# Extending AR to write audit columns

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/extending-ar-to-write-audit-columns/158765>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [January 27, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/extending-ar-to-write-audit-columns/158765 "2009-01-27T20:01:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/extending-ar-to-write-audit-columns/158765/1 "2009-01-27T20:01:52Z")

</div>

Rails 2.2.2  
Ruby 1.8.5

I am attempting to extend AR with a generalized audit attribute setter.  
I have written this code, which does not work for reasons unknown to me.  
Perhaps someone here can explain why it does not.

# Put this in config/initializer as active\_record\_addins.rb

module ActiveRecord

module HLLAuditStamps

```
def self.included(base)
  super
  # alias_method_chain :create, :audit
  # is the same as:
  # alias_method :create_without_audit, :create
  # alias_method :create, :create_with_audit

  base.alias_method_chain :create, :audit
  base.alias_method_chain :update, :audit

end

private

def create_with_audit
  write_audit_fields
  # Now we call our alias to the original method
  create_without_audit
end

def normal_time_now
  if base.class.default_timezone == :utc
    return DateTime.now.utc
  else
    return DateTime.now
  end
end

def update_with_audit
  write_audit_fields
  update_without_audit
end

def write_audit_fields
  write_attribute('accessed_at', normal_time_now) if \
      respond_to?('accessed_at')
  write_attribute('accessed_on', normal_time_now) if \
      respond_to?('accessed_on')
end

```

end

end

What I intend is that whenever the AR create or update method is called  
then the attributes specified in write\_audit\_fields are set to the value  
provided by normal\_time\_now. They are not and I cannot tell why.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/extending-ar-to-write-audit-columns/158765/2 "2009-01-27T23:31:34Z")

</div>

James B. wrote:

> Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?

Sorry this isn’t a direct answer to your question, but I just wanted to  
ask if you have looked at any of the existing auditing plugins to see if  
they support your needs?

For example:

> **[GitHub - collectiveidea/acts\_as\_audited: acts\_as\_audited is now… Audited.](https://github.com/collectiveidea/acts_as_audited/tree/master)**
>
> master

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/extending-ar-to-write-audit-columns/158765/3 "2009-01-28T01:38:54Z")

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Robert W. wrote:

> James B. wrote:
> 
> > Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?
> 
> Sorry this isn’t a direct answer to your question, but I just wanted to  
> ask if you have looked at any of the existing auditing plugins to see if  
> they support your needs?
> 
> For example:  
> [GitHub - collectiveidea/acts\_as\_audited: acts\_as\_audited is now… Audited.](http://github.com/collectiveidea/acts_as_audited/tree/master)

Despite the similarity of nomenclature, what I wish to do is different  
than the service provided by that plugin, or acts\_as\_versioned, etc.  
The example code given above is a minimalist representation of my  
situation.

I have since read that the technique I am trying to employ has been  
broken by a change to Rails ([http://dev.rubyonrails.org/changeset/7749](http://dev.rubyonrails.org/changeset/7749))  
but I have been unable to discover a working alternative.