Structuring the UI code of a single-page EXTjs Web app using Rails?
- by Daniel Beardsley
I’m in the process of creating a large single-page web-app using ext-js for the UI components with Rails on the backend. I’ve come to good solutions for transferring data using Whorm gem and Rails support of RESTful Resources.
What I haven’t come to a conclusion on is how to structure the UI and business logic aspects of the application. I’ve had a look at a few options, including Netzke but haven’t seen anything that I really think fits my needs.
How should a web-application that uses ext-js components, layouts, and controls in the browser and Rails on the server best implement UI component re-use, good organization, and maintainability while maintaining a flexible layout design.
Specifically I’m looking for best-practice suggestions for structuring the code that creates and configures UI components (many UI config options will be based on user data)
Should EXT classes be extended in static JS for often re-used customizations and then instantiated with various configuration options by generated JS within html partials?
Should partials create javascript blocks that instantiate EXT components?
Should partials call helpers that return ruby hashes for EXT component config which is then dumped to Json?
Something else entirely?
There are many options and I'd love to hear from people who've been down this road and found some methodology that worked for them.
