Custom Helpers

It is useful be able to call methods in your template views that are not built into lono. Lono allows you to add custom helpers for this case. The custom helpers are first class citizens and have access to the same context and variables as built-in lono helpers.

How to Add Custom Helper Methods

To add custom helpers methods, create a file that ends with _helper.rb in the app/helpers folder of your project. Declare a module in that file naming the module the same as the filename except in camel case form. Then define your helper methods in the module. For example:

helpers/my_custom_helper.rb:

module MyCustomHelper
  def shared_partial(name, options={}, indent=0)
    partial_name = "shared/#{name}.yml.erb"
    if partial_exist?(partial_name) # partial_exist? is built-in lono helper
      result << partial(partial_name, {}, indent: indent)
      result.join("\n")
    end
  end
end

The shared_partial method is now available in your template views. Notice how in the example shared_partial calls built-in lono helper methods like partial_exist? with no problem. All lono built-in helper methods are available in your custom helper methods. Variables are also available to be used in your custom helper methods. Example:

app/definitions/base.rb:

template "example" do
  variables(
    disk_size: "80GB"
  )
end

helpers/disk_space_helper.rb:

module DiskSpaceHelper
  def size_in_bytes
    return unless @disk_size
    md = @disk_size.match(/(\d+)(\s+)$/)
    if md
      _, amount, units = md.to_a
      amount = amount.to_i
    end
    case units
    when "GB"
      amount * 1024 * 1024
    when "MB"
      amount * 1024
    else # assume in bytes already
      size.to_i
    end
  end
end

Notice how @disk_size is used in the size_in_bytes helper method.

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