Rails, def or constant to symbol

Question

In my application_controller.rb I have this code:

def current_resource
   if admin_signed_in?
     :admin
   elsif partner_signed_in?
     :partner
   end
end

Now I want to pass this def to child controllers like this:

authorize_resource current_resource

However it throws me an error. undefined local variable or methodcurrent_resource'`

How I can pass this current_resource to its child controllers as symbol.

That is how I call it inside controller:

class PageController < ApplicationController
     authorize_resource current_resource
end

current_resource is inside application_controller

Answer 1

This code:

class PageController < ApplicationController
 authorize_resource current_resource
end

will be executed during PageController class loading, not during request handling. So you can't call admin_signed_in? and partner_signed_in? then. Also I don't know why are you trying to call authorize_resource with argument, because it doesn't get arguments, check cancancan source.

I think you have misunderstood how cancan filters and abilities work. You shouldn't pass User model to the filter. User type should be checked in Ability class and based on that, proper permissions should be selected. In your controller (btw. it should be PagesController) you only load resources and authorize them, ie.:

class PagesController < ApplicationController
  load_resource
  authorize_resource
  # or just load_and_authorize_resource
end

You can customize how resources will be loaded and authorized. Please read this about authorizing controller actions and those examples. And also please read this about defining abilities.