module ActiveRecord::AttributeMethods

def self.included(base)

def self.included(base)
  base.extend ClassMethods
  base.attribute_method_suffix(*DEFAULT_SUFFIXES)
  base.cattr_accessor :attribute_types_cached_by_default, :instance_writer => false
  base.attribute_types_cached_by_default = ATTRIBUTE_TYPES_CACHED_BY_DEFAULT
  base.cattr_accessor :time_zone_aware_attributes, :instance_writer => false
  base.time_zone_aware_attributes = false
  base.class_inheritable_accessor :skip_time_zone_conversion_for_attributes, :instance_writer => false
  base.skip_time_zone_conversion_for_attributes = []
end

def attribute=(attribute_name, value)

Handle *= for method_missing.
def attribute=(attribute_name, value)
  write_attribute(attribute_name, value)
end

def attribute?(attribute_name)

Handle *? for method_missing.
def attribute?(attribute_name)
  query_attribute(attribute_name)
end

def attribute_before_type_cast(attribute_name)

Handle *_before_type_cast for method_missing.
def attribute_before_type_cast(attribute_name)
  read_attribute_before_type_cast(attribute_name)
end

def method_missing(method_id, *args, &block)

table with a +master_id+ foreign key can instantiate master through Client#master.
It's also possible to instantiate related objects, so a Client class belonging to the clients

the completed attribute is not +nil+ or 0.
ActiveRecord#attributes=. A Milestone class can also ask Milestone#completed? to test that
Person#name= and never directly use the attributes hash -- except for multiple assigns with
were first-class methods. So a Person class with a name attribute can use Person#name and
Allows access to the object attributes, which are held in the @attributes hash, as though they
def method_missing(method_id, *args, &block)
  method_name = method_id.to_s
  if self.class.private_method_defined?(method_name)
    raise NoMethodError.new("Attempt to call private method", method_name, args)
  end
  # If we haven't generated any methods yet, generate them, then
  # see if we've created the method we're looking for.
  if !self.class.generated_methods?
    self.class.define_attribute_methods
    if self.class.generated_methods.include?(method_name)
      return self.send(method_id, *args, &block)
    end
  end
  
  if self.class.primary_key.to_s == method_name
    id
  elsif md = self.class.match_attribute_method?(method_name)
    attribute_name, method_type = md.pre_match, md.to_s
    if @attributes.include?(attribute_name)
      __send__("attribute#{method_type}", attribute_name, *args, &block)
    else
      super
    end
  elsif @attributes.include?(method_name)
    read_attribute(method_name)
  else
    super
  end
end

def missing_attribute(attr_name, stack)

def missing_attribute(attr_name, stack)
  raise ActiveRecord::MissingAttributeError, "missing attribute: #{attr_name}", stack
end

def query_attribute(attr_name)

def query_attribute(attr_name)
  unless value = read_attribute(attr_name)
    false
  else
    column = self.class.columns_hash[attr_name]
    if column.nil?
      if Numeric === value || value !~ /[^0-9]/
        !value.to_i.zero?
      else
        return false if ActiveRecord::ConnectionAdapters::Column::FALSE_VALUES.include?(value)
        !value.blank?
      end
    elsif column.number?
      !value.zero?
    else
      !value.blank?
    end
  end
end

def read_attribute(attr_name)

"2004-12-12" in a data column is cast to a date object, like Date.new(2004, 12, 12)).
Returns the value of the attribute identified by attr_name after it has been typecast (for example,
def read_attribute(attr_name)
  attr_name = attr_name.to_s
  if !(value = @attributes[attr_name]).nil?
    if column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
      if unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column)
        unserialize_attribute(attr_name)
      else
        column.type_cast(value)
      end
    else
      value
    end
  else
    nil
  end
end

def read_attribute_before_type_cast(attr_name)

def read_attribute_before_type_cast(attr_name)
  @attributes[attr_name]
end

def respond_to?(method, include_private_methods = false)

def respond_to?(method, include_private_methods = false)
  method_name = method.to_s
  if super
    return true
  elsif !include_private_methods && super(method, true)
    # If we're here than we haven't found among non-private methods
    # but found among all methods. Which means that given method is private.
    return false
  elsif !self.class.generated_methods?
    self.class.define_attribute_methods
    if self.class.generated_methods.include?(method_name)
      return true
    end
  end
    
  if @attributes.nil?
    return super
  elsif @attributes.include?(method_name)
    return true
  elsif md = self.class.match_attribute_method?(method_name)
    return true if @attributes.include?(md.pre_match)
  end
  super
end

def unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column)

Returns true if the attribute is of a text column and marked for serialization.
def unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column)
  column.text? && self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]
end

def unserialize_attribute(attr_name)

Returns the unserialized object of the attribute.
def unserialize_attribute(attr_name)
  unserialized_object = object_from_yaml(@attributes[attr_name])
  if unserialized_object.is_a?(self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]) || unserialized_object.nil?
    @attributes.frozen? ? unserialized_object : @attributes[attr_name] = unserialized_object
  else
    raise SerializationTypeMismatch,
      "#{attr_name} was supposed to be a #{self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]}, but was a #{unserialized_object.class.to_s}"
  end
end

def write_attribute(attr_name, value)

columns are turned into +nil+.
Updates the attribute identified by attr_name with the specified +value+. Empty strings for fixnum and float
def write_attribute(attr_name, value)
  attr_name = attr_name.to_s
  @attributes_cache.delete(attr_name)
  if (column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)) && column.number?
    @attributes[attr_name] = convert_number_column_value(value)
  else
    @attributes[attr_name] = value
  end
end