Rails 3 datatypes?

Question

Where can I find a list of data types that can be used in rails 3? (such as text, string, integer, float, date, etc.?) I keep randomly learning about new ones, but I'd love to have a list I could easily refer to.

score 270 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 31 '17 at 19:07

270

Here are all the Rails3 (ActiveRecord migration) datatypes:

:binary
:boolean
:date
:datetime
:decimal
:float
:integer
:primary_key
:references
:string
:text
:time
:timestamp

Source

edited Oct 31 '17 at 19:07

Xcodian Solangi

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answered Jun 27 '11 at 07:37

Nicolas Raoul

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and :references for polymorphic associations. See: http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/ConnectionAdapters/TableDefinition.html – Ethan Jan 25 '12 at 08:46
1

the guide has changed. Maybe a link to the relevant documentation should replace it. – Harry Moreno Jul 17 '13 at 21:21
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@HarryMoreno: Thanks for the tip! I updated the reference, please let me know if you find any better one. – Nicolas Raoul Jul 18 '13 at 03:41
References is not limited to polymorphic associations. And i would not count it as a datatype. – Pascal Aug 27 '13 at 13:24

gotqn · Answer 2 · 2013-07-26T12:47:17.937

67

It is important to know not only the types but the mapping of these types to the database types, too:

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For, example, note that in MS SQL Server we are using:

the old "datetime" instead "datetime2"
decimal with its default precision
text and varchar instead nvarchar
int (not possible to use tiny int/small int/big int)
image instead BLOB

edited Jul 26 '13 at 12:47

answered Apr 17 '13 at 21:00

gotqn

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As find from [this blog](http://ariejan.net/2009/08/20/once-and-for-all-rails-migrations-integer-limit-option/). The tinyint/smallint/bigint can be set by using :limit option with :integer. I have tested it on Rails 3 and MySQL, they are still working, just as said in the blog, they are signed integer. – RacsO Dec 18 '13 at 03:23

score 26 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 17 '15 at 14:23

26

Do you mean for defining active record migrations? or do you mean Ruby data types?

Here's a link that may help for creating migrations:

Orthogonal Thought - MySQL and Ruby on Rails datatypes

edited Jan 17 '15 at 14:23

Bill the Lizard

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answered Jan 13 '11 at 20:48

Tim Stephenson

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score 15 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:09

It might be helpful to know generally what these data types are used for:

binary - is for storing data such as images, audio, or movies.
boolean - is for storing true or false values.
date - store only the date
datetime - store the date and time into a column.
decimal - is for decimals.
float - is for decimals. (What's the difference between decimal and float?)
integer - is for whole numbers.
primary_key - unique key that can uniquely identify each row in a table
string - is for small data types such as a title. (Should you choose string or text?)
text - is for longer pieces of textual data, such as a paragraph of information.
time - is for time only
timestamp - for storing date and time into a column.

I hope that helps someone! Also, here's the official list: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/migrations.html#supported-types

Rails 3 datatypes?

4 Answers4

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