Rails not setting NULL for text fields in DB?

Question

I'm using ActiveAdmin and if I edit an entry and leave a TEXT field blank, in the db it gets set as empty string -- when it really should be getting set as NULL (and NULL is allowed on the schema for those fields).

Has anyone else encountered this issue and solved it?

I would consider this a feature, not an issue. NULL fields in the database should be avoided if possible. They generally just mess up data integrity and can create a whole bunch of problems for you as a developer. Is there an actual reason you want (or need) NULL values in your database? You can read about some of the problems NULL values can cause here: databasedesign-resource.com/null-values-in-a-database.html — Frost
– Frost, Commented Dec 18, 2011 at 13:02

Amadan · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-18 13:28:41Z

5

(Moved from comments, as I found more and more to say about it):

I haven't used ActiveAdmin, but... Any reason why an empty string wouldn't be stored as an empty string but a NULL?

I think the empty-string-to-Nil conversion should never be automatic, since it violates least surprise. I'd appreciate a doc reference stating the opposite if I'm wrong...

As for solving it, I'd guess this might do the trick:

before_validation do
  self.mytextfield = nil if self.mytextfield && self.mytextfield.empty?
end

Or, more systemic, this gem.

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  nilify_blanks :only => [:mytextfield]
end

edited Dec 18, 2011 at 13:28

answered Dec 18, 2011 at 13:04

Amadan

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