Question

Assume this code

instance1 = MyModel.find(1)
instance2 = MyModel.find(1)

Is instance1.equals(instance2) true? (i.e. are they the same objects?)

And after this:

instance1.my_column = "new value"

Does instance2.my_column also contain “new value”?

Answer 1

No, it doesn’t. You can keep instance2 in sync with reload.

instance1 = MyModel.find(1)
instance2 = MyModel.find(1)

instance1.my_column = "new value"
instance2.my_column 
# => old value

instance1.save!
instance2.my_column 
# => old value

instance2.reload
instance2.my_column 
# => new value

Keep in mind you must save instance1 changes to the database.