[fw-mvc] Routes in Javascript

Hi all

I've come across a requirement which I'm sure is not unique.  I'd like to be able to generate URLs based on my PHP routes, but in Javascript.  I could easily achieve this with an ajax call, but it would be impractical to make a server call every time I needed a URL generated.

My first-effort, crude, solution is to write a bunch of JS functions:

function URL_HOME () { return '/'; }
function URL_LOGIN() { return '/login'; }
function URL_PROFILE(username) { return '/'+encodeURI(username); }

But I think there should be a more elegant way to generate this capability straight out of my router. So, as a possible use-case:

// router

class My_Controller_Router extends Zend_Controller_Router_Rewrite
{
 public function __construct()
 {
  parent::__construct();

  $this->addRoute('profile', new Zend_Controller_Router_Route(':username', array('controller' => 'user', 'action' => 'profile')));
 }
}

// ...somewhere else, in a view perhaps:

$router = new My_Controller_Router();
$router->toJavascript();

Which might spit out (in JS):

function assemble(parms, name) {
 function profile(parms) {
  return '/'+encodeURI(parms.username);
 }
 // ... other route-functions -- or possibly just a list of regular expressions
 try {
  return eval(name)(parms);
 }
 catch (e) {
  return null;
 }
}

And then I can do:

var profileUrl = assemble({ username: 'Neil' }, 'profile');

Thoughts?

- Neil