Storing an array in the database in ruby on rails

Question

I have somewhat of a unique situation, if I had a form with a checkbox for every state (as in US states, so 50 states say), I don't really want to add 50 columns to my db, how can I store them in an array in a single column?

I feel like I've seen this done but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on the implementation.

You could use states * ';' and states.split ';', and make sure semicolons don't appear in states. — Zaz
– Zaz, Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 12:52

user324312 · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-14 18:10:32Z

21

ActiveRecord::Base.serialize. Straight from the rails docs:

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  serialize :preferences
end

user = User.create(:preferences => { "background" => "black", "display" => large })
User.find(user.id).preferences # => { "background" => "black", "display" => large }

answered Aug 14, 2010 at 18:10

user324312

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2 Comments

JP Silvashy Over a year ago

I like your answer I'm just having a hard time getting it to save the array to the column now.

user324312 Over a year ago

If you're using an existing column, you may need to change the column type to :text to fit your array. (Check your_a.to_yaml.length.)

Lolindrath · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-14 18:14:28Z

4

You could set up a States table with many to many relationship between User and State also. This would make queries more efficient.

answered Aug 14, 2010 at 18:14

Lolindrath

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