
Or, specify an explicit Hash of local variables:
get '/:id' do
foo = Foo.find(params[:id])
haml '%h1= foo.name', :locals => { :foo => foo }
end
This is typically used when rendering templates as partials from within
other templates.
=== In-file Templates
Templates may be defined at the end of the source file:
get '/' do
haml :index
end
use_in_file_templates!
__END__
@@ layout
%html
= yield
@@ index
%div.title Hello world!!!!!
It's also possible to define named templates using the top-level template
method:
template :layout do
"%html\n =yield\n"
end
template :index do
'%div.title Hello World!'
end
get '/' do
haml :index
end
If a template named "layout" exists, it will be used each time a template
is rendered. You can disable layouts by passing :layout => false.
get '/' do
haml :index, :layout => !request.xhr?
end
== Helpers
Use the top-level helpers method to define helper methods for use in
route blocks and templates:
helpers do
def bar(name)
"#{name}bar"
end
end
get '/:name' do
bar(params[:name])
end
== Filters
Before filters are evaluated before each request within the context of the
request and can modify the request and response. Instance variables set in
filters are accessible by routes and templates.
before do
@note = 'Hi!'
request.path_info = '/foo/bar/baz'
end
get '/foo/*' do
@note #=> 'Hi!'
params[:splat] #=> 'bar/baz'
end
== Halting
To immediately stop a request during a before filter or route use:
halt
You can also specify a body when halting ...
halt 'this will be the body'
Set the status and body ...
halt 401, 'go away!'
== Passing
A route can punt processing to the next matching route using the pass
statement:
get '/guess/:who' do
pass unless params[:who] == 'Frank'
"You got me!"
end
get '/guess/*' do
"You missed!"
end
The route block is immediately exited and control continues with the next
matching route. If no matching route is found, a 404 is returned.
== Configuration and Reloading
Sinatra supports multiple environments and reloading. Reloading happens
before each request when running under the :development
environment. Wrap your configurations (e.g., database connections, constants,
etc.) in configure blocks to protect them from reloading or to
target specific environments.
Run once, at startup, in any environment:
configure do
...
end
Run only when the environment (RACK_ENV environment variable) is set to
:production.
configure :production do
...
end
Run when the environment (RACK_ENV environment variable) is set to
either :production or :test.
configure :production, :test do
...
end
== Error handling
Error handlers run within the same context as routes and before filters, which
means you get all the goodies it has to offer, like haml, erb,
halt, etc.
=== Not Found
When a Sinatra::NotFound exception is raised, or the response's status
code is 404, the not_found handler is invoked:
not_found do
'This is nowhere to be found'
end
=== Error
The +error+ handler is invoked any time an exception is raised from a route
block or before filter. The exception object can be obtained from the
'sinatra.error' Rack variable:
error do
'Sorry there was a nasty error - ' + env['sinatra.error'].name
end
Custom errors:
error MyCustomError do
'So what happened was...' + request.env['sinatra.error'].message
end
Then, if this happens:
get '/' do
raise MyCustomError, 'something bad'
end
You get this:
So what happened was... something bad
Sinatra installs special not_found and error handlers when running under
the development environment.
== Mime types
When using send_file or static files you may have mime types Sinatra
doesn't understand. Use +mime+ to register them by file extension:
mime :foo, 'text/foo'
== Rack Middleware
Sinatra rides on Rack[http://rack.rubyforge.org/], a minimal standard
interface for Ruby web frameworks. One of Rack's most interesting capabilities
for application developers is support for "middleware" -- components that sit
between the server and your application monitoring and/or manipulating the
HTTP request/response to provide various types of common functionality.
Sinatra makes building Rack middleware pipelines a cinch via a top-level
+use+ method:
require 'sinatra'
require 'my_custom_middleware'
use Rack::Lint
use MyCustomMiddleware
get '/hello' do
'Hello World'
end
The semantics of +use+ are identical to those defined for the
Rack::Builder[http://rack.rubyforge.org/doc/classes/Rack/Builder.html] DSL
(most frequently used from rackup files). For example, the +use+ method
accepts multiple/variable args as well as blocks:
use Rack::Auth::Basic do |username, password|
username == 'admin' && password == 'secret'
end
Rack is distributed with a variety of standard middleware for logging,
debugging, URL routing, authentication, and session handling. Sinatra uses
many of of these components automatically based on configuration so you
typically don't have to +use+ them explicitly.
== Testing
The Sinatra::Test module includes a variety of helper methods for testing
your Sinatra app. Sinatra includes support for Test::Unit, test-spec, RSpec,
and Bacon through separate source files.
=== Test::Unit
require 'sinatra'
require 'sinatra/test/unit'
require 'my_sinatra_app'
class MyAppTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
def test_my_default
get '/'
assert_equal 'My Default Page!', @response.body
end
def test_with_agent
get '/', :agent => 'Songbird'
assert_equal 'You're in Songbird!', @response.body
end
...
end
=== Test::Spec
Install the test-spec gem and require 'sinatra/test/spec' before
your app:
require 'sinatra'
require 'sinatra/test/spec'
require 'my_sinatra_app'
describe 'My app' do
it "should show a default page" do
get '/'
should.be.ok
body.should.equal 'My Default Page!'
end
...
end
=== RSpec
Install the rspec gem and require 'sinatra/test/rspec' before
your app:
require 'sinatra'
require 'sinatra/test/rspec'
require 'my_sinatra_app'
describe 'My app' do
it 'should show a default page' do
get '/'
@response.should be_ok
@response.body.should == 'My Default Page!'
end
...
end
=== Bacon
require 'sinatra'
require 'sinatra/test/bacon'
require 'my_sinatra_app'
describe 'My app' do
it 'should be ok' do
get '/'
should.be.ok
body.should == 'Im OK'
end
end
See Sinatra::Test for more information on +get+, +post+, +put+, and
friends.
== Command line
Sinatra applications can be run directly:
ruby myapp.rb [-h] [-x] [-p PORT] [-e ENVIRONMENT]
Options are:
-h # help
-p # set the port (default is 4567)
-e # set the environment (default is development)
-x # turn on the mutex lock (default is off)
== Contributing
=== Tools
Besides Ruby itself, you only need a text editor, preferably one that supports
Ruby syntax hilighting. VIM and Emacs are a fine choice on any platform, but
feel free to use whatever you're familiar with.
Sinatra uses the Git source code management system. If you're unfamiliar with
Git, you can find more information and tutorials on http://git.or.cz/ as well
as http://git-scm.com/. Scott Chacon created a great series of introductory
screencasts about Git, which you can find here: http://www.gitcasts.com/
=== First Time: Cloning The Sinatra Repo
cd where/you/keep/your/projects
git clone git://github.com/bmizerany/sinatra.git
cd sinatra
cd path/to/your_project
ln -s ../sinatra/
=== Updating Your Existing Sinatra Clone
cd where/you/keep/sinatra
git pull
=== Using Edge Sinatra in Your App
at the top of your sinatra_app.rb file:
$LOAD_PATH.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/sinatra/lib'
require 'sinatra'
get '/about' do
"I'm running on Version " + Sinatra::VERSION
end
=== Contributing a Patch
There are several ways to do this. Probably the easiest (and preferred) way is
to fork Sinatra on GitHub (http://github.com/bmizerany/sinatra), push your
changes to your Sinatra repo, and then send Blake Mizerany (bmizerany on
GitHub) a pull request.
You can also create a patch file and attach it to a feature request or bug fix
on the issue tracker (see below) or send it to the mailing list (see Community
section).
=== Issue Tracking and Feature Requests
http://sinatra.lighthouseapp.com/
== Community
=== Mailing List
http://groups.google.com/group/sinatrarb
If you have a problem or question, please make sure to include all the
relevant information in your mail, like the Sinatra version you're using, what
version of Ruby you have, and so on.
=== IRC Channel
You can find us on the Freenode network in the channel #sinatra
(irc://chat.freenode.net/#sinatra)
There's usually someone online at any given time, but we cannot pay attention
to the channel all the time, so please stick around for a while after asking a
question.