# No duplicate records to model with FasterCSV

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/no-duplicate-records-to-model-with-fastercsv/179794>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [December 3, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/no-duplicate-records-to-model-with-fastercsv/179794 "2009-12-03T21:44:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jmaenpaa](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jmaenpaa](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jmaenpaa)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/no-duplicate-records-to-model-with-fastercsv/179794/1 "2009-12-03T21:44:01Z")

</div>

Hello all,  
I’m not sure if this is the best place to post but…

Here’s what I’m doing.  
I’m reading/saving a csv to a table. I have a user that will be doing  
this periodically. The next time we get a csv, how can we not save  
duplicate records to the table.

Here’s my controller

- controller -

def import\_irb\_file  
# set file name  
file = params[:irb][:file]  
rowcount = 0

```
  Irb.transaction do
    FasterCSV.parse(file,
                    :headers => true,
                    :header_converters => lambda { |h| h.tr(" ",

```

“_").delete("^a-zA-Z0-9_”)},  
:converters =\> :all ) do |row|  
Irb.create!(row.to\_hash)  
rowcount += 1  
end  
end  
# if successful then display, then redirect to index page  
flash[:notice] = “Successfully added #{rowcount} project(s).”  
redirect\_to :action =\> :index

```
rescue => exception
  file_name = params[:irb]['file'].original_filename
  file_parts = params[:irb]['file'].original_filename.split('.')
  ext = file_parts[1]

  if ext != 'csv'
    error = "CSV file is required"
  else
    error = ERB::Util.h(exception.to_s) # get the error and HTML

```

escape it  
end  
# If an exception in thrown, the transaction rolls back and we end  
up in this  
# rescue block

```
  flash[:error] = "Error adding projects to IRB table. (#{error}).

```

Please try again. "

```
  redirect_to :controller => 'irbs', :action => 'new'

```

end

Thanks for helping.

JohnM