has_overrides

This ActiveRecord plugin allows you to define methods that override attribute getters and setters using a very natural, object-oriented syntax where super works just like you'd expect it to, instead of using the awkward read_attribute and write_attribute methods.

This plugin is actually quite simple, weighing in at less than 60 lines of code, and relying on the power of ruby's singleton class to make object orientation work.

Example

To use, simply define your attributes in a sub-module named "Overrides" and declare that the class has_overrides.

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base

  has_overrides

  module Overrides
    def title=(t)
      super(t.titleize)
    end
  end
end

Once you've done that things just work:

$ ./script/console 
Loading development environment (Rails 2.3.2)
>> post = Post.new(:title => "a simple title")
=> #<Post id: nil, title: "A Simple Title", body: nil, created_at: nil, updated_at: nil>
>> another_post = Post.create(:title => "this is created just now")
=> #<Post id: 3, title: "This Is Created Just Now", body: nil, created_at: "2009-07-03 04:41:50", updated_at: "2009-07-03 04:41:50">
>> post.title = "another simple title"
=> "another simple title"
>> post.title
=> "Another Simple Title"
>> post.update_attributes(:title => "updated title")
=> true
>> post.title
=> "Updated Title"
>> post.update_attribute(:title, "singly updated title")
=> true
>> post.title
=> "Singly Updated Title"

Copyright (c) 2009 Christopher M. Eppstein, released under the MIT license