Hello,
Hello.
How can I access these types in my controller. I'm trying the following
with my controller named Read:
def exm
a = Example.TYPE_A
end
That's not how class variables work. I haven't read it, but word on the street is `Ruby for Rails' by David A. Black is a good resource for learning Ruby with Rails. The Pickaxe is fantastic also (google: Ruby Pickaxe).
It won't allow me to declare the types and gives me a syntax error. Any
help would be appreciated. Aren't these just class variable
declarations and should be available through the class?
Yes. What you want is cattr_accessor. It works just like attr_accessor, but for class variables.
Class variables can be tricky. Check out this nutty blog post to understand their nuances: Sessions N Such — err.the_blog
Hi --
Hello,
Hello.
How can I access these types in my controller. I'm trying the
following
with my controller named Read:
def exm
a = Example.TYPE_A
end
That's not how class variables work. I haven't read it, but word on
the street is `Ruby for Rails' by David A. Black is a good resource
for learning Ruby with Rails. The Pickaxe is fantastic also (google:
Ruby Pickaxe).
I've responded in detail to Sam's question because my book, though
I'm happy to see it recommended, says very little about class
variables. I like to think it's not just because I dislike them, but
also because I really haven't seen very many reasons to use them.
People learning Rails will definitely want to know them when they see
them, but beyond that I didn't have much to say about them.
It won't allow me to declare the types and gives me a syntax
error. Any
help would be appreciated. Aren't these just class variable
declarations and should be available through the class?
Yes. What you want is cattr_accessor. It works just like
attr_accessor, but for class variables.
It's misnamed, though, because it implies that class variables can
store object "attribute" values. Since they cut across many objects,
they're not really representing any object's attributes.
Class variables can be tricky. Check out this nutty blog post to
understand their nuances: Sessions N Such — err.the_blog
I've just added a response to that post, which will save some space
here 
David
Great points and great comment. Thanks for the insight!
All of this makes this clear. I did want to mention that my use case for these class variables was not to actually write to them, but to just use them to define a set of possible values for a particular attribute in an object. In other words, they are sort of used as a constant, but within the scope of that class. I didn’t want to declare these outside of my model class as constants b/c there’s no reason why they should be available elsewhere.
If this design decision does not sound good, I’d like to know why.
Thanks.
