rails_form_builder_param_name

This gem is a horrid, but small and self-contained, hack. It adds a method to Rails' global helpers, and a corresponding method in FormBuilder, called field_param_name. This method returns the value of the name attribute on fields that the Rails form helpers would hypothetically generate if you were to call them.

WARNING WARNING WARNING! This code is effectively exposing private API from inside ActionView. It is likely to break in future, unreleased versions of Rails. Pull requests to unbreak it will be gladly accepted.

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'rails_form_builder_param_name'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install rails_form_builder_param_name

Usage

Inside a form_for or fields_for block:

<%= form_for :user do |f| %>
  <div data-user-birth-date-field-name="<%= f.field_param_name :birth_date %>"></div>
<% end %>

Outside one of those:

<div data-user-birth-date-field-name="<%= field_param_name :user, :birth_date %>"></div>

Both forms accept a multiple: true option, which will effectively add [] to the param name, just like passing that option to Rails input tag helpers would.

Development

After checking out the repo, run bin/setup to install dependencies. Then, run rake test to run the tests. You can also run bin/console for an interactive prompt that will allow you to experiment.

To install this gem onto your local machine, run bundle exec rake install. To release a new version, update the version number in version.rb, and then run bundle exec rake release, which will create a git tag for the version, push git commits and tags, and push the .gem file to rubygems.org.

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/patientslikeme/rails_form_builder_param_name. This project is intended to be a safe, welcoming space for collaboration, and contributors are expected to adhere to the Contributor Covenant code of conduct.

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.