Rails: How do I create a default value for attributes in Rails activerecord's model? [duplicate]

Answer 1

I found a better way to do it now:

def status=(value) 
  self[:status] = 'P' 
end 

In Ruby a method call is allowed to have no parentheses, therefore I should name the local variable into something else, otherwise Ruby will recognize it as a method call.

Answer 2

As I see it, there are two problems that need addressing when needing a default value.

1. You need the value present when a new object is initialized. Using after_initialize is not suitable because, as stated, it will be called during calls to #find which will lead to a performance hit.
2. You need to persist the default value when saved

Here is my solution:

# the reader providers a default if nil
# but this wont work when saved
def status
  read_attribute(:status) || "P"
end

# so, define a before_validation callback
before_validation :set_defaults
protected
def set_defaults
  # if a non-default status has been assigned, it will remain
  # if no value has been assigned, the reader will return the default and assign it
  # this keeps the default logic DRY
  status = status
end

I'd love to know why people think of this approach.

Answer 3

Because I encountered this issue just a little while ago, and the options for Rails 3.0 are a bit different, I'll provide another answer to this question.

In Rails 3.0 you want to do something like this:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  after_initialize :default_values

  private
    def default_values
      self.name ||= "default value"
    end
end

Answer 4

The solution depends on a few things.

Is the default value dependent on other information available at creation time? Can you wipe the database with minimal consequences?

If you answered the first question yes, then you want to use Jim's solution

If you answered the second question yes, then you want to use Daniel's solution

If you answered no to both questions, you're probably better off adding and running a new migration.

class AddDefaultMigration < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def self.up
     change_column :tasks, :status, :string, :default => default_value, :null => false
  end
end

:string can be replaced with any type that ActiveRecord::Migration recognizes.

CPU is cheap so the redefinition of Task in Jim's solution isn't going to cause many problems. Especially in a production environment. This migration is proper way of doing it as it is loaded it and called much less often.