Question

I have a controller. In the controller I have two methods. I would like a variable whose value is set in method 1 to be accessible in method 2. Could I use an instance variable to achieve this?

Answer 1

Yes, you could use an instance variable for this as long as everything is happening in a single request.

So something like this:

class PancakesController < ApplicationController
  def where_is
    @house = Pancake.find(params[:id])
    render :json => mangle, :status => :ok
  end

private

  def mangle
    @house
  end
end

will work as expected. However, this sort of thing:

class PancakesController < ApplicationController
  def where_is
    @house = Pancake.find(params[:id])
    #...
  end

  def mangle
    if(@house)
      #...
    end
    #...
  end
end

won’t work if where_is and mangle are called in difference requests.

Remember that the lifetime of a controller instance is a single request.