17 December 2020
Rails New: Active Record
by Bill Barnett
In the first two posts of this series, we’ve skimmed the basics of Ruby on Rails in the form of a quick getting started guide, followed by a shallow dive into Rails’ implementation of an MVC architecture and the role Routing plays in tying it all together. This week we’ll take our first in-depth look at one of the component pieces of Rails called Active Record. Active Record implements the “M” part of “MVC” in Rails. This week though, we’ll also have code to browse or checkout if you so desire.
Digging In
It was my turn to step to the virtual podium and present Active Record at the August 2020 Cincinnati Ruby Brigade meeting. As you watch the video you can follow my talking points in the README file on the GitHub repository. You can browse individual commits or simply clone the repository and tinker with the code locally.
Take-Aways
After watching the video you should be able to:
- Create and run an Active Record Migration
- Use Active Record Associations
-
Identify the Active Record methods within a typical Rails controller
- Use the Rails console to manipulate Active Record objects
Don’t worry if you felt a bit overwhelmed by the material in the video. You may find it helpful to browse the README file for concepts that are unclear to you and research each at your own pace. You’ll gain more familiarity with the core concepts as we explore the other component pieces of Rails in coming weeks. Next week we’ll look at Action View, the “V” in “MVC”.
