Question

Here’s my view:

<%= check_box_tag :age_visible, 1, checked?(:age_visible) %>

This accesses the helper method:

def checked?(pref)
  if @user.preferences.pref == "1"
    true
  else
    false
  end
end

I want the helper to state:

if @user.preferences.age_visible == "1"

so it will check the database to see if the user has previously chosen to show their age and if so the check box will be checked; otherwise, not. Right now it simply passes false, but will pass true if I write out “@user.preferences.age_visible” in the helper. But, of course, I want to be able to use the helper for other attributes.

Answer 1

Davidb’s answer is correct, but for future cases where you want to call a method dynamically, you can use send. E.g. like this:

@user.preferences.send(:age_visible)

Just a little tip to make your helper more concise:

@user.preferences.send(pref) == "1"

already returns a boolean, so you can rewrite your helper like this:

def checked?(pref)
  @user.preferences.send(pref) == "1"
end