base.rb 51.4 KB
Newer Older
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
require 'active_record/support/class_attribute_accessors'
require 'active_record/support/class_inheritable_attributes'
require 'active_record/support/inflector'
require 'yaml'

module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
  class ActiveRecordError < StandardError #:nodoc:
  end
9 10
  class SubclassNotFound < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
  class AssociationTypeMismatch < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
  class SerializationTypeMismatch < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
  class AdapterNotSpecified < ActiveRecordError # :nodoc:
  end
  class AdapterNotFound < ActiveRecordError # :nodoc:
  end
  class ConnectionNotEstablished < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
  class ConnectionFailed < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
  class RecordNotFound < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
  class StatementInvalid < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
27 28
  class PreparedStatementInvalid < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
  end
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

  # Active Record objects doesn't specify their attributes directly, but rather infer them from the table definition with
  # which they're linked. Adding, removing, and changing attributes and their type is done directly in the database. Any change
  # is instantly reflected in the Active Record objects. The mapping that binds a given Active Record class to a certain
  # database table will happen automatically in most common cases, but can be overwritten for the uncommon ones. 
  # 
  # See the mapping rules in table_name and the full example in link:files/README.html for more insight.
  # 
  # == Creation
  # 
  # Active Records accepts constructor parameters either in a hash or as a block. The hash method is especially useful when
  # you're receiving the data from somewhere else, like a HTTP request. It works like this:
  # 
  #   user = User.new("name" => "David", "occupation" => "Code Artist")
  #   user.name # => "David"
  # 
  # You can also use block initialization:
  # 
  #   user = User.new do |u|
  #     u.name = "David"
  #     u.occupation = "Code Artist"
  #   end
  # 
  # And of course you can just create a bare object and specify the attributes after the fact:
  # 
  #   user = User.new
  #   user.name = "David"
  #   user.occupation = "Code Artist"
  # 
  # == Conditions
  # 
  # Conditions can either be specified as a string or an array representing the WHERE-part of an SQL statement.
  # The array form is to be used when the condition input is tainted and requires sanitization. The string form can
  # be used for statements that doesn't involve tainted data. Examples:
  # 
  #   User < ActiveRecord::Base
  #     def self.authenticate_unsafely(user_name, password)
  #       find_first("user_name = '#{user_name}' AND password = '#{password}'")
  #     end
  # 
  #     def self.authenticate_safely(user_name, password)
70
  #       find_first([ "user_name = ? AND password = ?", user_name, password ])
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
71 72 73
  #     end
  #   end
  # 
74 75 76
  # The <tt>authenticate_unsafely</tt> method inserts the parameters directly into the query and is thus susceptible to SQL-injection
  # attacks if the <tt>user_name</tt> and +password+ parameters come directly from a HTTP request. The <tt>authenticate_safely</tt> method, 
  # on the other hand, will sanitize the <tt>user_name</tt> and +password+ before inserting them in the query, which will ensure that
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
77
  # an attacker can't escape the query and fake the login (or worse).
78
  #
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
  # == Overwriting default accessors
  # 
  # All column values are automatically available through basic accessors on the Active Record object, but some times you
  # want to specialize this behavior. This can be done by either by overwriting the default accessors (using the same
  # name as the attribute) calling read_attribute(attr_name) and write_attribute(attr_name, value) to actually change things.
  # Example:
  # 
  #   class Song < ActiveRecord::Base
  #     # Uses an integer of seconds to hold the length of the song
  #     
  #     def length=(minutes)
  #       write_attribute("length", minutes * 60)
  #     end
  #     
  #     def length
  #       read_attribute("length") / 60
  #     end
  #   end
  # 
  # == Saving arrays, hashes, and other non-mappeable objects in text columns
  # 
  # Active Record can serialize any object in text columns using YAML. To do so, you must specify this with a call to the class method +serialize+. 
  # This makes it possible to store arrays, hashes, and other non-mappeable objects without doing any additional work. Example:
  # 
  #   class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  #     serialize :preferences
  #   end
  # 
  #   user = User.create("preferences" => { "background" => "black", "display" => large })
  #   User.find(user.id).preferences # => { "background" => "black", "display" => large }
  # 
  # You can also specify an optional :class_name option that'll raise an exception if a serialized object is retrieved as a 
  # descendent of a class not in the hierarchy. Example:
  # 
  #   class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  #     serialize :preferences, :class_name => "Hash"
  #   end
  # 
  #   user = User.create("preferences" => %w( one two three ))
  #   User.find(user.id).preferences    # raises SerializationTypeMismatch
  # 
  # == Single table inheritance
  #
  # Active Record allows inheritance by storing the name of the class in a column that by default is called "type" (can be changed 
  # by overwriting <tt>Base.inheritance_column</tt>). This means that an inheritance looking like this:
  #
  #   class Company < ActiveRecord::Base; end
  #   class Firm < Company; end
  #   class Client < Company; end
  #   class PriorityClient < Client; end
  #
  # When you do Firm.create("name" => "37signals"), this record with be saved in the companies table with type = "Firm". You can then
  # fetch this row again using Company.find_first "name = '37signals'" and it will return a Firm object.
  #
133 134 135
  # If you don't have a type column defined in your table, single-table inheritance won't be triggered. In that case, it'll work just
  # like normal subclasses with no special magic for differentiating between them or reloading the right type with find.
  #
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195
  # Note, all the attributes for all the cases are kept in the same table. Read more:
  # http://www.martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/singleTableInheritance.html
  # 
  # == Connection to multiple databases in different models
  #
  # Connections are usually created through ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection and retrieved by ActiveRecord::Base.connection.
  # All classes inheriting from ActiveRecord::Base will use this connection. But you can also set a class-specific connection. 
  # For example, if Course is a ActiveRecord::Base, but resides in a different database you can just say Course.establish_connection
  # and Course *and all its subclasses* will use this connection instead.
  #
  # This feature is implemented by keeping a connection pool in ActiveRecord::Base that is a Hash indexed by the class. If a connection is
  # requested, the retrieve_connection method will go up the class-hierarchy until a connection is found in the connection pool.
  #
  # == Exceptions
  # 
  # * +ActiveRecordError+ -- generic error class and superclass of all other errors raised by Active Record
  # * +AdapterNotSpecified+ -- the configuration hash used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> didn't include a 
  #   <tt>:adapter</tt> key.
  # * +AdapterNotSpecified+ -- the <tt>:adapter</tt> key used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> specified an unexisting adapter
  #   (or a bad spelling of an existing one). 
  # * +AssociationTypeMismatch+ -- the object assigned to the association wasn't of the type specified in the association definition. 
  # * +SerializationTypeMismatch+ -- the object serialized wasn't of the class specified in the <tt>:class_name</tt> option of 
  #   the serialize definition. 
  # * +ConnectionNotEstablished+ -- no connection has been established. Use <tt>establish_connection</tt> before querying.
  # * +RecordNotFound+ -- no record responded to the find* method. 
  #   Either the row with the given ID doesn't exist or the row didn't meet the additional restrictions.
  # * +StatementInvalid+ -- the database server rejected the SQL statement. The precise error is added in the  message.
  #   Either the record with the given ID doesn't exist or the record didn't meet the additional restrictions.
  # 
  # *Note*: The attributes listed are class-level attributes (accessible from both the class and instance level). 
  # So it's possible to assign a logger to the class through Base.logger= which will then be used by all
  # instances in the current object space.
  class Base
    include ClassInheritableAttributes
  
    # Accepts a logger conforming to the interface of Log4r or the default Ruby 1.8+ Logger class, which is then passed
    # on to any new database connections made and which can be retrieved on both a class and instance level by calling +logger+.
    cattr_accessor :logger

    # Returns the connection currently associated with the class. This can
    # also be used to "borrow" the connection to do database work unrelated
    # to any of the specific Active Records. 
    def self.connection
      retrieve_connection
    end

    # Returns the connection currently associated with the class. This can
    # also be used to "borrow" the connection to do database work that isn't 
    # easily done without going straight to SQL. 
    def connection
      self.class.connection
    end

    def self.inherited(child) #:nodoc:
      @@subclasses[self] ||= []
      @@subclasses[self] << child
      super
    end

    @@subclasses = {}
196
    
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225
    cattr_accessor :configurations
    @@primary_key_prefix_type = {}
    
    # Accessor for the prefix type that will be prepended to every primary key column name. The options are :table_name and 
    # :table_name_with_underscore. If the first is specified, the Product class will look for "productid" instead of "id" as
    # the primary column. If the latter is specified, the Product class will look for "product_id" instead of "id". Remember
    # that this is a global setting for all Active Records. 
    cattr_accessor :primary_key_prefix_type
    @@primary_key_prefix_type = nil

    # Accessor for the name of the prefix string to prepend to every table name. So if set to "basecamp_", all 
    # table names will be named like "basecamp_projects", "basecamp_people", etc. This is a convinient way of creating a namespace
    # for tables in a shared database. By default, the prefix is the empty string.
    cattr_accessor :table_name_prefix
    @@table_name_prefix = ""

    # Works like +table_name_prefix+, but appends instead of prepends (set to "_basecamp" gives "projects_basecamp",
    # "people_basecamp"). By default, the suffix is the empty string.
    cattr_accessor :table_name_suffix
    @@table_name_suffix = ""

    # Indicate whether or not table names should be the pluralized versions of the corresponding class names.
    # If true, this the default table name for a +Product+ class will be +products+. If false, it would just be +product+.
    # See table_name for the full rules on table/class naming. This is true, by default.
    cattr_accessor :pluralize_table_names
    @@pluralize_table_names = true

    # When turned on (which is default), all associations are included using "load". This mean that any change is instant in cached
    # environments like mod_ruby or FastCGI. When set to false, "require" is used, which is faster but requires server restart to
226
    # reflect changes.
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239
    @@reload_associations = true
    cattr_accessor :reload_associations

    @@associations_loaded = []
    cattr_accessor :associations_loaded

    class << self # Class methods
      # Returns objects for the records responding to either a specific id (1), a list of ids (1, 5, 6) or an array of ids. 
      # If only one ID is specified, that object is returned directly. If more than one ID is specified, an array is returned.
      # Examples:
      #   Person.find(1)       # returns the object for ID = 1
      #   Person.find(1, 2, 6) # returns an array for objects with IDs in (1, 2, 6)
      #   Person.find([7, 17]) # returns an array for objects with IDs in (7, 17)
240
      #   Person.find([1])     # returns an array for objects the object with ID = 1
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
241 242
      # +RecordNotFound+ is raised if no record can be found.
      def find(*ids)
243
        expects_array = ids.first.kind_of?(Array)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
244 245 246
        ids = ids.flatten.compact.uniq

        if ids.length > 1
247
          ids_list = ids.map{ |id| "#{sanitize(id)}" }.join(", ")
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256
          objects  = find_all("#{primary_key} IN (#{ids_list})", primary_key)

          if objects.length == ids.length
            return objects
          else
            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with ID in (#{ids_list})"
          end
        elsif ids.length == 1
          id = ids.first
257
          sql = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} WHERE #{primary_key} = #{sanitize(id)}"
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
258 259 260
          sql << " AND #{type_condition}" unless descends_from_active_record?

          if record = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Find")
261
            expects_array ? [instantiate(record)] : instantiate(record)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274
          else 
            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with ID = #{id}"
          end
        else
          raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} without an ID"
        end
      end

      # Works like find, but the record matching +id+ must also meet the +conditions+.
      # +RecordNotFound+ is raised if no record can be found matching the +id+ or meeting the condition.
      # Example:
      #   Person.find_on_conditions 5, "first_name LIKE '%dav%' AND last_name = 'heinemeier'"
      def find_on_conditions(id, conditions)
275
        find_first("#{primary_key} = #{sanitize(id)} AND #{sanitize_conditions(conditions)}") || 
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
276 277 278 279 280 281
            raise(RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with #{primary_key} = #{id} on the condition of #{conditions}")
      end
    
      # Returns an array of all the objects that could be instantiated from the associated
      # table in the database. The +conditions+ can be used to narrow the selection of objects (WHERE-part),
      # such as by "color = 'red'", and arrangement of the selection can be done through +orderings+ (ORDER BY-part),
282 283
      # such as by "last_name, first_name DESC". A maximum of returned objects and their offset can be specified in 
      # +limit+ (LIMIT...OFFSET-part). Examples:
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
284
      #   Project.find_all "category = 'accounts'", "last_accessed DESC", 15
285
      #   Project.find_all ["category = ?", category_name], "created ASC", ["? OFFSET ?", 15, 20]
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
286 287 288 289 290
      def find_all(conditions = nil, orderings = nil, limit = nil, joins = nil)
        sql  = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} " 
        sql << "#{joins} " if joins
        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
        sql << "ORDER BY #{orderings} " unless orderings.nil?
291
        sql << "LIMIT #{sanitize_conditions(limit)} " unless limit.nil?
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
292 293 294 295
    
        find_by_sql(sql)
      end
  
296
      # Works like find_all, but requires a complete SQL string. Examples:
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
297
      #   Post.find_by_sql "SELECT p.*, c.author FROM posts p, comments c WHERE p.id = c.post_id"
298
      #   Post.find_by_sql ["SELECT * FROM posts WHERE author = ? AND created > ?", author_id, start_date]
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
299
      def find_by_sql(sql)
300
        sql = sanitize_conditions(sql)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371
        connection.select_all(sql, "#{name} Load").inject([]) { |objects, record| objects << instantiate(record) }
      end
      
      # Returns the object for the first record responding to the conditions in +conditions+, 
      # such as "group = 'master'". If more than one record is returned from the query, it's the first that'll
      # be used to create the object. In such cases, it might be beneficial to also specify 
      # +orderings+, like "income DESC, name", to control exactly which record is to be used. Example: 
      #   Employee.find_first "income > 50000", "income DESC, name"
      def find_first(conditions = nil, orderings = nil)
        sql  = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} "
        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
        sql << "ORDER BY #{orderings} " unless orderings.nil?
        sql << "LIMIT 1"
    
        record = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Load First")
        instantiate(record) unless record.nil?
      end
    
      # Creates an object, instantly saves it as a record (if the validation permits it), and returns it. If the save
      # fail under validations, the unsaved object is still returned.
      def create(attributes = nil)
        object = new(attributes)
        object.save
        object
      end

      # Finds the record from the passed +id+, instantly saves it with the passed +attributes+ (if the validation permits it), 
      # and returns it. If the save fail under validations, the unsaved object is still returned.
      def update(id, attributes)
        object = find(id)
        object.attributes = attributes
        object.save
        object
      end

      # Updates all records with the SET-part of an SQL update statement in +updates+. A subset of the records can be selected 
      # by specifying +conditions+. Example:
      #   Billing.update_all "category = 'authorized', approved = 1", "author = 'David'"
      def update_all(updates, conditions = nil)
        sql  = "UPDATE #{table_name} SET #{updates} "
        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
        connection.update(sql, "#{name} Update")
      end
    
      # Destroys the objects for all the records that matches the +condition+ by instantiating each object and calling
      # the destroy method. Example:
      #   Person.destroy_all "last_login < '2004-04-04'"
      def destroy_all(conditions = nil)
        find_all(conditions).each { |object| object.destroy }
      end
    
      # Deletes all the records that matches the +condition+ without instantiating the objects first (and hence not 
      # calling the destroy method). Example:
      #   Post.destroy_all "person_id = 5 AND (category = 'Something' OR category = 'Else')"
      def delete_all(conditions = nil)
        sql = "DELETE FROM #{table_name} "
        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
        connection.delete(sql, "#{name} Delete all")
      end
    
      # Returns the number of records that meets the +conditions+. Zero is returned if no records match. Example:
      #   Product.count "sales > 1"
      def count(conditions = nil)
        sql  = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #{table_name} "
        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
        count_by_sql(sql)
      end

      # Returns the result of an SQL statement that should only include a COUNT(*) in the SELECT part.
      #   Product.count "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sales s, customers c WHERE s.customer_id = c.id"
      def count_by_sql(sql)
372
        sql = sanitize_conditions(sql)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382
        count = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Count").values.first
        return count ? count.to_i : 0
      end
        
      # Increments the specified counter by one. So <tt>DiscussionBoard.increment_counter("post_count", 
      # discussion_board_id)</tt> would increment the "post_count" counter on the board responding to discussion_board_id.
      # This is used for caching aggregate values, so that they doesn't need to be computed every time. Especially important
      # for looping over a collection where each element require a number of aggregate values. Like the DiscussionBoard
      # that needs to list both the number of posts and comments.
      def increment_counter(counter_name, id)
383
        update_all "#{counter_name} = #{counter_name} + 1", "#{primary_key} = #{quote(id)}"
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
384 385 386 387
      end

      # Works like increment_counter, but decrements instead.
      def decrement_counter(counter_name, id)
388
        update_all "#{counter_name} = #{counter_name} - 1", "#{primary_key} = #{quote(id)}"
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527
      end

      # Attributes named in this macro are protected from mass-assignment, such as <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and 
      # <tt>attributes=(attributes)</tt>. Their assignment will simply be ignored. Instead, you can use the direct writer
      # methods to do assignment. This is meant to protect sensitive attributes to be overwritten by URL/form hackers. Example:
      #
      #   class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
      #     attr_protected :credit_rating
      #   end
      #
      #   customer = Customer.new("name" => David, "credit_rating" => "Excellent")
      #   customer.credit_rating # => nil
      #   customer.attributes = { "description" => "Jolly fellow", "credit_rating" => "Superb" }
      #   customer.credit_rating # => nil
      #
      #   customer.credit_rating = "Average"
      #   customer.credit_rating # => "Average"
      def attr_protected(*attributes)
        write_inheritable_array("attr_protected", attributes)
      end
      
      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been protected from mass-assigment.
      def protected_attributes # :nodoc:
        read_inheritable_attribute("attr_protected")
      end

      # If this macro is used, only those attributed named in it will be accessible for mass-assignment, such as 
      # <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and <tt>attributes=(attributes)</tt>. This is the more conservative choice for mass-assignment
      # protection. If you'd rather start from an all-open default and restrict attributes as needed, have a look at
      # attr_protected.
      def attr_accessible(*attributes)
        write_inheritable_array("attr_accessible", attributes)
      end
      
      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been made accessible to mass-assigment.
      def accessible_attributes # :nodoc:
        read_inheritable_attribute("attr_accessible")
      end

      # Specifies that the attribute by the name of +attr_name+ should be serialized before saving to the database and unserialized
      # after loading from the database. The serialization is done through YAML. If +class_name+ is specified, the serialized
      # object must be of that class on retrival or +SerializationTypeMismatch+ will be raised.
      def serialize(attr_name, class_name = Object)
        write_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized", serialized_attributes.update(attr_name.to_s => class_name))
      end
      
      # Returns a hash of all the attributes that have been specified for serialization as keys and their class restriction as values.
      def serialized_attributes
        read_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized") || { }
      end

      # Guesses the table name (in forced lower-case) based on the name of the class in the inheritance hierarchy descending
      # directly from ActiveRecord. So if the hierarchy looks like: Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, then Message is used
      # to guess the table name from even when called on Reply. The guessing rules are as follows:
      #
      # * Class name ends in "x", "ch" or "ss": "es" is appended, so a Search class becomes a searches table.
      # * Class name ends in "y" preceded by a consonant or "qu": The "y" is replaced with "ies", so a Category class becomes a categories table. 
      # * Class name ends in "fe": The "fe" is replaced with "ves", so a Wife class becomes a wives table.
      # * Class name ends in "lf" or "rf": The "f" is replaced with "ves", so a Half class becomes a halves table.
      # * Class name ends in "person": The "person" is replaced with "people", so a Salesperson class becomes a salespeople table.
      # * Class name ends in "man": The "man" is replaced with "men", so a Spokesman class becomes a spokesmen table.
      # * Class name ends in "sis": The "i" is replaced with an "e", so a Basis class becomes a bases table.
      # * Class name ends in "tum" or "ium": The "um" is replaced with an "a", so a Datum class becomes a data table.
      # * Class name ends in "child": The "child" is replaced with "children", so a NodeChild class becomes a node_children table.
      # * Class name ends in an "s": No additional characters are added or removed.
      # * Class name doesn't end in "s": An "s" is appended, so a Comment class becomes a comments table.
      # * Class name with word compositions: Compositions are underscored, so CreditCard class becomes a credit_cards table.
      #
      # Additionally, the class-level table_name_prefix is prepended to the table_name and the table_name_suffix is appended.
      # So if you have "myapp_" as a prefix, the table name guess for an Account class becomes "myapp_accounts".
      #
      # You can also overwrite this class method to allow for unguessable links, such as a Mouse class with a link to a
      # "mice" table. Example:
      #
      #   class Mouse < ActiveRecord::Base
      #      def self.table_name() "mice" end
      #   end
      def table_name(class_name = nil)
        if class_name.nil?
          class_name  = class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self)
          table_name_prefix + undecorated_table_name(class_name) + table_name_suffix
        else
          table_name_prefix + undecorated_table_name(class_name) + table_name_suffix
        end
      end

      # Defines the primary key field -- can be overridden in subclasses. Overwritting will negate any effect of the
      # primary_key_prefix_type setting, though.
      def primary_key
        case primary_key_prefix_type
          when :table_name
            Inflector.foreign_key(class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self), false)
          when :table_name_with_underscore
            Inflector.foreign_key(class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self))
          else
            "id"
        end
      end

      # Defines the column name for use with single table inheritance -- can be overridden in subclasses.
      def inheritance_column
        "type"
      end

      # Turns the +table_name+ back into a class name following the reverse rules of +table_name+.
      def class_name(table_name = table_name) # :nodoc:
        # remove any prefix and/or suffix from the table name
        class_name = Inflector.camelize(table_name[table_name_prefix.length..-(table_name_suffix.length + 1)])
        class_name = Inflector.singularize(class_name) if pluralize_table_names
        return class_name
      end

      # Returns an array of column objects for the table associated with this class.
      def columns
        @columns ||= connection.columns(table_name, "#{name} Columns")
      end
      
      # Returns an array of column objects for the table associated with this class.
      def columns_hash
        @columns_hash ||= columns.inject({}) { |hash, column| hash[column.name] = column; hash }
      end

      # Returns an array of columns objects where the primary id, all columns ending in "_id" or "_count", 
      # and columns used for single table inheritance has been removed.
      def content_columns
        @content_columns ||= columns.reject { |c| c.name == primary_key || c.name =~ /(_id|_count)$/ || c.name == inheritance_column }
      end

      # Returns a hash of all the methods added to query each of the columns in the table with the name of the method as the key
      # and true as the value. This makes it possible to do O(1) lookups in respond_to? to check if a given method for attribute
      # is available. 
      def column_methods_hash
        @dynamic_methods_hash ||= columns_hash.keys.inject(Hash.new(false)) do |methods, attr|
          methods[attr.to_sym]       = true
          methods["#{attr}=".to_sym] = true
          methods["#{attr}?".to_sym] = true
          methods
        end
      end
528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536
      
      # Resets all the cached information about columns, which will cause they to be reloaded on the next request.
      def reset_column_information
        @columns = @columns_hash = @content_columns = @dynamic_methods_hash = nil
      end

      def reset_column_information_and_inheritable_attributes_for_all_subclasses
        subclasses.each { |klass| klass.reset_inheritable_attributes; klass.reset_column_information }
      end
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544

      # Transforms attribute key names into a more humane format, such as "First name" instead of "first_name". Example:
      #   Person.human_attribute_name("first_name") # => "First name"
      def human_attribute_name(attribute_key_name)
        attribute_key_name.gsub(/_/, " ").capitalize unless attribute_key_name.nil?
      end
      
      def descends_from_active_record? # :nodoc:
545
        superclass == Base || !columns_hash.has_key?(inheritance_column)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
546 547
      end

548 549 550 551 552
      def quote(object)
        connection.quote(object)
      end

      # Used to sanitize objects before they're used in an SELECT SQL-statement. Delegates to <tt>connection.quote</tt>.
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
553
      def sanitize(object) # :nodoc:
554
        connection.quote(object)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577
      end

      # Used to aggregate logging and benchmark, so you can measure and represent multiple statements in a single block.
      # Usage (hides all the SQL calls for the individual actions and calculates total runtime for them all):
      #
      #   Project.benchmark("Creating project") do
      #     project = Project.create("name" => "stuff")
      #     project.create_manager("name" => "David")
      #     project.milestones << Milestone.find_all
      #   end
      def benchmark(title)
        result = nil
        logger.level = Logger::ERROR
        bm = Benchmark.measure { result = yield }
        logger.level = Logger::DEBUG
        logger.info "#{title} (#{sprintf("%f", bm.real)})"
        return result
      end

      private
        # Finder methods must instantiate through this method to work with the single-table inheritance model
        # that makes it possible to create objects of different types from the same table.
        def instantiate(record)
578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591
          require_association_class(record[inheritance_column])

          begin
            object = record_with_type?(record) ? compute_type(record[inheritance_column]).allocate : allocate
          rescue NameError
            raise(
              SubclassNotFound, 
              "The single-table inheritance mechanism failed to locate the subclass: '#{record[inheritance_column]}'. " +
              "This error is raised because the column '#{inheritance_column}' is reserved for storing the class in case of inheritance. " +
              "Please rename this column if you didn't intend it to be used for storing the inheritance class " +
              "or overwrite #{self.to_s}.inheritance_column to use another column for that information."
            )
          end

D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615
          object.instance_variable_set("@attributes", record)
          return object
        end
        
        # Returns true if the +record+ has a single table inheritance column and is using it.
        def record_with_type?(record)
          record.include?(inheritance_column) && !record[inheritance_column].nil? && 
            !record[inheritance_column].empty?
        end
        
        # Returns the name of the type of the record using the current module as a prefix. So descendents of
        # MyApp::Business::Account would be appear as "MyApp::Business::AccountSubclass".
        def type_name_with_module(type_name)
          self.name =~ /::/ ? self.name.scan(/(.*)::/).first.first + "::" + type_name : type_name
        end

        # Adds a sanitized version of +conditions+ to the +sql+ string. Note that it's the passed +sql+ string is changed.
        def add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
          sql << "WHERE #{sanitize_conditions(conditions)} " unless conditions.nil?
          sql << (conditions.nil? ? "WHERE " : " AND ") + type_condition unless descends_from_active_record?
        end
        
        def type_condition
          " (" + subclasses.inject("#{inheritance_column} = '#{Inflector.demodulize(name)}' ") do |condition, subclass| 
616
            condition << "OR #{inheritance_column} = '#{Inflector.demodulize(subclass.name)}' "
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655
          end + ") "
        end

        # Guesses the table name, but does not decorate it with prefix and suffix information.
        def undecorated_table_name(class_name = class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self))
          table_name = Inflector.underscore(Inflector.demodulize(class_name))
          table_name = Inflector.pluralize(table_name) if pluralize_table_names
          return table_name
        end


      protected
        def subclasses
          @@subclasses[self] ||= []
          @@subclasses[self] + extra = @@subclasses[self].inject([]) {|list, subclass| list + subclass.subclasses }
        end
      
        # Returns the class type of the record using the current module as a prefix. So descendents of
        # MyApp::Business::Account would be appear as MyApp::Business::AccountSubclass.
        def compute_type(type_name)
          type_name_with_module(type_name).split("::").inject(Object) do |final_type, part| 
            final_type = final_type.const_get(part)
          end
        end

        # Returns the name of the class descending directly from ActiveRecord in the inheritance hierarchy.
        def class_name_of_active_record_descendant(klass)
          if klass.superclass == Base
            return klass.name
          elsif klass.superclass.nil?
            raise ActiveRecordError, "#{name} doesn't belong in a hierarchy descending from ActiveRecord"
          else
            class_name_of_active_record_descendant(klass.superclass)
          end
        end

        # Accepts either a condition array or string. The string is returned untouched, but the array has each of
        # the condition values sanitized.
        def sanitize_conditions(conditions)
656 657
          return conditions unless conditions.is_a?(Array)

658
          statement, *values = conditions
659

660 661 662 663 664
          if values[0].is_a?(Hash) && statement =~ /:\w+/
            replace_named_bind_variables(statement, values[0])
          elsif statement =~ /\?/ 
            replace_bind_variables(statement, values)
          else
665
            statement % values.collect { |value| connection.quote_string(value.to_s) }
666
          end
667 668 669
        end

        def replace_bind_variables(statement, values)
670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678
          orig_statement = statement.clone
          expected_number_of_variables = statement.count('?')
          provided_number_of_variables = values.size

          unless expected_number_of_variables == provided_number_of_variables
            raise PreparedStatementInvalid, "wrong number of bind variables (#{provided_number_of_variables} for #{expected_number_of_variables})"
          end

          until values.empty?
679
            statement.sub!(/\?/, encode_quoted_value(values.shift))
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
680
          end
681 682 683 684 685 686 687
          
          statement.gsub('?') { |all, match| connection.quote(values.shift) }
        end

        def replace_named_bind_variables(statement, values_hash)
          orig_statement = statement.clone
          values_hash.keys.each do |k|
688
            if statement.sub!(/:#{k.id2name}/, encode_quoted_value(values_hash.delete(k))).nil?
689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697
              raise PreparedStatementInvalid, ":#{k} is not a variable in [#{orig_statement}]"
            end
          end

          if statement =~ /(:\w+)/
            raise PreparedStatementInvalid, "No value provided for #{$1} in [#{orig_statement}]"
          end

          return statement
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
698
        end
699 700 701 702 703 704
        
        def encode_quoted_value(value)
          quoted_value = connection.quote(value)
          quoted_value = "'#{quoted_value[1..-2].gsub(/\'/, "\\\\'")}'" if quoted_value.include?("\\\'")          
          quoted_value
        end
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725
    end

    public
      # New objects can be instantiated as either empty (pass no construction parameter) or pre-set with
      # attributes but not yet saved (pass a hash with key names matching the associated table column names).
      # In both instances, valid attribute keys are determined by the column names of the associated table -- 
      # hence you can't have attributes that aren't part of the table columns.
      def initialize(attributes = nil)
        @attributes = attributes_from_column_definition
        @new_record = true
        ensure_proper_type
        self.attributes = attributes unless attributes.nil?
        yield self if block_given?
      end
      
      # Every Active Record class must use "id" as their primary ID. This getter overwrites the native
      # id method, which isn't being used in this context.
      def id
        read_attribute(self.class.primary_key)
      end
      
726 727 728 729
      def quoted_id
        quote(id, self.class.columns_hash[self.class.primary_key])
      end
      
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752
      # Sets the primary ID.
      def id=(value)
        write_attribute(self.class.primary_key, value)
      end
      
      # Returns true if this object hasn't been saved yet -- that is, a record for the object doesn't exist yet.
      def new_record?
        @new_record
      end
      
      # * No record exists: Creates a new record with values matching those of the object attributes.
      # * A record does exist: Updates the record with values matching those of the object attributes.
      def save
        create_or_update
        return true
      end
    
      # Deletes the record in the database and freezes this instance to reflect that no changes should
      # be made (since they can't be persisted).
      def destroy
        unless new_record?
          connection.delete(
            "DELETE FROM #{self.class.table_name} " + 
753
            "WHERE #{self.class.primary_key} = #{quote(id)}", 
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853
            "#{self.class.name} Destroy"
          )
        end

        freeze
      end

      # Returns a clone of the record that hasn't been assigned an id yet and is treated as a new record.
      def clone
        attr = Hash.new

        self.attribute_names.each do |name|
          begin
            attr[name] = read_attribute(name).clone
          rescue TypeError
            attr[name] = read_attribute(name)
          end
        end

        cloned_record = self.class.new(attr)
        cloned_record.instance_variable_set "@new_record", true
        cloned_record.id = nil
        cloned_record
      end
            
      # Updates a single attribute and saves the record. This is especially useful for boolean flags on existing records.
      def update_attribute(name, value)
        self[name] = value
        save
      end

      # Returns the value of attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> after it has been type cast (for example, 
      # "2004-12-12" in a data column is cast to a date object, like Date.new(2004, 12, 12)).
      # (Alias for the protected read_attribute method).
      def [](attr_name) 
        read_attribute(attr_name)
      end
      
      # Updates the attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> with the specified +value+.
      # (Alias for the protected write_attribute method).
      def []= (attr_name, value) 
        write_attribute(attr_name, value)
      end

      # Allows you to set all the attributes at once by passing in a hash with keys
      # matching the attribute names (which again matches the column names). Sensitive attributes can be protected
      # from this form of mass-assignment by using the +attr_protected+ macro. Or you can alternatively
      # specify which attributes *can* be accessed in with the +attr_accessible+ macro. Then all the
      # attributes not included in that won't be allowed to be mass-assigned.
      def attributes=(attributes)
        return if attributes.nil?

        multi_parameter_attributes = []
        remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes).each do |k, v| 
          k.include?("(") ? multi_parameter_attributes << [ k, v ] : send(k + "=", v)
        end
        assign_multiparameter_attributes(multi_parameter_attributes)
      end

      # Returns true if the specified +attribute+ has been set by the user or by a database load and is neither
      # nil nor empty? (the latter only applies to objects that responds to empty?, most notably Strings).
      def attribute_present?(attribute)
        is_empty = read_attribute(attribute).respond_to?("empty?") ? read_attribute(attribute).empty? : false
        @attributes.include?(attribute) && !@attributes[attribute].nil? && !is_empty
      end

      # Returns an array of names for the attributes available on this object sorted alphabetically.
      def attribute_names
        @attributes.keys.sort
      end

      # Returns the column object for the named attribute.
      def column_for_attribute(name)
        self.class.columns_hash[name]
      end
            
      # Returns true if the +comparison_object+ is of the same type and has the same id.
      def ==(comparison_object)
        comparison_object.instance_of?(self.class) && comparison_object.id == id
      end

      # Delegates to ==
      def eql?(comparison_object)
        self == (comparison_object)
      end
      
      # Delegates to id in order to allow two records of the same type and id to work with something like:
      #   [ Person.find(1), Person.find(2), Person.find(3) ] & [ Person.find(1), Person.find(4) ] # => [ Person.find(1) ]
      def hash
        id
      end

      # For checking respond_to? without searching the attributes (which is faster).
      alias_method :respond_to_without_attributes?, :respond_to?

      # A Person object with a name attribute can ask person.respond_to?("name"), person.respond_to?("name="), and
      # person.respond_to?("name?") which will all return true.
      def respond_to?(method)
        self.class.column_methods_hash[method.to_sym] || respond_to_without_attributes?(method)
      end
854
      
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863
    private
      def create_or_update
        if new_record? then create else update end
      end

      # Updates the associated record with values matching those of the instant attributes.
      def update
        connection.update(
          "UPDATE #{self.class.table_name} " +
864
          "SET #{quoted_comma_pair_list(connection, attributes_with_quotes(false))} " +
865
          "WHERE #{self.class.primary_key} = #{quote(id)}",
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999
          "#{self.class.name} Update"
        )
      end

      # Creates a new record with values matching those of the instant attributes.
      def create
        self.id = connection.insert(
          "INSERT INTO #{self.class.table_name} " +
          "(#{quoted_column_names.join(', ')}) " +
          "VALUES(#{attributes_with_quotes.values.join(', ')})",
          "#{self.class.name} Create",
          self.class.primary_key, self.id
        )
        
        @new_record = false
      end

      # Sets the attribute used for single table inheritance to this class name if this is not the ActiveRecord descendant. 
      # Considering the hierarchy Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, this makes it possible to do Reply.new without having to 
      # set Reply[Reply.inheritance_column] = "Reply" yourself. No such attribute would be set for objects of the 
      # Message class in that example.
      def ensure_proper_type
        unless self.class.descends_from_active_record?
          write_attribute(self.class.inheritance_column, Inflector.demodulize(self.class.name))
        end
      end

      # Allows access to the object attributes, which are held in the @attributes hash, as were
      # they first-class methods. So a Person class with a name attribute can use Person#name and
      # Person#name= and never directly use the attributes hash -- except for multiple assigns with
      # ActiveRecord#attributes=. A Milestone class can also ask Milestone#completed? to test that
      # the completed attribute is not nil or 0. 
      #
      # It's also possible to instantiate related objects, so a Client class belonging to the clients
      # table with a master_id foreign key can instantiate master through Client#master.
      def method_missing(method_id, *arguments)
        method_name = method_id.id2name
      
      
      
        if method_name =~ read_method? && @attributes.include?($1)
          return read_attribute($1)
        elsif method_name =~ write_method? && @attributes.include?($1)
          write_attribute($1, arguments[0])
        elsif method_name =~ query_method? && @attributes.include?($1)
          return query_attribute($1)
        else
          super
        end
      end

      def read_method?()  /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)[^=?]*$/ end
      def write_method?() /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)=.*$/    end
      def query_method?() /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)\?$/     end

      # Returns the value of attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> after it has been type cast (for example, 
      # "2004-12-12" in a data column is cast to a date object, like Date.new(2004, 12, 12)).
      def read_attribute(attr_name) #:doc:
        if @attributes.keys.include? attr_name
          if column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
            @attributes[attr_name] = unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column) ?
              unserialize_attribute(attr_name) : column.type_cast(@attributes[attr_name])
          end
          
          @attributes[attr_name]
        else
          nil
        end
      end

      # Returns true if the attribute is of a text column and marked for serialization.
      def unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column)
        @attributes[attr_name] && column.send(:type) == :text && @attributes[attr_name].is_a?(String) && self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]
      end

      # Returns the unserialized object of the attribute.
      def unserialize_attribute(attr_name)
        unserialized_object = object_from_yaml(@attributes[attr_name])

        if unserialized_object.is_a?(self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name])
          @attributes[attr_name] = unserialized_object
        else
          raise(
            SerializationTypeMismatch, 
            "#{attr_name} was supposed to be a #{self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]}, " +
            "but was a #{unserialized_object.class.to_s}"
          )
        end
      end

      # Updates the attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> with the specified +value+. Empty strings for fixnum and float
      # columns are turned into nil.
      def write_attribute(attr_name, value) #:doc:
        @attributes[attr_name] = empty_string_for_number_column?(attr_name, value) ? nil : value
      end

      def empty_string_for_number_column?(attr_name, value)
        column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
        column && (column.klass == Fixnum || column.klass == Float) && value == ""
      end

      def query_attribute(attr_name)
        attribute = @attributes[attr_name]
        if attribute.kind_of?(Fixnum) && attribute == 0
          false
        elsif attribute.kind_of?(String) && attribute == "0"
          false
        elsif attribute.kind_of?(String) && attribute.empty?
          false
        elsif attribute.nil?
          false
        elsif attribute == false
          false
        elsif attribute == "f"
          false
        elsif attribute == "false"
          false
        else
          true
        end
      end

      def remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes)
        if self.class.accessible_attributes.nil? && self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
          attributes.reject { |key, value| key == self.class.primary_key }
        elsif self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
          attributes.reject { |key, value| !self.class.accessible_attributes.include?(key.intern) || key == self.class.primary_key }
        elsif self.class.accessible_attributes.nil?
          attributes.reject { |key, value| self.class.protected_attributes.include?(key.intern) || key == self.class.primary_key }
        end
      end

      # Returns copy of the attributes hash where all the values have been safely quoted for use in
      # an SQL statement. 
1000
      def attributes_with_quotes(include_primary_key = true)
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
1001 1002
        columns_hash = self.class.columns_hash
        @attributes.inject({}) do |attrs_quoted, pair| 
1003
          attrs_quoted[pair.first] = quote(pair.last, columns_hash[pair.first]) unless !include_primary_key && pair.first == self.class.primary_key
D
Initial  
David Heinemeier Hansson 已提交
1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116
          attrs_quoted
        end
      end
      
      # Quote strings appropriately for SQL statements.
      def quote(value, column = nil)
        connection.quote(value, column)
      end

      # Interpolate custom sql string in instance context.
      # Optional record argument is meant for custom insert_sql.
      def interpolate_sql(sql, record = nil)
        instance_eval("%(#{sql})")
      end

      # Initializes the attributes array with keys matching the columns from the linked table and
      # the values matching the corresponding default value of that column, so
      # that a new instance, or one populated from a passed-in Hash, still has all the attributes
      # that instances loaded from the database would.
      def attributes_from_column_definition
        connection.columns(self.class.table_name, "#{self.class.name} Columns").inject({}) do |attributes, column| 
          attributes[column.name] = column.default unless column.name == self.class.primary_key
          attributes
        end
      end

      # Instantiates objects for all attribute classes that needs more than one constructor parameter. This is done
      # by calling new on the column type or aggregation type (through composed_of) object with these parameters.
      # So having the pairs written_on(1) = "2004", written_on(2) = "6", written_on(3) = "24", will instantiate
      # written_on (a date type) with Date.new("2004", "6", "24"). You can also specify a typecast character in the
      # parenteses to have the parameters typecasted before they're used in the constructor. Use i for Fixnum, f for Float,
      # s for String, and a for Array. If all the values for a given attribute is empty, the attribute will be set to nil.
      def assign_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
        execute_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(
          extract_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
        )
      end
      
      # Includes an ugly hack for Time.local instead of Time.new because the latter is reserved by Time itself.
      def execute_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(callstack)
        callstack.each do |name, values|
          klass = (self.class.reflect_on_aggregation(name) || column_for_attribute(name)).klass
          if values.empty?
            send(name + "=", nil)
          else
            send(name + "=", Time == klass ? klass.local(*values) : klass.new(*values))
          end
        end
      end
      
      def extract_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
        attributes = { }

        for pair in pairs
          multiparameter_name, value = pair
          attribute_name = multiparameter_name.split("(").first
          attributes[attribute_name] = [] unless attributes.include?(attribute_name)

          unless value.empty?
            attributes[attribute_name] << 
              [find_parameter_position(multiparameter_name), type_cast_attribute_value(multiparameter_name, value)]
          end
        end

        attributes.each { |name, values| attributes[name] = values.sort_by{ |v| v.first }.collect { |v| v.last } }
      end
      
      def type_cast_attribute_value(multiparameter_name, value)
        multiparameter_name =~ /\([0-9]*([a-z])\)/ ? value.send("to_" + $1) : value
      end
      
      def find_parameter_position(multiparameter_name)
        multiparameter_name.scan(/\(([0-9]*).*\)/).first.first
      end
      
      # Returns a comma-separated pair list, like "key1 = val1, key2 = val2".
      def comma_pair_list(hash)
        hash.inject([]) { |list, pair| list << "#{pair.first} = #{pair.last}" }.join(", ")
      end

      def quoted_column_names(attributes = attributes_with_quotes)
        attributes.keys.collect { |column_name| connection.quote_column_name(column_name) }
      end

      def quote_columns(column_quoter, hash)
        hash.inject({}) {|list, pair|
          list[column_quoter.quote_column_name(pair.first)] = pair.last
          list
        }
      end

      def quoted_comma_pair_list(column_quoter, hash)
        comma_pair_list(quote_columns(column_quoter, hash))
      end

      def object_from_yaml(string)
        return string unless String === string
        if has_yaml_encoding_header?(string)
          begin
            YAML::load(string)
          rescue Object
            # Apparently wasn't YAML anyway
            string
          end
        else
          string
        end
      end

      def has_yaml_encoding_header?(string)
        string[0..3] == "--- "
      end
  end
1117
end