Best way to add comments in erb

💬 Adding Comments in erb: The Ultimate Guide!

Are you struggling with adding comments in erb files without having them show up in your HTML content? Don't worry, we've got you covered! 💪 In this blog post, we'll walk you through the best way to add comments in erb and share some easy solutions to common problems. Let's dive in! 🚀

Commenting in erb - The Basics

To add comments in erb, you can use the standard HTML comment syntax. Simply wrap your comment in <!-- and --> tags. However, by default, erb comments are also rendered as part of the generated HTML output, which is not always desirable.

Issue: Commented Content Appearing in HTML

Imagine you have the following erb code:

<!-- This comment should only be visible in the erb file, not in the rendered HTML -->

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

When this erb code is processed, the comment will be visible in the resulting HTML:

<!-- This comment should only be visible in the erb file, not in the rendered HTML -->

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

Solution: Using # for Inline Comments

A neat trick to add comments that won't appear in the generated HTML is to use # instead of HTML comment tags. This approach is particularly useful for inline comments:

<%# This comment won't be included in the rendered HTML %>

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

When processed, the comment will be completely removed from the generated HTML:

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

Solution: Wrapping Multi-Line Comments in a Ruby Block

If you have longer or multiple lines of comments, using # for every line can quickly become tedious. Instead, you can use a Ruby block to wrap your comments. For example:

<%#
# This comment won't be included in the rendered HTML
# Here's another line of comment for more context
%>

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

In this case, the entire block of comments will be ignored in the generated HTML:

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

💡 Pro Tip: You can also use a <!-- --> HTML comment within the Ruby block if you want to include comments in the erb file for reference or clarification purposes:

<%#
<!--
This comment won't be included in the rendered HTML
Here's another line of comment for more context
-->
%>

<h1>Welcome to My Blog!</h1>

Conclusion and Reader Engagement

Adding comments in erb files is essential for maintaining clean and understandable code. By using the tips and tricks provided in this guide, you can ensure that your comments are not visible in the generated HTML.

Now it's your turn! Do you have any other creative ways to add comments in erb files? Or perhaps you've encountered a specific issue that we didn't cover here? Don't be shy! Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Let's keep the conversation going! 😄💬

Happy coding! 🎉