Question

For example

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_one :avatar, :dependent => :destroy
end

class Avatar < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :user
end

What if I have a User with an Avatar and then do something like

old_avatar = user.avatar
new_avatar = Avatar.new
user.avatar = new_avatar
user.save
old_avatar.destroy

So I don’t want do the last command manually (destroy). Is there any options for has_many to autodestroy old object? Or many it’s better use something else instead of avatar= method?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Why not update old avatar instead of creating new one like:

avatar = Avatar.find_or_initialize_by_user_id(:user_id => user.id)
avatar.attributes = new_attributes
avatar.save

Also, you might create after_save callback inside Avatar model if you like.