Return Model and Associated Polymorphic Models - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am working with polymorphic associations and having some trouble. My models are setup like so:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
has_one :phone, :as => :callable, :dependent => :destroy
end
class Client < ActiveRecord::Base
has_one :phone, :as => :callable, :dependent => :destroy
end
class Phone < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :callable, :polymorphic => true
end
In my Users Controller
def create
#user = User.new(params[:user])
if #user.save
#user.phone.create(:area_code => params[:user][:area_code], :phone => params[:user][:phone])
redirect_to #user, :notice => "Account created successfully!"
else
render 'new'
end
end
In the development log I see where the phone and user are being inserted correctly, but when I go to edit the user, the fields for phone in the form are blank. Here is my edit method:
def edit_employee
#user = User.find(params[:id])
#title = "Edit #{#user.name}"
end
My edit user form looks like this.
- form_for #user do |f|
- if #user.errors.any?
.error_messages
%h2 Please correct the following errors
%ul
- for message in #user.errors.full_messages
%li= message
%p
= f.label :name, "Name"
= f.text_field :name
%p
= f.label :email, "Email Address"
= f.text_field :email
%p
= f.label :phone, "Phone"
= f.text_field :area_code, :style => "width: 50px;"
= f.text_field :phone, :style => "width: 100px;"
= f.label :ext, "Ext."
= f.text_field :extension, :style => "width: 60px;"
%p
= f.label :password, "Password"
= f.password_field :password
%p
= f.label :password_confirmation, "Confirm Password"
= f.password_field :password_confirmation
%p.button= f.submit
I know I should be adding something to this edit method, perhaps
#phone = #user.phone
But that didn't work either. This is the first go round with polymorphic associations so any help and and pointers are much appreciated. I watched the Railscasts on this topic but it didn't seem to follow my underlying functionality. Once again, thanks in advance for any help and let me know if any more information is needed!

Answer 1

you should look into using fields_for and nested_attributes. http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/NestedAttributes/ClassMethods.html
Do you have attr_accessible set in the user.rb model? If not I would add it because that is a security issue.

Answer 2

Ok I added the
accepts_nested_attributes_for :phone
in the user model. I also added the fields for phone in the new user form like so
%p
- fields_for #user.phone do |phone|
= phone.label :phone, "Phone"
= phone.text_field :area_code, :style => "width: 50px;"
= phone.text_field :phone, :style => "width: 100px;"
= phone.label :ext, "Ext."
= phone.text_field :extension, :style => "width: 60px;"
but now I am getting the ActionView::Template::Error (undefined method `model_name' for NilClass:Class) exception.
And yes I have attr_accessible in my model. I just placed a very watered down version in here.