Retrieve data from join table - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am new in RoR and I am trying to write a query on a join table that retrieve all the data I need
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :forms, :through => :user_forms
end
class Form < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :users, :through => :user_forms
end
In my controller I can successfully retrieve all the forms of a user like this :
User.find(params[:u]).forms
Which gives me all the Form objects
But, I would like to add a new column in my join table (user_forms) that tells the status of the form (close, already filled, etc).
Is it possible to modify my query so that it can also retrieve columns from the user_forms table ?

Answer 1

it is possible. Once you've added the status column to user_forms, try the following
>> user = User.first
>> closed_forms = user.forms.where(user_forms: { status: 'closed' })
Take note that you don't need to add a joins because that's taken care of when you called user.forms.
UPDATE: to add an attribute from the user_forms table to the forms, try the following
>> closed_forms = user.forms.select('forms.*, user_forms.status as status')
>> closed_forms.first.status # should return the status of the form that is in the user_forms table

Answer 2

It is possible to do this using find_by_sql and literal sql. I do not know of a way to properly chain together rails query methods to create the same query, however.
But here's a modified example that I put together for a friend previously:
#user = User.find(params[:u])
#forms = #user.forms.find_by_sql("SELECT forms.*, user_forms.status as status FROM forms INNER JOIN user_forms ON forms.id = user_forms.form_id WHERE (user_forms.user_id = #{#user.id});")
And then you'll be able to do
#forms.first.status
and it'll act like status is just an attribute of the Form model.

Answer 3

First, I think you made a mistake.
When you have 2 models having has_many relations, you should set an has_and_belongs_to_many relation.
In most cases, 2 models are joined by
has_many - belongs_to
has_one - belongs_to
has_and_belongs_to_many - has_and_belongs_to_many
has_and_belongs_to_many is one of the solutions. But, if you choose it, you must create a join table named forms_users. Choose an has_and_belongs_to_many implies you can not set a status on the join table.
For it, you have to add a join table, with a form_id, a user_id and a status.
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :user_forms
has_many :forms, :through => :user_forms
end
class UserForm < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :user
belongs_to :form
end
class Form < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :user_forms
has_many :users, :through => :user_forms
end
Then, you can get
User.find(params[:u]).user_forms
Or
UserForm.find(:all,
:conditions => ["user_forms.user_id = ? AND user_forms.status = ?",
params[:u],
'close'
)
)

Answer 4

Given that status is really a property of Form, you probably want to add the status to the Forms table rather than the join table.
Then when you retrieve forms using your query, they will already have the status information retrieved with them i.e.
User.find(params[:u]).forms.each{ |form| puts form.status }
Additionally, if you wanted to find all the forms for a given user with a particular status, you can use queries like:
User.find(params[:u]).forms.where(status: 'closed')