Rails - Apr 2006 - Foreign Key naming convention override

I am working with an existing database and have to keep all table and 
field names as they are. ''tblcustomers'' and
''tblitems'' are linked by the
''tblcustomers'' id field ''tblcustomersid''. In
''tblitems'', the foreign key
is called ''txtcustomerid''.

I have already set the customers model to override the ''id''
naming
convention for the primary key by adding the following to the customers 
model.

     set_primary_key(:intcustomerid)

How do I tell rails to override the preferred name for the foreign key 
''txtcustomerid''? I have tried:

     set_foreign_key(:intcustomerid) and :foreign_key =>
"intcustomerid"

but neither work. I''m running out of ideas!

Thanks,
Alana

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Hi,

Can anyone help with this problem?

Alana

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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.

Alana wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Can anyone help with this problem?
> 
> Alana
You define custom foreign key when you define the relationship between 
the tables in your model file.
>From page 231 of Agile Web Development With Rails:
class LineItem < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :paid_order,
    :class_name => "Order,
    :foreign_key => "order_id",
    :conditions => "paid_on is not null"
end

so in your example you might say:

class Item < ActiveRecord::Base
  set_table_name "tblitems"
  belongs_to :customer,
    :foreign_key => "txtcustomersid"
end

and

class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
  set_table_name "tblcustomers"
  belongs_to :items,
    :foreign_key => "tblcustomerid"
end

Something like that.

Jeff

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Try here:
http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/pages/HowToUseLegacySchemas

Alana wrote:
> I am working with an existing database and have to keep all table and 
> field names as they are. ''tblcustomers'' and
''tblitems'' are linked by the
> ''tblcustomers'' id field
''tblcustomersid''. In ''tblitems'', the foreign
key
> is called ''txtcustomerid''.
> 
> I have already set the customers model to override the
''id'' naming
> convention for the primary key by adding the following to the customers 
> model.
> 
>      set_primary_key(:intcustomerid)
> 
> How do I tell rails to override the preferred name for the foreign key 
> ''txtcustomerid''? I have tried:
> 
>      set_foreign_key(:intcustomerid) and :foreign_key =>
"intcustomerid"
> 
> but neither work. I''m running out of ideas!
> 
> Thanks,
> Alana

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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your reply. How can the class be "Customer" when the table
is
called "tblcustomers"? should the class not be set to
"Tblcustomers"?
> class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
>   set_table_name "tblcustomers"
>   belongs_to :items,
>     :foreign_key => "tblcustomerid"
> end
Thanks,
Alana


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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.

Alana wrote:
> Hi Jeff,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. How can the class be "Customer" when the
table is
> called "tblcustomers"? should the class not be set to
"Tblcustomers"?
> 
>> class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
>>   set_table_name "tblcustomers"
>>   belongs_to :items,
>>     :foreign_key => "tblcustomerid"
>> end
> 
The code above says that the class Customer is mapped to the table 
''tblcustomers'' thanks to the set_table_name method, no ?

regards,

Barth

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Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.

Alana wrote:
> Hi Jeff,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. How can the class be "Customer" when the
table is
> called "tblcustomers"? should the class not be set to
"Tblcustomers"?
> 
>> class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
>>   set_table_name "tblcustomers"
>>   belongs_to :items,
>>     :foreign_key => "tblcustomerid"
>> end
> 
> Thanks,
> Alana
The "set_table_name" property lets you work with a legacy schema but 
still have readable code and class names.

Oh, and I made a mistake in the above code.  I believe what you''re 
describing for Customer and Item is a has_many relationship, where 
Customer has_many Items...

class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
  set_table_name "tblcustomers"
  has_many :items,
    :foreign_key => "tblcustomerid"
end

Jeff Coleman

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