Serialize attributes like a boss 
This gem adds helper methods to serialize AR model simple text attribute to an array or hash, handles the field updates and allows to perform per-item validation.
Installation
Add this line to your application's Gemfile:
gem 'serialize-list-attribute'
And then execute:
$ bundle
Or install it yourself as:
$ gem install serialize-list-attribute
Usage
Example: we store emails recipients as simple text field, but want to operate them as it was an array and, into the bargain, perform internal validation on create/update.
In a model:
class MailingList < ActiveRecord::Base
attr_accessible :recipients
include SerializeListAttribute
# this will create an attr_writer with prefix 'raw_' sou you could use it in views to assign string
# values, not arrays/hashes, whereas the field itself (e.g. :recipients) will accept an array/hash.
serialize_list_attributes :recipients, validation_method: :validate_length
# validation method which is to be invoked on each recipients array item
def validate_length item, column
errors.add column, 'Should be 5 characters or longer!' if item.length < 5
end
endIn a view:
= semantic_form_for resource do |f|
= f.input :raw_recipients, as: :textContributing
- Fork it
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b my-new-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Add some feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin my-new-feature) - Create new Pull Request