Question

Model Item belongs_to User.

In my controller I have code like this:

@items = Item.find(:all)

I need to have a corresponding User models for each item in my View templates.

it works in controller(but not in View template):

@items.each { |item| item.user }

But manual looping just to build associations for View template kinda smells.
How can I do this not in a creepy way?

Answer 1

Use the :include option for find:

@items = Item.find(:all, :include => :user)

Be sure to read the eager loading section under associations so you’re not doing a bunch of database lookups when they can be combined.