# String attributes not showing up in view **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [June 8, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806 "2010-06-08T06:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/1 "2010-06-08T06:20:00Z")
Hi, I have a user model with attributes first\_name, last\_name and email. In the view I’m looping though all the users and for each user printing out the email add the full\_name (full\_name is a function in the user model that returns both first and last names). The email prints but the names do not and it’s really weird. I have checked in the script/console and verified that the values are actually inside the user object (I only have one user object created with the migration). What’s even weirder is that when I call User.find\_by\_email “blah” and it gives me back my user, the output in the console shows all the fields, shows the first\_name and last\_name values as well. But in the console if I do u.first\_name, I get a nil return. If I do u.email, I get the “blah” return. Any idea where I can start looking for a problem? In the user.index.html.erb \<% @users.each do |user| %\> \<%= user.full\_name %\> \<%= user.email %\> \<% end %\> and in my User model: def full\_name @first\_name + " " + @last\_name end Thanks in advance ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/2 "2010-06-08T06:56:53Z")
what’s with the @first\_name, @last\_name? ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/3 "2010-06-08T07:27:54Z")
What do you mean? What’s wrong with them? ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 9:12am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/4 "2010-06-08T09:12:04Z")
On 8 June 2010 05:18, Ali [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > and in my User model: > > def full\_name > @first\_name + " " + @last\_name > end Parameters of a model aren’t assigned to instance variables, they’re accessed through method calls. So drop the “@” signs. While you’re at it, you can get rid of the string concatenation: def full\_name [first\_name, last\_name].join(" ") end …now, if you’re missing a first or last name, you don’t get extra white-space padding (and if you want to include ‘title’ or ‘middle\_name’ you’re not creating n+1 strings). ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/5 "2010-06-08T10:37:34Z")
On Jun 8, 3:10 am, Michael P. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > def full\_name > [first\_name, last\_name].join(" ") > end > > …now, if you’re missing a first or last name, you don’t get extra > white-space padding (and if you want to include ‘title’ or > ‘middle\_name’ you’re not creating n+1 strings). Never thought of that. Nice tip. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/6 "2010-06-08T14:56:42Z")
pepe wrote: > On Jun 8, 3:10�am, Michael P. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > > > ��def full\_name > > �� �[first\_name, last\_name].join(" ") > > ��end > > > > …now, if you’re missing a first or last name, you don’t get extra > > white-space padding Actually, I believe you do, unless you compact the array first (posting from iPhone away from irb right now, so can’t verify). > > (and if you want to include ‘title’ or > > ‘middle\_name’ you’re not creating n+1 strings). > > Never thought of that. Nice tip. Thanks. Indeed. I find myself using String#+ very rarely – join and “#{ }” are both more efficient and no harder to type. ## Best, Marnen Laibow-Koser [http://www.marnen.org](http://www.marnen.org) removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/7 "2010-06-09T02:17:54Z")
Oh ok. Did not know that. Thanks! After I got rid of the ‘@’ part they were still returning nil. I had an attr\_accessor :first\_name, :last\_name defined. Things worked after getting rid of that. I guess having attr\_Accessor with the same names overrides the method calls or something? Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/8 "2010-06-09T10:29:34Z")
On Jun 9, 1:16 am, Ali A. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Oh ok. Did not know that. Thanks! > > After I got rid of the ‘@’ part they were still returning nil. I had an > attr\_accessor :first\_name, :last\_name defined. Things worked after getting > rid of that. I guess having attr\_Accessor with the same names overrides the > method calls or something? You don’t need attr\_accessor for attributes from the database - attr\_accessor will overwrite (or prevent the generation of) the accessors active record provides. Fred ---
**Author:** ![ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ali](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ali)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/string-attributes-not-showing-up-in-view/189806/9 "2010-06-08T15:27:26Z")
On 8 June 2010 13:56, Marnen Laibow-Koser [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > from iPhone away from irb right now, so can’t verify). > 100% correct… sorry - my real methods do compact before the join… > just not when I write them in Gmail! 🙂