When adding a hash to an array, rails convert it to a string

Question

Im trying to add a hash to an array like this :

rejects = self.user.rejects
rejects << {name: self.originalname, reason: reason}

User rejects is an array. Here's the migration line :

t.string :rejects, array: true, default: []

But I get something like this as the output :

["{:name=>\"wallhaven-56800.jpg\", :reason=>\"Quality not good enough\"}"]

How can I fix this?

Then don't add it to a string? You see where you define it as a string? — Dave Newton, Mar 29 '15 at 13:04
@DaveNewton Ah.. in the migration right? Actually, that's how we can define arrays in the migration. IS there a different way? — THpubs, Mar 29 '15 at 13:22
@DaveNewton When I check the type of it like this `User.first.rejects.class` it returned `array` — THpubs, Mar 29 '15 at 13:27
Oh, also double-check that `<<` ends up doing what you need it to--I vaguely recall an issue with how attribute tracking works and the shift operators, but that was some time ago and it may be different now. Make sure to check. — Dave Newton, Mar 29 '15 at 13:40
@DaveNewton I used `.push` instead of `<<`, still have the same problem! — THpubs, Mar 29 '15 at 14:01
... The two issues are not related. You've declared the variable an array of strings. If you want to serialize a hash, then declare the column as serialized. The `<<` v. `push` is a completely different (potential) issue; it used to be a "gotcha", I don't know if it is now or not. — Dave Newton, Mar 29 '15 at 14:15
@DaveNewton I added serialize in the model. Still the same problem — THpubs, Mar 29 '15 at 14:50
You need to show what, specifically, you have in your DB migration now (e.g., you don't want an array if you're serializing) *and* in your model. There are examples of serialization all over--I'd consider finding one of those examples, e.g., http://stackoverflow.com/q/6694432/438992, http://viget.com/extend/how-i-used-activerecord-serialize-with-a-custom-data-type, or whatever. — Dave Newton, Mar 29 '15 at 14:55

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 29 '15 at 18:13

I would try something like this:

rejects = []

#inside your loop:
the_hash = {}
the_hash[:name] = self.original_name
the_hash[:reason] = reason
rejects << the_hash

That may not be the most efficient, I'm sure you could get it all on one line even, but that is a good start.

When adding a hash to an array, rails convert it to a string

1 Answers1