class ActiveRecord::Reflection::AssociationReflection

:nodoc:
Active Record class.
Holds all the meta-data about an association as it was specified in the

def active_record_primary_key

def active_record_primary_key
  @active_record_primary_key ||= options[:primary_key] || primary_key(active_record)
end

def association_class

def association_class
  case macro
  when :belongs_to
    if options[:polymorphic]
      Associations::BelongsToPolymorphicAssociation
    else
      Associations::BelongsToAssociation
    end
  when :has_and_belongs_to_many
    Associations::HasAndBelongsToManyAssociation
  when :has_many
    if options[:through]
      Associations::HasManyThroughAssociation
    else
      Associations::HasManyAssociation
    end
  when :has_one
    if options[:through]
      Associations::HasOneThroughAssociation
    else
      Associations::HasOneAssociation
    end
  end
end

def association_foreign_key

def association_foreign_key
  @association_foreign_key ||= options[:association_foreign_key] || class_name.foreign_key
end

def association_primary_key(klass = nil)

klass option is necessary to support loading polymorphic associations
def association_primary_key(klass = nil)
  options[:primary_key] || primary_key(klass || self.klass)
end

def belongs_to?

Returns +true+ if +self+ is a +belongs_to+ reflection.
def belongs_to?
  macro == :belongs_to
end

def build_association(attributes, &block)

be passed to the class's constructor.
Returns a new, unsaved instance of the associated class. +attributes+ will
def build_association(attributes, &block)
  klass.new(attributes, &block)
end

def chain

ThroughReflection.
A chain of reflections from this one back to the owner. For more see the explanation in
def chain
  [self]
end

def check_validity!

def check_validity!
  check_validity_of_inverse!
  if has_and_belongs_to_many? && association_foreign_key == foreign_key
    raise HasAndBelongsToManyAssociationForeignKeyNeeded.new(self)
  end
end

def check_validity_of_inverse!

def check_validity_of_inverse!
  unless options[:polymorphic]
    if has_inverse? && inverse_of.nil?
      raise InverseOfAssociationNotFoundError.new(self)
    end
  end
end

def collection?

+has_and_belongs_to_many+, +false+ otherwise.
association. Returns +true+ if the +macro+ is either +has_many+ or
Returns whether or not this association reflection is for a collection
def collection?
  @collection
end

def columns(tbl_name)

def columns(tbl_name)
  @columns ||= klass.connection.columns(tbl_name)
end

def counter_cache_column

def counter_cache_column
  if options[:counter_cache] == true
    "#{active_record.name.demodulize.underscore.pluralize}_count"
  elsif options[:counter_cache]
    options[:counter_cache].to_s
  end
end

def derive_class_name

def derive_class_name
  class_name = name.to_s.camelize
  class_name = class_name.singularize if collection?
  class_name
end

def derive_foreign_key

def derive_foreign_key
  if belongs_to?
    "#{name}_id"
  elsif options[:as]
    "#{options[:as]}_id"
  else
    active_record.name.foreign_key
  end
end

def derive_join_table

def derive_join_table
  [active_record.table_name, klass.table_name].sort.join("\0").gsub(/^(.*_)(.+)\0\1(.+)/, '\1\2_\3').gsub("\0", "_")
end

def foreign_key

def foreign_key
  @foreign_key ||= options[:foreign_key] || derive_foreign_key
end

def foreign_type

def foreign_type
  @foreign_type ||= options[:foreign_type] || "#{name}_type"
end

def has_and_belongs_to_many?

def has_and_belongs_to_many?
  macro == :has_and_belongs_to_many
end

def has_inverse?

def has_inverse?
  @options[:inverse_of]
end

def initialize(*args)

def initialize(*args)
  super
  @collection = [:has_many, :has_and_belongs_to_many].include?(macro)
end

def inverse_of

def inverse_of
  if has_inverse?
    @inverse_of ||= klass.reflect_on_association(options[:inverse_of])
  end
end

def join_table

def join_table
  @join_table ||= options[:join_table] || derive_join_table
end

def klass

instead. This allows plugins to hook into association object creation.
a new association object. Use +build_association+ or +create_association+
Note: Do not call +klass.new+ or +klass.create+ to instantiate

# => Book
Author.reflect_on_association(:books).klass

end
has_many :books
class Author < ActiveRecord::Base

Returns the target association's class.
:nodoc:
Active Record class.
Holds all the meta-data about an association as it was specified in the
def klass
  @klass ||= active_record.send(:compute_type, class_name)
end

def nested?

def nested?
  false
end

def polymorphic?

def polymorphic?
  options.key? :polymorphic
end

def polymorphic_inverse_of(associated_class)

def polymorphic_inverse_of(associated_class)
  if has_inverse?
    if inverse_relationship = associated_class.reflect_on_association(options[:inverse_of])
      inverse_relationship
    else
      raise InverseOfAssociationNotFoundError.new(self, associated_class)
    end
  end
end

def primary_key(klass)

def primary_key(klass)
  klass.primary_key || raise(UnknownPrimaryKey.new(klass))
end

def primary_key_column

def primary_key_column
  @primary_key_column ||= klass.columns.find { |c| c.name == klass.primary_key }
end

def quoted_table_name

def quoted_table_name
  @quoted_table_name ||= klass.quoted_table_name
end

def reset_column_information

def reset_column_information
  @columns = nil
end

def scope_chain

in the #chain.
An array of arrays of scopes. Each item in the outside array corresponds to a reflection
def scope_chain
  scope ? [[scope]] : [[]]
end

def source_reflection

def source_reflection
  nil
end

def table_name

def table_name
  @table_name ||= klass.table_name
end

def through_reflection

def through_reflection
  nil
end

def type

def type
  @type ||= options[:as] && "#{options[:as]}_type"
end

def validate?

* the association is a +has_many+ association
* you use autosave; autosave: true
* you explicitly enable validation; validate: true

validate: false, validation will take place when:
Unless you explicitly disable validation with

the parent's validation.
Returns whether or not the association should be validated as part of
def validate?
  !options[:validate].nil? ? options[:validate] : (options[:autosave] == true || macro == :has_many)
end