userid cannot be both the primary key and a foreign key.
Rein
@member.matrix.new returns a new matrix object. you have to assign it to a variable:
def create @member = Member.new(params[:member]) @new_matrix = @member.matrix.new @new_matrix.userid = @member.userid @new_matrix.parent = params[:parent] .... end
about foreign keys: in the has_many, you define parent as the foreign key, in the belongs_to, you define userid as foreign key. but it has to be the same on both sides, otherwise it's no proper relation, legacy Database or not. You tell the Member model that is has many Matrix' associated through the parent column in the matrix table, but you tell the Matric Model that it belongs to a Member associated by the userid column in the matrix table ... it should say "parent" here to, because the table on the has_many side doesn't have a foreign key, only the belongs_ to side
You've defined userid as the primary key, which makes it accessable as id (ie @matrix.id) rather than userid. The problem here, though, is manifold:
Rails expects your database to be sane, which includes an id column that is a unique auto-incrementing integer.
Using it as a foreign key means that you'll have to *set* the primary key of the record, which is a huge no-no in both rails and database design and violates the auto-incrementing requirement.
Using is as a foreign key also implies that two records could share the same foreign key, and therefore the same primary key, which violates the unique requirement.
Rails can work with most legacy databases provided that they're relatively sane. Using a primary key as a foreign key is most definitely insane and I doubt you'd make that table work properly with or without rails.
Rein
