getting things done with active record

Mike Clark's Weblog
this is a run down on the use of active record for creating a rails based application. I keep meaning to find time to dig into rails... I'm going to put it on my laptop at work and see if I can manage some datasets that are so very awkward as excel spreadsheets!

Active Record is the object-relational mapping (ORM) layer that comes out-of-the-box with Rails. With zero coding and configuration you can create, read, update, and delete database rows all from the comfort of your very own domain models. But the story doesn't end there, nor should it. When you need to go beyond basic CRUD—to create complex queries, adapt to a legacy schema, or otherwise do advanced stuff with your persistent data—Active Record gently hands over the controls. Herewith, I offer two examples from this week's project adventures.