Alternative to create a table when number of Category instances is fixed/limited?

Question

My app will only have three instances of the model Category - "Published", "Draft", "Unpublished".

Instinctively it feels redundant to create a table for this.

I'm thinking of storing the three category titles in a Constant instead, but I don't know where the best place is to put the Constant such that it can be referenced by multiple models.

Is there any better solution to this, or am I overthinking the issue all together (i.e. should I just create a "normal" model class/table)?

"Just" referencing to them from other models, as if they would have ID keys. — Fellow Stranger, Apr 03 '14 at 11:27
Yea, you're right. After some consideration I'll go with a ActiveRecord::Base class. I'd need all ORM benefits. — Fellow Stranger, Apr 03 '14 at 16:15

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 03 '14 at 11:23

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An initializer file would be best suited to define those constants. Better yet, use configatron.

answered Apr 03 '14 at 11:23

Syed Aslam

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score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:28

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You need an enum. But Ruby doesn't have enums - so see this instead - Enums in Ruby

edited May 23 '17 at 12:28

Community

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answered Apr 03 '14 at 11:21

Separation of Concerns

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Alternative to create a table when number of Category instances is fixed/limited?

2 Answers2