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Digital technology, specifically the field of software development, has brought a massive change in everyone’s lifestyle. Now, almost everything is managed and controlled through software applications. If we talk about data management, there’s an essential component of software development – SQL or Structured Query Language. SQL allows us to interact with databases, handle, manipulate, and retrieve data. One common yet significant task often carried out by developers is the execution of one or multiple raw SQL queries. Let’s dig into the methods and techniques through which we can make this task easier in Rails.
Rails is the most preferred choice when it comes to the web applications domain. Why? It provides developers with a highly flexible and convenient platform to work with. One such flexibility is provided through Active Record, a library supplied by Rails, permits developers to interact with databases in the most articulated way. Due to this library, Rails developers are also able to execute raw SQL queries.
ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("Your SQL query")
The above command lets you execute raw SQL directly from the Rails console. Now, let’s break down this piece of code. We called a class – ActiveRecord::Base which establishes a connection with the database and then, on that connection, we can execute any SQL query directly.
The Active Record and its Role in SQL Execution
Active Record is an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) library provided by Rails. The purpose of Active Record is to encapsulate the whole SQL system, smoothly taking the developer from the create, retrieve, update, and delete (CRUD) system of database management.
- Active Record helps in building queries
- It ensures that code remains independent of the database system being used
Active Record catching the SQL queries fed on Rails Console, then connects with the database and gets the query executed, and finally returns a complete array of results.
Difference between exec_query and execute
Rails offer two ActiveRecord methods to run raw SQL commands: ‘execute’ and ‘exec_query.’ It’s critical to understand the difference between them. The ‘execute’ method will yield a result depending upon the nature of the SQL query itself, say, a SELECT query will return an array of records. However, ‘exec_query’ will always execute a SELECT query and return an ActiveRecord::Result object.
SQL is a potent tool when it comes to data handling, and using SQL within Rails context is even more appealing as developers can centralize all the commands and queries within the Rails console. It’s always great to have diverse tools under one’s belt as it allows for greater flexibility in solving problems and dealing with challenges. Nevertheless, it’s always recommended to use raw SQL commands sparingly and when absolutely necessary because ORM libraries like Active Record are there for a reason: comfort, readability, maintainability and most significantly, safety.
