initialPath / rootUrl option

[ryanflorence]

I haven't tested this, but I'm pretty sure we can't handle an app starting at a deep url already.

For example, we're building a new feature that starts at /courses/123/files, hash urls will be fine, but as soon as we turn on location="history" it's probably not going to work.

I suspect we'll need <Route rootPath="/courses/123/files"/>

[ryanflorence]

Actually, you might be able to just put that path as the path to the root route ...

... Nope, because paths don't get inherited.

Three options:

• We can do the rootUrl option
• We can do nothing, and require people to provide full paths to their routes/links
• When Route is more extensible (Make Route more extensible #65), people could bake in the root url to their own Route and Link components.

[mjackson]

I agree, we should have this. To stick with existing React convention, I'd like to call it initialPath. React does that in places where you can specify a prop that is the starting value for some state.

BTW, this feels like something that should be on <Routes> instead of <Route>, when we get to it.

[ryanflorence]

Ha, yeah, that's why I opened #112.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 23, 2014, at 11:18 PM, Michael Jackson notifications@github.com wrote:

I agree, we should have this. To stick with existing React convention, I'd like to call it initialPath. React does that in places where you can specify a prop that is the starting value for some state.

BTW, this feels like something that should be on instead of , when we get to it.

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[KyleAMathews]

👍 to this. Just ran into a situation where it didn't make sense to put the preferred start screen at /.

[ryanflorence]

Since we reverted from #133, reopening.

[ryanflorence]

Also, I'm not sure initialPath is the right name, because that could mean "when the router fires up, go here", I think I'd prefer rootPath.

[mjackson]

that could mean "when the router fires up, go here"

That's not what it means?

[ryanflorence]

ha, no.

Consider a mature app with a lot of server-side rendering + jQuery spaghetti barfed all over the page. You rewrite the app in React and want to use location="history" but when your react app starts up, your url is already /courses/123/files.

With rootPath, a <Link to="foo/bar"/> should not go to /foo/bar but rather /courses/123/files/foo/bar.

Much like our friend: http://emberjs.com/guides/routing/#toc_specifying-a-root-url

[KyleAMathews]

Why not just write out the whole path? Or if that's too hard, add a helper
function which adds the /course stuff? Seems unnecessary.
On Aug 5, 2014 10:54 PM, "Ryan Florence" notifications@github.com wrote:

ha, no.

Consider a mature app with a lot of server-side rendering + jQuery
spaghetti barfs all over the page. You rewrite the app in React and want to
use location="history" but when your react app starts up, your url is
already /courses/123/files.

With rootPath, a should not go to /foo/bar but
rather /courses/123/files/foo/bar.

Much like our friend:
http://emberjs.com/guides/routing/#toc_specifying-a-root-url

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Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#111 (comment).

[ryanflorence]

it might be, but sometimes you just implement features you're used to without asking questions.

[ryanflorence]

writing the whole path on the routes is not actually all that bad, closing until more squeaky wheels show up.

[mjackson]

This should be a little easier to implement now that we have relative paths.

[tjwebb]

+1 squeakasqueaka

This is a PITA for dev mode; e.g. currently my path is http://localhost:81/workspace/hashware/hashpanel/www/. Makes no sense to hardcode that whole path into my Route definitions when it will be different in production.

I just did this:

  <Route name='app' path={window.location.pathname} handler={App}>

Is that legit?

[ryanflorence]

if your'e using HashLocation that should be fine.

[Davorak]

writing the whole path on the routes is not actually all that bad, closing until more squeaky wheels show up.

@ryanflorence - Consider this one more squeaky wheel in the application I am working I want to be able to host everything on a suburl. Currently use a slightly modified version of Link and have a helper function that I mostly remember to use when using history.push and friends.

[taion]

This is a really ancient issue! We have this concept – it's called basename now. Check the current docs.

[dverbru]

See https://github.com/ReactJSTraining/history/blob/master/docs/BasenameSupport.md.