activerecord 1.0.0 → 2.0.0

data/lib/active_record/base.rb

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
-require 'active_record/support/class_attribute_accessors'
-require 'active_record/support/class_inheritable_attributes'
-require 'active_record/support/inflector'
+require 'base64'
 require 'yaml'
+require 'set'
 
 module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
   class ActiveRecordError < StandardError #:nodoc:
   end
+  class SubclassNotFound < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
   class AssociationTypeMismatch < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
   end
   class SerializationTypeMismatch < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
@@ -20,102 +21,228 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
   end
   class RecordNotFound < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
   end
+  class RecordNotSaved < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
   class StatementInvalid < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
   end
+  class PreparedStatementInvalid < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+  class StaleObjectError < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+  class ConfigurationError < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+  class ReadOnlyRecord < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+  class Rollback < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+  class DangerousAttributeError < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+  end
+
+  # Raised when you've tried to access a column which wasn't
+  # loaded by your finder.  Typically this is because :select
+  # has been specified
+  class MissingAttributeError < NoMethodError
+  end
 
-  # Active Record objects doesn't specify their attributes directly, but rather infer them from the table definition with
+  class AttributeAssignmentError < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+    attr_reader :exception, :attribute
+    def initialize(message, exception, attribute)
+      @exception = exception
+      @attribute = attribute
+      @message = message
+    end
+  end
+
+  class MultiparameterAssignmentErrors < ActiveRecordError #:nodoc:
+    attr_reader :errors
+    def initialize(errors)
+      @errors = errors
+    end
+  end
+
+  # Active Record objects don't specify their attributes directly, but rather infer them from the table definition with
   # which they're linked. Adding, removing, and changing attributes and their type is done directly in the database. Any change
   # is instantly reflected in the Active Record objects. The mapping that binds a given Active Record class to a certain
-  # database table will happen automatically in most common cases, but can be overwritten for the uncommon ones. 
-  # 
+  # database table will happen automatically in most common cases, but can be overwritten for the uncommon ones.
+  #
   # See the mapping rules in table_name and the full example in link:files/README.html for more insight.
-  # 
+  #
   # == Creation
-  # 
-  # Active Records accepts constructor parameters either in a hash or as a block. The hash method is especially useful when
-  # you're receiving the data from somewhere else, like a HTTP request. It works like this:
-  # 
-  #   user = User.new("name" => "David", "occupation" => "Code Artist")
+  #
+  # Active Records accept constructor parameters either in a hash or as a block. The hash method is especially useful when
+  # you're receiving the data from somewhere else, like an HTTP request. It works like this:
+  #
+  #   user = User.new(:name => "David", :occupation => "Code Artist")
   #   user.name # => "David"
-  # 
+  #
   # You can also use block initialization:
-  # 
+  #
   #   user = User.new do |u|
   #     u.name = "David"
   #     u.occupation = "Code Artist"
   #   end
-  # 
+  #
   # And of course you can just create a bare object and specify the attributes after the fact:
-  # 
+  #
   #   user = User.new
   #   user.name = "David"
   #   user.occupation = "Code Artist"
-  # 
+  #
   # == Conditions
-  # 
-  # Conditions can either be specified as a string or an array representing the WHERE-part of an SQL statement.
+  #
+  # Conditions can either be specified as a string, array, or hash representing the WHERE-part of an SQL statement.
   # The array form is to be used when the condition input is tainted and requires sanitization. The string form can
-  # be used for statements that doesn't involve tainted data. Examples:
-  # 
-  #   User < ActiveRecord::Base
+  # be used for statements that don't involve tainted data. The hash form works much like the array form, except
+  # only equality and range is possible. Examples:
+  #
+  #   class User < ActiveRecord::Base
   #     def self.authenticate_unsafely(user_name, password)
-  #       find_first("user_name = '#{user_name}' AND password = '#{password}'")
+  #       find(:first, :conditions => "user_name = '#{user_name}' AND password = '#{password}'")
   #     end
-  # 
+  #
   #     def self.authenticate_safely(user_name, password)
-  #       find_first([ "user_name = '%s' AND password = '%s'", user_name, password ])
+  #       find(:first, :conditions => [ "user_name = ? AND password = ?", user_name, password ])
+  #     end
+  #
+  #     def self.authenticate_safely_simply(user_name, password)
+  #       find(:first, :conditions => { :user_name => user_name, :password => password })
   #     end
   #   end
-  # 
-  # The +authenticate_unsafely+ method inserts the parameters directly into the query and is thus susceptible to SQL-injection
-  # attacks if the +user_name+ and +password+ parameters come directly from a HTTP request. The +authenticate_safely+ method, on
-  # the other hand, will sanitize the +user_name+ and +password+ before inserting them in the query, which will ensure that
-  # an attacker can't escape the query and fake the login (or worse).
-  # 
+  #
+  # The <tt>authenticate_unsafely</tt> method inserts the parameters directly into the query and is thus susceptible to SQL-injection
+  # attacks if the <tt>user_name</tt> and +password+ parameters come directly from an HTTP request. The <tt>authenticate_safely</tt>  and
+  # <tt>authenticate_safely_simply</tt> both will sanitize the <tt>user_name</tt> and +password+ before inserting them in the query, 
+  # which will ensure that an attacker can't escape the query and fake the login (or worse).
+  #
+  # When using multiple parameters in the conditions, it can easily become hard to read exactly what the fourth or fifth
+  # question mark is supposed to represent. In those cases, you can resort to named bind variables instead. That's done by replacing
+  # the question marks with symbols and supplying a hash with values for the matching symbol keys:
+  #
+  #   Company.find(:first, :conditions => [
+  #     "id = :id AND name = :name AND division = :division AND created_at > :accounting_date",
+  #     { :id => 3, :name => "37signals", :division => "First", :accounting_date => '2005-01-01' }
+  #   ])
+  #
+  # Similarly, a simple hash without a statement will generate conditions based on equality with the SQL AND
+  # operator. For instance:
+  #
+  #   Student.find(:all, :conditions => { :first_name => "Harvey", :status => 1 })
+  #   Student.find(:all, :conditions => params[:student])
+  #
+  # A range may be used in the hash to use the SQL BETWEEN operator:
+  #
+  #   Student.find(:all, :conditions => { :grade => 9..12 })
+  #
   # == Overwriting default accessors
-  # 
-  # All column values are automatically available through basic accessors on the Active Record object, but some times you
-  # want to specialize this behavior. This can be done by either by overwriting the default accessors (using the same
-  # name as the attribute) calling read_attribute(attr_name) and write_attribute(attr_name, value) to actually change things.
+  #
+  # All column values are automatically available through basic accessors on the Active Record object, but sometimes you
+  # want to specialize this behavior. This can be done by overwriting the default accessors (using the same
+  # name as the attribute) and calling read_attribute(attr_name) and write_attribute(attr_name, value) to actually change things.
   # Example:
-  # 
+  #
   #   class Song < ActiveRecord::Base
   #     # Uses an integer of seconds to hold the length of the song
-  #     
+  #
   #     def length=(minutes)
-  #       write_attribute("length", minutes * 60)
+  #       write_attribute(:length, minutes * 60)
   #     end
-  #     
+  #
   #     def length
-  #       read_attribute("length") / 60
+  #       read_attribute(:length) / 60
   #     end
   #   end
+  #
+  # You can alternatively use self[:attribute]=(value) and self[:attribute] instead of write_attribute(:attribute, value) and
+  # read_attribute(:attribute) as a shorter form.
+  #
+  # == Attribute query methods
+  #
+  # In addition to the basic accessors, query methods are also automatically available on the Active Record object.
+  # Query methods allow you to test whether an attribute value is present.
   # 
-  # == Saving arrays, hashes, and other non-mappeable objects in text columns
-  # 
-  # Active Record can serialize any object in text columns using YAML. To do so, you must specify this with a call to the class method +serialize+. 
-  # This makes it possible to store arrays, hashes, and other non-mappeable objects without doing any additional work. Example:
-  # 
+  # For example, an Active Record User with the <tt>name</tt> attribute has a <tt>name?</tt> method that you can call
+  # to determine whether the user has a name:
+  #
+  #   user = User.new(:name => "David")
+  #   user.name? # => true
+  #
+  #   anonymous = User.new(:name => "")
+  #   anonymous.name? # => false
+  #
+  # == Accessing attributes before they have been typecasted
+  #
+  # Sometimes you want to be able to read the raw attribute data without having the column-determined typecast run its course first.
+  # That can be done by using the <attribute>_before_type_cast accessors that all attributes have. For example, if your Account model
+  # has a balance attribute, you can call account.balance_before_type_cast or account.id_before_type_cast.
+  #
+  # This is especially useful in validation situations where the user might supply a string for an integer field and you want to display
+  # the original string back in an error message. Accessing the attribute normally would typecast the string to 0, which isn't what you
+  # want.
+  #
+  # == Dynamic attribute-based finders
+  #
+  # Dynamic attribute-based finders are a cleaner way of getting (and/or creating) objects by simple queries without turning to SQL. They work by
+  # appending the name of an attribute to <tt>find_by_</tt> or <tt>find_all_by_</tt>, so you get finders like Person.find_by_user_name,
+  # Person.find_all_by_last_name, Payment.find_by_transaction_id. So instead of writing
+  # <tt>Person.find(:first, :conditions => ["user_name = ?", user_name])</tt>, you just do <tt>Person.find_by_user_name(user_name)</tt>.
+  # And instead of writing <tt>Person.find(:all, :conditions => ["last_name = ?", last_name])</tt>, you just do <tt>Person.find_all_by_last_name(last_name)</tt>.
+  #
+  # It's also possible to use multiple attributes in the same find by separating them with "_and_", so you get finders like
+  # <tt>Person.find_by_user_name_and_password</tt> or even <tt>Payment.find_by_purchaser_and_state_and_country</tt>. So instead of writing
+  # <tt>Person.find(:first, :conditions => ["user_name = ? AND password = ?", user_name, password])</tt>, you just do
+  # <tt>Person.find_by_user_name_and_password(user_name, password)</tt>.
+  #
+  # It's even possible to use all the additional parameters to find. For example, the full interface for Payment.find_all_by_amount
+  # is actually Payment.find_all_by_amount(amount, options). And the full interface to Person.find_by_user_name is
+  # actually Person.find_by_user_name(user_name, options). So you could call <tt>Payment.find_all_by_amount(50, :order => "created_on")</tt>.
+  #
+  # The same dynamic finder style can be used to create the object if it doesn't already exist. This dynamic finder is called with
+  # <tt>find_or_create_by_</tt> and will return the object if it already exists and otherwise creates it, then returns it. Example:
+  #
+  #   # No 'Summer' tag exists
+  #   Tag.find_or_create_by_name("Summer") # equal to Tag.create(:name => "Summer")
+  #   
+  #   # Now the 'Summer' tag does exist
+  #   Tag.find_or_create_by_name("Summer") # equal to Tag.find_by_name("Summer")
+  #
+  # Use the <tt>find_or_initialize_by_</tt> finder if you want to return a new record without saving it first. Example:
+  #
+  #   # No 'Winter' tag exists
+  #   winter = Tag.find_or_initialize_by_name("Winter")
+  #   winter.new_record? # true
+  #
+  # To find by a subset of the attributes to be used for instantiating a new object, pass a hash instead of
+  # a list of parameters. For example:
+  #
+  #   Tag.find_or_create_by_name(:name => "rails", :creator => current_user)
+  #
+  # That will either find an existing tag named "rails", or create a new one while setting the user that created it.
+  #
+  # == Saving arrays, hashes, and other non-mappable objects in text columns
+  #
+  # Active Record can serialize any object in text columns using YAML. To do so, you must specify this with a call to the class method +serialize+.
+  # This makes it possible to store arrays, hashes, and other non-mappable objects without doing any additional work. Example:
+  #
   #   class User < ActiveRecord::Base
   #     serialize :preferences
   #   end
-  # 
-  #   user = User.create("preferences" => { "background" => "black", "display" => large })
+  #
+  #   user = User.create(:preferences => { "background" => "black", "display" => large })
   #   User.find(user.id).preferences # => { "background" => "black", "display" => large }
-  # 
-  # You can also specify an optional :class_name option that'll raise an exception if a serialized object is retrieved as a 
+  #
+  # You can also specify a class option as the second parameter that'll raise an exception if a serialized object is retrieved as a
   # descendent of a class not in the hierarchy. Example:
-  # 
+  #
   #   class User < ActiveRecord::Base
-  #     serialize :preferences, :class_name => "Hash"
+  #     serialize :preferences, Hash
   #   end
-  # 
-  #   user = User.create("preferences" => %w( one two three ))
-  #   User.find(user.id).preferences # => raises SerializationTypeMismatch
-  # 
+  #
+  #   user = User.create(:preferences => %w( one two three ))
+  #   User.find(user.id).preferences    # raises SerializationTypeMismatch
+  #
   # == Single table inheritance
   #
-  # Active Record allows inheritance by storing the name of the class in a column that by default is called "type" (can be changed 
+  # Active Record allows inheritance by storing the name of the class in a column that by default is named "type" (can be changed
   # by overwriting <tt>Base.inheritance_column</tt>). This means that an inheritance looking like this:
   #
   #   class Company < ActiveRecord::Base; end
@@ -123,61 +250,52 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
   #   class Client < Company; end
   #   class PriorityClient < Client; end
   #
-  # When you do Firm.create("name" => "37signals"), this record with be saved in the companies table with type = "Firm". You can then
-  # fetch this row again using Company.find_first "name = '37signals'" and it will return a Firm object.
+  # When you do Firm.create(:name => "37signals"), this record will be saved in the companies table with type = "Firm". You can then
+  # fetch this row again using Company.find(:first, "name = '37signals'") and it will return a Firm object.
+  #
+  # If you don't have a type column defined in your table, single-table inheritance won't be triggered. In that case, it'll work just
+  # like normal subclasses with no special magic for differentiating between them or reloading the right type with find.
   #
   # Note, all the attributes for all the cases are kept in the same table. Read more:
   # http://www.martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/singleTableInheritance.html
-  # 
+  #
   # == Connection to multiple databases in different models
   #
   # Connections are usually created through ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection and retrieved by ActiveRecord::Base.connection.
-  # All classes inheriting from ActiveRecord::Base will use this connection. But you can also set a class-specific connection. 
-  # For example, if Course is a ActiveRecord::Base, but resides in a different database you can just say Course.establish_connection
+  # All classes inheriting from ActiveRecord::Base will use this connection. But you can also set a class-specific connection.
+  # For example, if Course is an ActiveRecord::Base, but resides in a different database, you can just say Course.establish_connection
   # and Course *and all its subclasses* will use this connection instead.
   #
   # This feature is implemented by keeping a connection pool in ActiveRecord::Base that is a Hash indexed by the class. If a connection is
   # requested, the retrieve_connection method will go up the class-hierarchy until a connection is found in the connection pool.
   #
   # == Exceptions
-  # 
+  #
   # * +ActiveRecordError+ -- generic error class and superclass of all other errors raised by Active Record
-  # * +AdapterNotSpecified+ -- the configuration hash used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> didn't include a 
+  # * +AdapterNotSpecified+ -- the configuration hash used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> didn't include an
   #   <tt>:adapter</tt> key.
-  # * +AdapterNotSpecified+ -- the <tt>:adapter</tt> key used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> specified an unexisting adapter
-  #   (or a bad spelling of an existing one). 
-  # * +AssociationTypeMismatch+ -- the object assigned to the association wasn't of the type specified in the association definition. 
-  # * +SerializationTypeMismatch+ -- the object serialized wasn't of the class specified in the <tt>:class_name</tt> option of 
-  #   the serialize definition. 
+  # * +AdapterNotFound+ -- the <tt>:adapter</tt> key used in <tt>establish_connection</tt> specified a non-existent adapter
+  #   (or a bad spelling of an existing one).
+  # * +AssociationTypeMismatch+ -- the object assigned to the association wasn't of the type specified in the association definition.
+  # * +SerializationTypeMismatch+ -- the serialized object wasn't of the class specified as the second parameter.
   # * +ConnectionNotEstablished+ -- no connection has been established. Use <tt>establish_connection</tt> before querying.
-  # * +RecordNotFound+ -- no record responded to the find* method. 
+  # * +RecordNotFound+ -- no record responded to the find* method.
   #   Either the row with the given ID doesn't exist or the row didn't meet the additional restrictions.
   # * +StatementInvalid+ -- the database server rejected the SQL statement. The precise error is added in the  message.
   #   Either the record with the given ID doesn't exist or the record didn't meet the additional restrictions.
-  # 
-  # *Note*: The attributes listed are class-level attributes (accessible from both the class and instance level). 
+  # * +MultiparameterAssignmentErrors+ -- collection of errors that occurred during a mass assignment using the
+  #   +attributes=+ method. The +errors+ property of this exception contains an array of +AttributeAssignmentError+
+  #   objects that should be inspected to determine which attributes triggered the errors.
+  # * +AttributeAssignmentError+ -- an error occurred while doing a mass assignment through the +attributes=+ method.
+  #   You can inspect the +attribute+ property of the exception object to determine which attribute triggered the error.
+  #
+  # *Note*: The attributes listed are class-level attributes (accessible from both the class and instance level).
   # So it's possible to assign a logger to the class through Base.logger= which will then be used by all
   # instances in the current object space.
   class Base
-    include ClassInheritableAttributes
-  
     # Accepts a logger conforming to the interface of Log4r or the default Ruby 1.8+ Logger class, which is then passed
     # on to any new database connections made and which can be retrieved on both a class and instance level by calling +logger+.
-    cattr_accessor :logger
-
-    # Returns the connection currently associated with the class. This can
-    # also be used to "borrow" the connection to do database work unrelated
-    # to any of the specific Active Records. 
-    def self.connection
-      retrieve_connection
-    end
-
-    # Returns the connection currently associated with the class. This can
-    # also be used to "borrow" the connection to do database work that isn't 
-    # easily done without going straight to SQL. 
-    def connection
-      self.class.connection
-    end
+    cattr_accessor :logger, :instance_writer => false
 
     def self.inherited(child) #:nodoc:
       @@subclasses[self] ||= []
@@ -185,186 +303,432 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
       super
     end
 
+    def self.reset_subclasses #:nodoc:
+      nonreloadables = []
+      subclasses.each do |klass|
+        unless Dependencies.autoloaded? klass
+          nonreloadables << klass
+          next
+        end
+        klass.instance_variables.each { |var| klass.send(:remove_instance_variable, var) }
+        klass.instance_methods(false).each { |m| klass.send :undef_method, m }
+      end
+      @@subclasses = {}
+      nonreloadables.each { |klass| (@@subclasses[klass.superclass] ||= []) << klass }
+    end
+
     @@subclasses = {}
-    
-    # Accessor for the prefix type that will be prepended to every primary key column name. The options are :table_name and 
+
+    cattr_accessor :configurations, :instance_writer => false
+    @@configurations = {}
+
+    # Accessor for the prefix type that will be prepended to every primary key column name. The options are :table_name and
     # :table_name_with_underscore. If the first is specified, the Product class will look for "productid" instead of "id" as
     # the primary column. If the latter is specified, the Product class will look for "product_id" instead of "id". Remember
-    # that this is a global setting for all Active Records. 
-    cattr_accessor :primary_key_prefix_type
+    # that this is a global setting for all Active Records.
+    cattr_accessor :primary_key_prefix_type, :instance_writer => false
     @@primary_key_prefix_type = nil
 
-    # Accessor for the name of the prefix string to prepend to every table name. So if set to "basecamp_", all 
-    # table names will be named like "basecamp_projects", "basecamp_people", etc. This is a convinient way of creating a namespace
+    # Accessor for the name of the prefix string to prepend to every table name. So if set to "basecamp_", all
+    # table names will be named like "basecamp_projects", "basecamp_people", etc. This is a convenient way of creating a namespace
     # for tables in a shared database. By default, the prefix is the empty string.
-    cattr_accessor :table_name_prefix
+    cattr_accessor :table_name_prefix, :instance_writer => false
     @@table_name_prefix = ""
 
     # Works like +table_name_prefix+, but appends instead of prepends (set to "_basecamp" gives "projects_basecamp",
     # "people_basecamp"). By default, the suffix is the empty string.
-    cattr_accessor :table_name_suffix
+    cattr_accessor :table_name_suffix, :instance_writer => false
     @@table_name_suffix = ""
 
-    # Indicate whether or not table names should be the pluralized versions of the corresponding class names.
-    # If true, this the default table name for a +Product+ class will be +products+. If false, it would just be +product+.
+    # Indicates whether table names should be the pluralized versions of the corresponding class names.
+    # If true, the default table name for a +Product+ class will be +products+. If false, it would just be +product+.
     # See table_name for the full rules on table/class naming. This is true, by default.
-    cattr_accessor :pluralize_table_names
+    cattr_accessor :pluralize_table_names, :instance_writer => false
     @@pluralize_table_names = true
 
+    # Determines whether to use ANSI codes to colorize the logging statements committed by the connection adapter. These colors
+    # make it much easier to overview things during debugging (when used through a reader like +tail+ and on a black background), but
+    # may complicate matters if you use software like syslog. This is true, by default.
+    cattr_accessor :colorize_logging, :instance_writer => false
+    @@colorize_logging = true
+
+    # Determines whether to use Time.local (using :local) or Time.utc (using :utc) when pulling dates and times from the database.
+    # This is set to :local by default.
+    cattr_accessor :default_timezone, :instance_writer => false
+    @@default_timezone = :local
+
+    # Determines whether to use a connection for each thread, or a single shared connection for all threads.
+    # Defaults to false. Set to true if you're writing a threaded application.
+    cattr_accessor :allow_concurrency, :instance_writer => false
+    @@allow_concurrency = false
+
+    # Specifies the format to use when dumping the database schema with Rails'
+    # Rakefile.  If :sql, the schema is dumped as (potentially database-
+    # specific) SQL statements.  If :ruby, the schema is dumped as an 
+    # ActiveRecord::Schema file which can be loaded into any database that
+    # supports migrations.  Use :ruby if you want to have different database
+    # adapters for, e.g., your development and test environments.
+    cattr_accessor :schema_format , :instance_writer => false
+    @@schema_format = :ruby
+
     class << self # Class methods
-      # Returns objects for the records responding to either a specific id (1), a list of ids (1, 5, 6) or an array of ids. 
-      # If only one ID is specified, that object is returned directly. If more than one ID is specified, an array is returned.
-      # Examples:
+      # Find operates with three different retrieval approaches:
+      #
+      # * Find by id: This can either be a specific id (1), a list of ids (1, 5, 6), or an array of ids ([5, 6, 10]).
+      #   If no record can be found for all of the listed ids, then RecordNotFound will be raised.
+      # * Find first: This will return the first record matched by the options used. These options can either be specific
+      #   conditions or merely an order. If no record can be matched, nil is returned.
+      # * Find all: This will return all the records matched by the options used. If no records are found, an empty array is returned.
+      #
+      # All approaches accept an options hash as their last parameter. The options are:
+      #
+      # * <tt>:conditions</tt>: An SQL fragment like "administrator = 1" or [ "user_name = ?", username ]. See conditions in the intro.
+      # * <tt>:order</tt>: An SQL fragment like "created_at DESC, name".
+      # * <tt>:group</tt>: An attribute name by which the result should be grouped. Uses the GROUP BY SQL-clause.
+      # * <tt>:limit</tt>: An integer determining the limit on the number of rows that should be returned.
+      # * <tt>:offset</tt>: An integer determining the offset from where the rows should be fetched. So at 5, it would skip rows 0 through 4.
+      # * <tt>:joins</tt>: An SQL fragment for additional joins like "LEFT JOIN comments ON comments.post_id = id" (Rarely needed).
+      #   Accepts named associations in the form of :include, which will perform an INNER JOIN on the associated table(s).
+      #   The records will be returned read-only since they will have attributes that do not correspond to the table's columns.
+      #   Pass :readonly => false to override.
+      #   See adding joins for associations under Associations.
+      # * <tt>:include</tt>: Names associations that should be loaded alongside using LEFT OUTER JOINs. The symbols named refer
+      #   to already defined associations. See eager loading under Associations.
+      # * <tt>:select</tt>: By default, this is * as in SELECT * FROM, but can be changed if you, for example, want to do a join but not
+      #   include the joined columns.
+      # * <tt>:from</tt>: By default, this is the table name of the class, but can be changed to an alternate table name (or even the name
+      #   of a database view). 
+      # * <tt>:readonly</tt>: Mark the returned records read-only so they cannot be saved or updated.
+      # * <tt>:lock</tt>: An SQL fragment like "FOR UPDATE" or "LOCK IN SHARE MODE".
+      #   :lock => true gives connection's default exclusive lock, usually "FOR UPDATE".
+      #
+      # Examples for find by id:
       #   Person.find(1)       # returns the object for ID = 1
       #   Person.find(1, 2, 6) # returns an array for objects with IDs in (1, 2, 6)
       #   Person.find([7, 17]) # returns an array for objects with IDs in (7, 17)
-      # +RecordNotFound+ is raised if no record can be found.
-      def find(*ids)
-        ids = [ ids ].flatten.compact
-
-        if ids.length > 1
-          ids_list = ids.map{ |id| "'#{sanitize(id)}'" }.join(", ")
-          objects  = find_all("#{primary_key} IN (#{ids_list})", primary_key)
-
-          if objects.length == ids.length
-            return objects
-          else
-            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with ID in (#{ids_list})"
-          end
-        elsif ids.length == 1
-          id = ids.first
-          sql = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} WHERE #{primary_key} = '#{sanitize(id)}'"
-          sql << " AND #{type_condition}" unless descents_from_active_record?
-
-          if record = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Find")
-            instantiate(record)
-          else 
-            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with ID = #{id}"
-          end
-        else
-          raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} without an ID"
+      #   Person.find([1])     # returns an array for the object with ID = 1
+      #   Person.find(1, :conditions => "administrator = 1", :order => "created_on DESC")
+      #
+      # Note that returned records may not be in the same order as the ids you
+      # provide since database rows are unordered. Give an explicit :order
+      # to ensure the results are sorted.
+      #
+      # Examples for find first:
+      #   Person.find(:first) # returns the first object fetched by SELECT * FROM people
+      #   Person.find(:first, :conditions => [ "user_name = ?", user_name])
+      #   Person.find(:first, :order => "created_on DESC", :offset => 5)
+      #
+      # Examples for find all:
+      #   Person.find(:all) # returns an array of objects for all the rows fetched by SELECT * FROM people
+      #   Person.find(:all, :conditions => [ "category IN (?)", categories], :limit => 50)
+      #   Person.find(:all, :offset => 10, :limit => 10)
+      #   Person.find(:all, :include => [ :account, :friends ])
+      #   Person.find(:all, :group => "category")
+      #
+      # Example for find with a lock. Imagine two concurrent transactions:
+      # each will read person.visits == 2, add 1 to it, and save, resulting
+      # in two saves of person.visits = 3.  By locking the row, the second
+      # transaction has to wait until the first is finished; we get the
+      # expected person.visits == 4.
+      #   Person.transaction do
+      #     person = Person.find(1, :lock => true)
+      #     person.visits += 1
+      #     person.save!
+      #   end
+      def find(*args)
+        options = args.extract_options!
+        # Note:  we extract any :joins option with a non-string value from the options, and turn it into
+        #  an internal option :ar_joins.  This allows code called from here to find the ar_joins, and
+        #  it bypasses marking the result as read_only.
+        #  A normal string join marks the result as read-only because it contains attributes from joined tables
+        #  which are not in the base table and therefore prevent the result from being saved.
+        #  In the case of an ar_join, the JoinDependency created to instantiate the results eliminates these
+        #  bogus attributes.  See JoinDependency#instantiate, and JoinBase#instantiate in associations.rb.
+        validate_find_options(options)
+        set_readonly_option!(options)
+
+        case args.first
+          when :first then find_initial(options)
+          when :all   then find_every(options)
+          else             find_from_ids(args, options)
         end
       end
-
-      # Works like find, but the record matching +id+ must also meet the +conditions+.
-      # +RecordNotFound+ is raised if no record can be found matching the +id+ or meeting the condition.
-      # Example:
-      #   Person.find_on_conditions 5, "first_name LIKE '%dav%' AND last_name = 'heinemeier'"
-      def find_on_conditions(id, conditions)
-        find_first("#{primary_key} = '#{sanitize(id)}' AND #{sanitize_conditions(conditions)}") || 
-            raise(RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with #{primary_key} = #{id} on the condition of #{conditions}")
-      end
-    
-      # Returns an array of all the objects that could be instantiated from the associated
-      # table in the database. The +conditions+ can be used to narrow the selection of objects (WHERE-part),
-      # such as by "color = 'red'", and arrangement of the selection can be done through +orderings+ (ORDER BY-part),
-      # such as by "last_name, first_name DESC". A maximum of returned objects can be specified in +limit+. Example:
-      #   Project.find_all "category = 'accounts'", "last_accessed DESC", 15
-      def find_all(conditions = nil, orderings = nil, limit = nil, joins = nil)
-        sql  = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} " 
-        sql << "#{joins} " if joins
-        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
-        sql << "ORDER BY #{orderings} " unless orderings.nil?
-        sql << "LIMIT #{limit} " unless limit.nil?
-    
-        find_by_sql(sql)
-      end
-  
-      # Works like find_all, but requires a complete SQL string. Example:
-      #   Post.find_by_sql "SELECT p.*, c.author FROM posts p, comments c WHERE p.id = c.post_id"
+      
+      #
+      # Executes a custom sql query against your database and returns all the results.  The results will 
+      # be returned as an array with columns requested encapsulated as attributes of the model you call 
+      # this method from.  If you call +Product.find_by_sql+ then the results will be returned in a Product 
+      # object with the attributes you specified in the SQL query.
+      #
+      # If you call a complicated SQL query which spans multiple tables the columns specified by the 
+      # SELECT will be attributes of the model, whether or not they are columns of the corresponding 
+      # table.
+      #
+      # The +sql+ parameter is a full sql query as a string.  It will be called as is, there will be 
+      # no database agnostic conversions performed.  This should be a last resort because using, for example,  
+      # MySQL specific terms will lock you to using that particular database engine or require you to 
+      # change your call if you switch engines
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #   # A simple sql query spanning multiple tables
+      #   Post.find_by_sql "SELECT p.title, c.author FROM posts p, comments c WHERE p.id = c.post_id"
+      #   > [#<Post:0x36bff9c @attributes={"title"=>"Ruby Meetup", "first_name"=>"Quentin"}>, ...]
+      #
+      #   # You can use the same string replacement techniques as you can with ActiveRecord#find
+      #   Post.find_by_sql ["SELECT title FROM posts WHERE author = ? AND created > ?", author_id, start_date]
+      #   > [#<Post:0x36bff9c @attributes={"first_name"=>"The Cheap Man Buys Twice"}>, ...]
       def find_by_sql(sql)
-        connection.select_all(sql, "#{name} Load").inject([]) { |objects, record| objects << instantiate(record) }
-      end
-    
-      # Returns the object for the first record responding to the conditions in +conditions+, 
-      # such as "group = 'master'". If more than one record is returned from the query, it's the first that'll
-      # be used to create the object. In such cases, it might be beneficial to also specify 
-      # +orderings+, like "income DESC, name", to control exactly which record is to be used. Example: 
-      #   Employee.find_first "income > 50000", "income DESC, name"
-      def find_first(conditions = nil, orderings = nil)
-        sql  = "SELECT * FROM #{table_name} "
-        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
-        sql << "ORDER BY #{orderings} " unless orderings.nil?
-        sql << "LIMIT 1"
-    
-        record = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Load First")
-        instantiate(record) unless record.nil?
-      end
-    
-      # Creates an object, instantly saves it as a record (if the validation permits it), and returns it. If the save
-      # fail under validations, the unsaved object is still returned.
+        connection.select_all(sanitize_sql(sql), "#{name} Load").collect! { |record| instantiate(record) }
+      end
+
+      # Checks whether a record exists in the database that matches conditions given.  These conditions 
+      # can either be a single integer representing a primary key id to be found, or a condition to be 
+      # matched like using ActiveRecord#find.
+      #
+      # The +id_or_conditions+ parameter can be an Integer or a String if you want to search the primary key 
+      # column of the table for a matching id, or if you're looking to match against a condition you can use 
+      # an Array or a Hash.
+      #
+      # Possible gotcha: You can't pass in a condition as a string e.g. "name = 'Jamie'", this would be 
+      # sanitized and then queried against the primary key column as "id = 'name = \'Jamie"
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #   Person.exists?(5)
+      #   Person.exists?('5')
+      #   Person.exists?(:name => "David")
+      #   Person.exists?(['name LIKE ?', "%#{query}%"])
+      def exists?(id_or_conditions)
+        !find(:first, :select => "#{table_name}.#{primary_key}", :conditions => expand_id_conditions(id_or_conditions)).nil?
+      rescue ActiveRecord::ActiveRecordError
+        false
+      end
+
+      # Creates an object (or multiple objects) and saves it to the database, if validations pass.  
+      # The resulting object is returned whether the object was saved successfully to the database or not.
+      #
+      # The +attributes+ parameter can be either be a Hash or an Array of Hashes.  These Hashes describe the
+      # attributes on the objects that are to be created.
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #   # Create a single new object
+      #   User.create(:first_name => 'Jamie')
+      #   # Create an Array of new objects
+      #   User.create([{:first_name => 'Jamie'}, {:first_name => 'Jeremy'}])
       def create(attributes = nil)
-        object = new(attributes)
-        object.save
-        object
+        if attributes.is_a?(Array)
+          attributes.collect { |attr| create(attr) }
+        else
+          object = new(attributes)
+          object.save
+          object
+        end
       end
 
-      # Finds the record from the passed +id+, instantly saves it with the passed +attributes+ (if the validation permits it), 
-      # and returns it. If the save fail under validations, the unsaved object is still returned.
+      # Updates an object (or multiple objects) and saves it to the database, if validations pass.
+      # The resulting object is returned whether the object was saved successfully to the database or not.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # +id+          This should be the id or an array of ids to be updated
+      # +attributes+  This should be a Hash of attributes to be set on the object, or an array of Hashes.
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Updating one record:
+      #   Person.update(15, {:user_name => 'Samuel', :group => 'expert'})
+      # 
+      #   # Updating multiple records:
+      #   people = { 1 => { "first_name" => "David" }, 2 => { "first_name" => "Jeremy"} } 	
+      #   Person.update(people.keys, people.values)
       def update(id, attributes)
-        object = find(id)
-        object.attributes = attributes
-        object.save
-        object
-      end
-
-      # Updates all records with the SET-part of an SQL update statement in +updates+. A subset of the records can be selected 
-      # by specifying +conditions+. Example:
-      #   Billing.update_all "category = 'authorized', approved = 1", "author = 'David'"
-      def update_all(updates, conditions = nil)
-        sql  = "UPDATE #{table_name} SET #{updates} "
-        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
+        if id.is_a?(Array)
+          idx = -1
+          id.collect { |id| idx += 1; update(id, attributes[idx]) }
+        else
+          object = find(id)
+          object.update_attributes(attributes)
+          object
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Delete an object (or multiple objects) where the +id+ given matches the primary_key.  A SQL +DELETE+ command
+      # is executed on the database which means that no callbacks are fired off running this.  This is an efficient method
+      # of deleting records that don't need cleaning up after or other actions to be taken.
+      # 
+      # Objects are _not_ instantiated with this method.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      # 
+      # +id+  Can be either an Integer or an Array of Integers
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Delete a single object
+      #   Todo.delete(1)
+      #   
+      #   # Delete multiple objects
+      #   todos = [1,2,3]
+      #   Todo.delete(todos)
+      def delete(id)
+        delete_all([ "#{connection.quote_column_name(primary_key)} IN (?)", id ])
+      end
+
+      # Destroy an object (or multiple objects) that has the given id, the object is instantiated first,
+      # therefore all callbacks and filters are fired off before the object is deleted.  This method is
+      # less efficient than ActiveRecord#delete but allows cleanup methods and other actions to be run.
+      # 
+      # This essentially finds the object (or multiple objects) with the given id, creates a new object 
+      # from the attributes, and then calls destroy on it.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      # 
+      # +id+  Can be either an Integer or an Array of Integers
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Destroy a single object
+      #   Todo.destroy(1)
+      #   
+      #   # Destroy multiple objects
+      #   todos = [1,2,3]
+      #   Todo.destroy(todos)
+      def destroy(id)
+        id.is_a?(Array) ? id.each { |id| destroy(id) } : find(id).destroy
+      end
+
+      # Updates all records with details given if they match a set of conditions supplied, limits and order can
+      # also be supplied.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # +updates+     A String of column and value pairs that will be set on any records that match conditions
+      # +conditions+  An SQL fragment like "administrator = 1" or [ "user_name = ?", username ]. 
+      #               See conditions in the intro for more info.
+      # +options+     Additional options are :limit and/or :order, see the examples for usage.
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Update all billing objects with the 3 different attributes given
+      #   Billing.update_all( "category = 'authorized', approved = 1, author = 'David'" )
+      #   
+      #   # Update records that match our conditions
+      #   Billing.update_all( "author = 'David'", "title LIKE '%Rails%'" )
+      #
+      #   # Update records that match our conditions but limit it to 5 ordered by date
+      #   Billing.update_all( "author = 'David'", "title LIKE '%Rails%'", 
+      #                         :order => 'created_at', :limit => 5 )
+      def update_all(updates, conditions = nil, options = {})
+        sql  = "UPDATE #{table_name} SET #{sanitize_sql_for_assignment(updates)} "
+        scope = scope(:find)
+        add_conditions!(sql, conditions, scope)
+        add_order!(sql, options[:order], scope)
+        add_limit!(sql, options, scope)
         connection.update(sql, "#{name} Update")
       end
-    
-      # Destroys the objects for all the records that matches the +condition+ by instantiating each object and calling
+
+      # Destroys the objects for all the records that match the +conditions+ by instantiating each object and calling
       # the destroy method. Example:
       #   Person.destroy_all "last_login < '2004-04-04'"
       def destroy_all(conditions = nil)
-        find_all(conditions).each { |object| object.destroy }
+        find(:all, :conditions => conditions).each { |object| object.destroy }
       end
-    
-      # Deletes all the records that matches the +condition+ without instantiating the objects first (and hence not 
+
+      # Deletes all the records that match the +conditions+ without instantiating the objects first (and hence not
       # calling the destroy method). Example:
-      #   Post.destroy_all "person_id = 5 AND (category = 'Something' OR category = 'Else')"
+      #   Post.delete_all "person_id = 5 AND (category = 'Something' OR category = 'Else')"
       def delete_all(conditions = nil)
-        sql = "DELETE FROM #{table_name} "
-        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
+        sql = "DELETE FROM #{quoted_table_name} "
+        add_conditions!(sql, conditions, scope(:find))
         connection.delete(sql, "#{name} Delete all")
       end
-    
-      # Returns the number of records that meets the +conditions+. Zero is returned if no records match. Example:
-      #   Product.count "sales > 1"
-      def count(conditions = nil)
-        sql  = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #{table_name} "
-        add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
-        count_by_sql(sql)
-      end
 
       # Returns the result of an SQL statement that should only include a COUNT(*) in the SELECT part.
-      #   Product.count "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sales s, customers c WHERE s.customer_id = c.id"
+      # The use of this method should be restricted to complicated SQL queries that can't be executed 
+      # using the ActiveRecord::Calculations class methods.  Look into those before using this.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      # 
+      # +sql+: An SQL statement which should return a count query from the database, see the example below
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   Product.count_by_sql "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sales s, customers c WHERE s.customer_id = c.id"
       def count_by_sql(sql)
-        count = connection.select_one(sql, "#{name} Count").values.first
-        return count ? count.to_i : 0
+        sql = sanitize_conditions(sql)
+        connection.select_value(sql, "#{name} Count").to_i
       end
-        
-      # Increments the specified counter by one. So <tt>DiscussionBoard.increment_counter("post_count", 
-      # discussion_board_id)</tt> would increment the "post_count" counter on the board responding to discussion_board_id.
-      # This is used for caching aggregate values, so that they doesn't need to be computed every time. Especially important
-      # for looping over a collection where each element require a number of aggregate values. Like the DiscussionBoard
-      # that needs to list both the number of posts and comments.
+
+      # A generic "counter updater" implementation, intended primarily to be
+      # used by increment_counter and decrement_counter, but which may also
+      # be useful on its own. It simply does a direct SQL update for the record
+      # with the given ID, altering the given hash of counters by the amount
+      # given by the corresponding value:
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      # 
+      # +id+        The id of the object you wish to update a counter on
+      # +counters+  An Array of Hashes containing the names of the fields 
+      #             to update as keys and the amount to update the field by as
+      #             values
+      # 
+      # ==== Examples
+      # 
+      #   # For the Post with id of 5, decrement the comment_count by 1, and 
+      #   # increment the action_count by 1
+      #   Post.update_counters 5, :comment_count => -1, :action_count => 1
+      #   # Executes the following SQL:
+      #   # UPDATE posts
+      #   #    SET comment_count = comment_count - 1,
+      #   #        action_count = action_count + 1
+      #   #  WHERE id = 5
+      def update_counters(id, counters)
+        updates = counters.inject([]) { |list, (counter_name, increment)|
+          sign = increment < 0 ? "-" : "+"
+          list << "#{connection.quote_column_name(counter_name)} = #{connection.quote_column_name(counter_name)} #{sign} #{increment.abs}"
+        }.join(", ")
+        update_all(updates, "#{connection.quote_column_name(primary_key)} = #{quote_value(id)}")
+      end
+
+      # Increment a number field by one, usually representing a count.
+      #
+      # This is used for caching aggregate values, so that they don't need to be computed every time. 
+      # For example, a DiscussionBoard may cache post_count and comment_count otherwise every time the board is 
+      # shown it would have to run an SQL query to find how many posts and comments there are.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # +counter_name+  The name of the field that should be incremented
+      # +id+            The id of the object that should be incremented
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Increment the post_count column for the record with an id of 5
+      #   DiscussionBoard.increment_counter(:post_count, 5)
       def increment_counter(counter_name, id)
-        update_all "#{counter_name} = #{counter_name} + 1", "#{primary_key} = #{id}"
+        update_counters(id, counter_name => 1)
       end
 
-      # Works like increment_counter, but decrements instead.
+      # Decrement a number field by one, usually representing a count.
+      #
+      # This works the same as increment_counter but reduces the column value by 1 instead of increasing it.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # +counter_name+  The name of the field that should be decremented
+      # +id+            The id of the object that should be decremented
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   # Decrement the post_count column for the record with an id of 5
+      #   DiscussionBoard.decrement_counter(:post_count, 5)
       def decrement_counter(counter_name, id)
-        update_all "#{counter_name} = #{counter_name} - 1", "#{primary_key} = #{id}"
+        update_counters(id, counter_name => -1)
       end
 
-      # Attributes named in this macro are protected from mass-assignment, such as <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and 
+
+      # Attributes named in this macro are protected from mass-assignment, such as <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and
       # <tt>attributes=(attributes)</tt>. Their assignment will simply be ignored. Instead, you can use the direct writer
-      # methods to do assignment. This is meant to protect sensitive attributes to be overwritten by URL/form hackers. Example:
+      # methods to do assignment. This is meant to protect sensitive attributes from being overwritten by URL/form hackers. Example:
       #
       #   class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
       #     attr_protected :credit_rating
@@ -377,334 +741,1362 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
       #
       #   customer.credit_rating = "Average"
       #   customer.credit_rating # => "Average"
+      #
+      # To start from an all-closed default and enable attributes as needed, have a look at attr_accessible.
       def attr_protected(*attributes)
-        write_inheritable_array("attr_protected", attributes)
+        write_inheritable_attribute("attr_protected", Set.new(attributes.map(&:to_s)) + (protected_attributes || []))
       end
-      
-      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been protected from mass-assigment.
+
+      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been protected from mass-assignment.
       def protected_attributes # :nodoc:
         read_inheritable_attribute("attr_protected")
       end
 
-      # If this macro is used, only those attributed named in it will be accessible for mass-assignment, such as 
-      # <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and <tt>attributes=(attributes)</tt>. This is the more conservative choice for mass-assignment
-      # protection. If you'd rather start from an all-open default and restrict attributes as needed, have a look at
-      # attr_protected.
+      # Similar to the attr_protected macro, this protects attributes of your model from mass-assignment, 
+      # such as <tt>new(attributes)</tt> and <tt>attributes=(attributes)</tt>
+      # however, it does it in the opposite way.  This locks all attributes and only allows access to the 
+      # attributes specified.  Assignment to attributes not in this list will be ignored and need to be set 
+      # using the direct writer methods instead.  This is meant to protect sensitive attributes from being 
+      # overwritten by URL/form hackers. If you'd rather start from an all-open default and restrict 
+      # attributes as needed, have a look at attr_protected.
+      # 
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # <tt>*attributes</tt>   A comma separated list of symbols that represent columns _not_ to be protected
+      #
+      # ==== Examples
+      #
+      #   class Customer < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     attr_accessible :name, :nickname
+      #   end
+      #
+      #   customer = Customer.new(:name => "David", :nickname => "Dave", :credit_rating => "Excellent")
+      #   customer.credit_rating # => nil
+      #   customer.attributes = { :name => "Jolly fellow", :credit_rating => "Superb" }
+      #   customer.credit_rating # => nil
+      #
+      #   customer.credit_rating = "Average"
+      #   customer.credit_rating # => "Average"
       def attr_accessible(*attributes)
-        write_inheritable_array("attr_accessible", attributes)
+        write_inheritable_attribute("attr_accessible", Set.new(attributes.map(&:to_s)) + (accessible_attributes || []))
       end
-      
-      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been made accessible to mass-assigment.
+
+      # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been made accessible to mass-assignment.
       def accessible_attributes # :nodoc:
         read_inheritable_attribute("attr_accessible")
       end
 
-      # Specifies that the attribute by the name of +attr_name+ should be serialized before saving to the database and unserialized
-      # after loading from the database. The serialization is done through YAML. If +class_name+ is specified, the serialized
-      # object must be of that class on retrival or +SerializationTypeMismatch+ will be raised.
+       # Attributes listed as readonly can be set for a new record, but will be ignored in database updates afterwards.
+       def attr_readonly(*attributes)
+         write_inheritable_attribute("attr_readonly", Set.new(attributes.map(&:to_s)) + (readonly_attributes || []))
+       end
+
+       # Returns an array of all the attributes that have been specified as readonly.
+       def readonly_attributes
+         read_inheritable_attribute("attr_readonly")
+       end
+
+      # If you have an attribute that needs to be saved to the database as an object, and retrieved as the same object, 
+      # then specify the name of that attribute using this method and it will be handled automatically.  
+      # The serialization is done through YAML. If +class_name+ is specified, the serialized object must be of that 
+      # class on retrieval or +SerializationTypeMismatch+ will be raised.
+      #
+      # ==== Options
+      #
+      # +attr_name+   The field name that should be serialized
+      # +class_name+  Optional, class name that the object type should be equal to
+      #
+      # ==== Example
+      #   # Serialize a preferences attribute
+      #   class User
+      #     serialize :preferences
+      #   end
       def serialize(attr_name, class_name = Object)
-        write_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized", serialized_attributes.update(attr_name.to_s => class_name))
+        serialized_attributes[attr_name.to_s] = class_name
       end
-      
+
       # Returns a hash of all the attributes that have been specified for serialization as keys and their class restriction as values.
       def serialized_attributes
-        read_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized") || { }
+        read_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized") or write_inheritable_attribute("attr_serialized", {})
+      end
+
+
+      # Guesses the table name (in forced lower-case) based on the name of the class in the inheritance hierarchy descending
+      # directly from ActiveRecord. So if the hierarchy looks like: Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, then Message is used
+      # to guess the table name even when called on Reply. The rules used to do the guess are handled by the Inflector class
+      # in Active Support, which knows almost all common English inflections. You can add new inflections in config/initializers/inflections.rb.
+      #
+      # Nested classes are given table names prefixed by the singular form of
+      # the parent's table name. Enclosing modules are not considered. Examples:
+      #
+      #   class Invoice < ActiveRecord::Base; end;
+      #   file                  class               table_name
+      #   invoice.rb            Invoice             invoices
+      #
+      #   class Invoice < ActiveRecord::Base; class Lineitem < ActiveRecord::Base; end; end;
+      #   file                  class               table_name
+      #   invoice.rb            Invoice::Lineitem   invoice_lineitems
+      #
+      #   module Invoice; class Lineitem < ActiveRecord::Base; end; end;
+      #   file                  class               table_name
+      #   invoice/lineitem.rb   Invoice::Lineitem   lineitems
+      #
+      # Additionally, the class-level table_name_prefix is prepended and the
+      # table_name_suffix is appended.  So if you have "myapp_" as a prefix,
+      # the table name guess for an Invoice class becomes "myapp_invoices".
+      # Invoice::Lineitem becomes "myapp_invoice_lineitems".
+      #
+      # You can also overwrite this class method to allow for unguessable
+      # links, such as a Mouse class with a link to a "mice" table. Example:
+      #
+      #   class Mouse < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     set_table_name "mice"
+      #   end
+      def table_name
+        reset_table_name
+      end
+
+      def reset_table_name #:nodoc:
+        base = base_class
+
+        name =
+          # STI subclasses always use their superclass' table.
+          unless self == base
+            base.table_name
+          else
+            # Nested classes are prefixed with singular parent table name.
+            if parent < ActiveRecord::Base && !parent.abstract_class?
+              contained = parent.table_name
+              contained = contained.singularize if parent.pluralize_table_names
+              contained << '_'
+            end
+            name = "#{table_name_prefix}#{contained}#{undecorated_table_name(base.name)}#{table_name_suffix}"
+          end
+
+        set_table_name(name)
+        name
+      end
+
+      # Defines the primary key field -- can be overridden in subclasses. Overwriting will negate any effect of the
+      # primary_key_prefix_type setting, though.
+      def primary_key
+        reset_primary_key
+      end
+
+      def reset_primary_key #:nodoc:
+        key = 'id'
+        case primary_key_prefix_type
+          when :table_name
+            key = Inflector.foreign_key(base_class.name, false)
+          when :table_name_with_underscore
+            key = Inflector.foreign_key(base_class.name)
+        end
+        set_primary_key(key)
+        key
+      end
+
+      # Defines the column name for use with single table inheritance
+      # -- can be set in subclasses like so: self.inheritance_column = "type_id"
+      def inheritance_column
+        @inheritance_column ||= "type".freeze
+      end
+
+      # Lazy-set the sequence name to the connection's default.  This method
+      # is only ever called once since set_sequence_name overrides it.
+      def sequence_name #:nodoc:
+        reset_sequence_name
+      end
+
+      def reset_sequence_name #:nodoc:
+        default = connection.default_sequence_name(table_name, primary_key)
+        set_sequence_name(default)
+        default
+      end
+
+      # Sets the table name to use to the given value, or (if the value
+      # is nil or false) to the value returned by the given block.
+      #
+      # Example:
+      #
+      #   class Project < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     set_table_name "project"
+      #   end
+      def set_table_name(value = nil, &block)
+        define_attr_method :table_name, value, &block
+      end
+      alias :table_name= :set_table_name
+
+      # Sets the name of the primary key column to use to the given value,
+      # or (if the value is nil or false) to the value returned by the given
+      # block.
+      #
+      # Example:
+      #
+      #   class Project < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     set_primary_key "sysid"
+      #   end
+      def set_primary_key(value = nil, &block)
+        define_attr_method :primary_key, value, &block
+      end
+      alias :primary_key= :set_primary_key
+
+      # Sets the name of the inheritance column to use to the given value,
+      # or (if the value # is nil or false) to the value returned by the
+      # given block.
+      #
+      # Example:
+      #
+      #   class Project < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     set_inheritance_column do
+      #       original_inheritance_column + "_id"
+      #     end
+      #   end
+      def set_inheritance_column(value = nil, &block)
+        define_attr_method :inheritance_column, value, &block
+      end
+      alias :inheritance_column= :set_inheritance_column
+
+      # Sets the name of the sequence to use when generating ids to the given
+      # value, or (if the value is nil or false) to the value returned by the
+      # given block. This is required for Oracle and is useful for any
+      # database which relies on sequences for primary key generation.
+      #
+      # If a sequence name is not explicitly set when using Oracle or Firebird,
+      # it will default to the commonly used pattern of: #{table_name}_seq
+      #
+      # If a sequence name is not explicitly set when using PostgreSQL, it
+      # will discover the sequence corresponding to your primary key for you.
+      #
+      # Example:
+      #
+      #   class Project < ActiveRecord::Base
+      #     set_sequence_name "projectseq"   # default would have been "project_seq"
+      #   end
+      def set_sequence_name(value = nil, &block)
+        define_attr_method :sequence_name, value, &block
+      end
+      alias :sequence_name= :set_sequence_name
+
+      # Turns the +table_name+ back into a class name following the reverse rules of +table_name+.
+      def class_name(table_name = table_name) # :nodoc:
+        # remove any prefix and/or suffix from the table name
+        class_name = table_name[table_name_prefix.length..-(table_name_suffix.length + 1)].camelize
+        class_name = class_name.singularize if pluralize_table_names
+        class_name
+      end
+
+      # Indicates whether the table associated with this class exists
+      def table_exists?
+        if connection.respond_to?(:tables)
+          connection.tables.include? table_name
+        else
+          # if the connection adapter hasn't implemented tables, there are two crude tests that can be
+          # used - see if getting column info raises an error, or if the number of columns returned is zero
+          begin
+            reset_column_information
+            columns.size > 0
+          rescue ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid
+            false
+          end          
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Returns an array of column objects for the table associated with this class.
+      def columns
+        unless @columns
+          @columns = connection.columns(table_name, "#{name} Columns")
+          @columns.each {|column| column.primary = column.name == primary_key}
+        end
+        @columns
+      end
+
+      # Returns a hash of column objects for the table associated with this class.
+      def columns_hash
+        @columns_hash ||= columns.inject({}) { |hash, column| hash[column.name] = column; hash }
+      end
+
+      # Returns an array of column names as strings.
+      def column_names
+        @column_names ||= columns.map { |column| column.name }
+      end
+
+      # Returns an array of column objects where the primary id, all columns ending in "_id" or "_count",
+      # and columns used for single table inheritance have been removed.
+      def content_columns
+        @content_columns ||= columns.reject { |c| c.primary || c.name =~ /(_id|_count)$/ || c.name == inheritance_column }
+      end
+
+      # Returns a hash of all the methods added to query each of the columns in the table with the name of the method as the key
+      # and true as the value. This makes it possible to do O(1) lookups in respond_to? to check if a given method for attribute
+      # is available.
+      def column_methods_hash #:nodoc:
+        @dynamic_methods_hash ||= column_names.inject(Hash.new(false)) do |methods, attr|
+          attr_name = attr.to_s
+          methods[attr.to_sym]       = attr_name
+          methods["#{attr}=".to_sym] = attr_name
+          methods["#{attr}?".to_sym] = attr_name
+          methods["#{attr}_before_type_cast".to_sym] = attr_name
+          methods
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Resets all the cached information about columns, which will cause them to be reloaded on the next request.
+      def reset_column_information
+        generated_methods.each { |name| undef_method(name) }
+        @column_names = @columns = @columns_hash = @content_columns = @dynamic_methods_hash = @generated_methods = @inheritance_column = nil
+      end
+
+      def reset_column_information_and_inheritable_attributes_for_all_subclasses#:nodoc:
+        subclasses.each { |klass| klass.reset_inheritable_attributes; klass.reset_column_information }
+      end
+
+      # Transforms attribute key names into a more humane format, such as "First name" instead of "first_name". Example:
+      #   Person.human_attribute_name("first_name") # => "First name"
+      # Deprecated in favor of just calling "first_name".humanize
+      def human_attribute_name(attribute_key_name) #:nodoc:
+        attribute_key_name.humanize
+      end
+
+      # True if this isn't a concrete subclass needing a STI type condition.
+      def descends_from_active_record?
+        if superclass.abstract_class?
+          superclass.descends_from_active_record?
+        else
+          superclass == Base || !columns_hash.include?(inheritance_column)
+        end
+      end
+
+      def finder_needs_type_condition? #:nodoc:
+        # This is like this because benchmarking justifies the strange :false stuff
+        :true == (@finder_needs_type_condition ||= descends_from_active_record? ? :false : :true)
+      end
+
+      # Returns a string like 'Post id:integer, title:string, body:text'
+      def inspect
+        if self == Base
+          super
+        elsif abstract_class?
+          "#{super}(abstract)"
+        elsif table_exists?
+          attr_list = columns.map { |c| "#{c.name}: #{c.type}" } * ', '
+          "#{super}(#{attr_list})"
+        else
+          "#{super}(Table doesn't exist)"
+        end
+      end
+
+
+      def quote_value(value, column = nil) #:nodoc:
+        connection.quote(value,column)
+      end
+
+      # Used to sanitize objects before they're used in an SQL SELECT statement. Delegates to <tt>connection.quote</tt>.
+      def sanitize(object) #:nodoc:
+        connection.quote(object)
+      end
+
+      # Log and benchmark multiple statements in a single block. Example:
+      #
+      #   Project.benchmark("Creating project") do
+      #     project = Project.create("name" => "stuff")
+      #     project.create_manager("name" => "David")
+      #     project.milestones << Milestone.find(:all)
+      #   end
+      #
+      # The benchmark is only recorded if the current level of the logger matches the <tt>log_level</tt>, which makes it
+      # easy to include benchmarking statements in production software that will remain inexpensive because the benchmark
+      # will only be conducted if the log level is low enough.
+      #
+      # The logging of the multiple statements is turned off unless <tt>use_silence</tt> is set to false.
+      def benchmark(title, log_level = Logger::DEBUG, use_silence = true)
+        if logger && logger.level == log_level
+          result = nil
+          seconds = Benchmark.realtime { result = use_silence ? silence { yield } : yield }
+          logger.add(log_level, "#{title} (#{'%.5f' % seconds})")
+          result
+        else
+          yield
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Silences the logger for the duration of the block.
+      def silence
+        old_logger_level, logger.level = logger.level, Logger::ERROR if logger
+        yield
+      ensure
+        logger.level = old_logger_level if logger
+      end
+
+      # Overwrite the default class equality method to provide support for association proxies.
+      def ===(object)
+        object.is_a?(self)
+      end      
+
+      # Returns the base AR subclass that this class descends from. If A
+      # extends AR::Base, A.base_class will return A. If B descends from A
+      # through some arbitrarily deep hierarchy, B.base_class will return A.
+      def base_class
+        class_of_active_record_descendant(self)
       end
 
-      # Guesses the table name (in forced lower-case) based on the name of the class in the inheritance hierarchy descending
-      # directly from ActiveRecord. So if the hierarchy looks like: Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, then Message is used
-      # to guess the table name from even when called on Reply. The guessing rules are as follows:
-      #
-      # * Class name ends in "x", "ch" or "ss": "es" is appended, so a Search class becomes a searches table.
-      # * Class name ends in "y" preceded by a consonant or "qu": The "y" is replaced with "ies", so a Category class becomes a categories table. 
-      # * Class name ends in "fe": The "fe" is replaced with "ves", so a Wife class becomes a wives table.
-      # * Class name ends in "lf" or "rf": The "f" is replaced with "ves", so a Half class becomes a halves table.
-      # * Class name ends in "person": The "person" is replaced with "people", so a Salesperson class becomes a salespeople table.
-      # * Class name ends in "man": The "man" is replaced with "men", so a Spokesman class becomes a spokesmen table.
-      # * Class name ends in "sis": The "i" is replaced with an "e", so a Basis class becomes a bases table.
-      # * Class name ends in "tum" or "ium": The "um" is replaced with an "a", so a Datum class becomes a data table.
-      # * Class name ends in "child": The "child" is replaced with "children", so a NodeChild class becomes a node_children table.
-      # * Class name ends in an "s": No additional characters are added or removed.
-      # * Class name doesn't end in "s": An "s" is appended, so a Comment class becomes a comments table.
-      # * Class name with word compositions: Compositions are underscored, so CreditCard class becomes a credit_cards table.
-      #
-      # Additionally, the class-level table_name_prefix is prepended to the table_name and the table_name_suffix is appended.
-      # So if you have "myapp_" as a prefix, the table name guess for an Account class becomes "myapp_accounts".
-      #
-      # You can also overwrite this class method to allow for unguessable links, such as a Mouse class with a link to a
-      # "mice" table. Example:
-      #
-      #   class Mouse < ActiveRecord::Base
-      #      def self.table_name() "mice" end
-      #   end
-      def table_name(class_name = nil)
-        if class_name.nil?
-          class_name  = class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self)
-          table_name_prefix + undecorated_table_name(class_name) + table_name_suffix
-        else
-          table_name_prefix + undecorated_table_name(class_name) + table_name_suffix
+      # Set this to true if this is an abstract class (see #abstract_class?).
+      attr_accessor :abstract_class
+
+      # Returns whether this class is a base AR class.  If A is a base class and
+      # B descends from A, then B.base_class will return B.
+      def abstract_class?
+        abstract_class == true
+      end
+
+      private
+        def find_initial(options)
+          options.update(:limit => 1) unless options[:include]
+          find_every(options).first
+        end
+
+        def find_every(options)
+          records = scoped?(:find, :include) || options[:include] ?
+            find_with_associations(options) : 
+            find_by_sql(construct_finder_sql(options))
+
+          records.each { |record| record.readonly! } if options[:readonly]
+
+          records
+        end
+
+        def find_from_ids(ids, options)
+          expects_array = ids.first.kind_of?(Array)
+          return ids.first if expects_array && ids.first.empty?
+
+          ids = ids.flatten.compact.uniq
+
+          case ids.size
+            when 0
+              raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} without an ID"
+            when 1
+              result = find_one(ids.first, options)
+              expects_array ? [ result ] : result
+            else
+              find_some(ids, options)
+          end
+        end
+      
+        def find_one(id, options)
+          conditions = " AND (#{sanitize_sql(options[:conditions])})" if options[:conditions]
+          options.update :conditions => "#{quoted_table_name}.#{connection.quote_column_name(primary_key)} = #{quote_value(id,columns_hash[primary_key])}#{conditions}"
+
+          # Use find_every(options).first since the primary key condition
+          # already ensures we have a single record. Using find_initial adds
+          # a superfluous :limit => 1.
+          if result = find_every(options).first
+            result
+          else
+            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find #{name} with ID=#{id}#{conditions}"
+          end
+        end
+      
+        def find_some(ids, options)
+          conditions = " AND (#{sanitize_sql(options[:conditions])})" if options[:conditions]
+          ids_list   = ids.map { |id| quote_value(id,columns_hash[primary_key]) }.join(',')
+          options.update :conditions => "#{quoted_table_name}.#{connection.quote_column_name(primary_key)} IN (#{ids_list})#{conditions}"
+
+          result = find_every(options)
+
+          # Determine expected size from limit and offset, not just ids.size.
+          expected_size =
+            if options[:limit] && ids.size > options[:limit]
+              options[:limit]
+            else
+              ids.size
+            end
+
+          # 11 ids with limit 3, offset 9 should give 2 results.
+          if options[:offset] && (ids.size - options[:offset] < expected_size)
+            expected_size = ids.size - options[:offset]
+          end
+
+          if result.size == expected_size
+            result
+          else
+            raise RecordNotFound, "Couldn't find all #{name.pluralize} with IDs (#{ids_list})#{conditions} (found #{result.size} results, but was looking for #{expected_size})"
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Finder methods must instantiate through this method to work with the
+        # single-table inheritance model that makes it possible to create
+        # objects of different types from the same table.
+        def instantiate(record)
+          object =
+            if subclass_name = record[inheritance_column]
+              # No type given.
+              if subclass_name.empty?
+                allocate
+
+              else
+                # Ignore type if no column is present since it was probably
+                # pulled in from a sloppy join.
+                unless columns_hash.include?(inheritance_column)
+                  allocate
+
+                else
+                  begin
+                    compute_type(subclass_name).allocate
+                  rescue NameError
+                    raise SubclassNotFound,
+                      "The single-table inheritance mechanism failed to locate the subclass: '#{record[inheritance_column]}'. " +
+                      "This error is raised because the column '#{inheritance_column}' is reserved for storing the class in case of inheritance. " +
+                      "Please rename this column if you didn't intend it to be used for storing the inheritance class " +
+                      "or overwrite #{self.to_s}.inheritance_column to use another column for that information."
+                  end
+                end
+              end
+            else
+              allocate
+            end
+
+          object.instance_variable_set("@attributes", record)
+          object.instance_variable_set("@attributes_cache", Hash.new)
+
+          if object.respond_to_without_attributes?(:after_find)
+            object.send(:callback, :after_find)
+          end
+
+          if object.respond_to_without_attributes?(:after_initialize)
+            object.send(:callback, :after_initialize)
+          end
+
+          object
+        end
+
+        # Nest the type name in the same module as this class.
+        # Bar is "MyApp::Business::Bar" relative to MyApp::Business::Foo
+        def type_name_with_module(type_name)
+          (/^::/ =~ type_name) ? type_name : "#{parent.name}::#{type_name}"
+        end
+
+        def construct_finder_sql(options)
+          scope = scope(:find)
+          sql  = "SELECT #{(scope && scope[:select]) || options[:select] || (options[:joins] && quoted_table_name + '.*') || '*'} "
+          sql << "FROM #{(scope && scope[:from]) || options[:from] || quoted_table_name} "
+
+          add_joins!(sql, options, scope)
+          add_conditions!(sql, options[:conditions], scope)
+
+          add_group!(sql, options[:group], scope)
+          add_order!(sql, options[:order], scope)
+          add_limit!(sql, options, scope)
+          add_lock!(sql, options, scope)
+
+          sql
+        end
+
+        # Merges includes so that the result is a valid +include+
+        def merge_includes(first, second)
+         (safe_to_array(first) + safe_to_array(second)).uniq
+        end
+
+        # Object#to_a is deprecated, though it does have the desired behavior
+        def safe_to_array(o)
+          case o
+          when NilClass
+            []
+          when Array
+            o
+          else
+            [o]
+          end
+        end
+
+        def add_order!(sql, order, scope = :auto)
+          scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+          scoped_order = scope[:order] if scope
+          if order
+            sql << " ORDER BY #{order}"
+            sql << ", #{scoped_order}" if scoped_order
+          else
+            sql << " ORDER BY #{scoped_order}" if scoped_order
+          end
+        end
+
+        def add_group!(sql, group, scope = :auto)
+          if group
+            sql << " GROUP BY #{group}"
+          else
+            scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+            if scope && (scoped_group = scope[:group])
+              sql << " GROUP BY #{scoped_group}"
+            end
+          end
+        end
+
+        # The optional scope argument is for the current :find scope.
+        def add_limit!(sql, options, scope = :auto)
+          scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+
+          if scope
+            options[:limit] ||= scope[:limit]
+            options[:offset] ||= scope[:offset]
+          end
+
+          connection.add_limit_offset!(sql, options)
+        end
+
+        # The optional scope argument is for the current :find scope.
+        # The :lock option has precedence over a scoped :lock.
+        def add_lock!(sql, options, scope = :auto)
+          scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+          options = options.reverse_merge(:lock => scope[:lock]) if scope
+          connection.add_lock!(sql, options)
+        end
+
+        # The optional scope argument is for the current :find scope.
+        def add_joins!(sql, options, scope = :auto)
+          scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+          join = (scope && scope[:joins]) || options[:joins]
+          case join
+          when Symbol, Hash, Array
+            join_dependency = ActiveRecord::Associations::ClassMethods::InnerJoinDependency.new(self, join, nil)
+            sql << " #{join_dependency.join_associations.collect{|join| join.association_join }.join} "
+          else
+            sql << " #{join} "
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Adds a sanitized version of +conditions+ to the +sql+ string. Note that the passed-in +sql+ string is changed.
+        # The optional scope argument is for the current :find scope.
+        def add_conditions!(sql, conditions, scope = :auto)
+          scope = scope(:find) if :auto == scope
+          segments = []
+          segments << sanitize_sql(scope[:conditions]) if scope && !scope[:conditions].blank?
+          segments << sanitize_sql(conditions) unless conditions.blank?
+          segments << type_condition if finder_needs_type_condition?
+          segments.delete_if{|s| s.blank?}
+          sql << "WHERE (#{segments.join(") AND (")}) " unless segments.empty?
+        end
+
+        def type_condition
+          quoted_inheritance_column = connection.quote_column_name(inheritance_column)
+          type_condition = subclasses.inject("#{quoted_table_name}.#{quoted_inheritance_column} = '#{name.demodulize}' ") do |condition, subclass|
+            condition << "OR #{quoted_table_name}.#{quoted_inheritance_column} = '#{subclass.name.demodulize}' "
+          end
+
+          " (#{type_condition}) "
+        end
+
+        # Guesses the table name, but does not decorate it with prefix and suffix information.
+        def undecorated_table_name(class_name = base_class.name)
+          table_name = Inflector.underscore(Inflector.demodulize(class_name))
+          table_name = Inflector.pluralize(table_name) if pluralize_table_names
+          table_name
+        end
+
+        # Enables dynamic finders like find_by_user_name(user_name) and find_by_user_name_and_password(user_name, password) that are turned into
+        # find(:first, :conditions => ["user_name = ?", user_name]) and  find(:first, :conditions => ["user_name = ? AND password = ?", user_name, password])
+        # respectively. Also works for find(:all) by using find_all_by_amount(50) that is turned into find(:all, :conditions => ["amount = ?", 50]).
+        #
+        # It's even possible to use all the additional parameters to find. For example, the full interface for find_all_by_amount
+        # is actually find_all_by_amount(amount, options).
+        #
+        # This also enables you to initialize a record if it is not found, such as find_or_initialize_by_amount(amount) 
+        # or find_or_create_by_user_and_password(user, password).
+        #
+        # Each dynamic finder or initializer/creator is also defined in the class after it is first invoked, so that future
+        # attempts to use it do not run through method_missing.
+        def method_missing(method_id, *arguments)
+          if match = /^find_(all_by|by)_([_a-zA-Z]\w*)$/.match(method_id.to_s)
+            finder = determine_finder(match)
+
+            attribute_names = extract_attribute_names_from_match(match)
+            super unless all_attributes_exists?(attribute_names)
+
+            self.class_eval %{
+              def self.#{method_id}(*args) 
+                options = args.last.is_a?(Hash) ? args.pop : {}
+                attributes = construct_attributes_from_arguments([:#{attribute_names.join(',:')}], args)
+                finder_options = { :conditions => attributes }
+                validate_find_options(options)
+                set_readonly_option!(options)
+
+                if options[:conditions]
+                  with_scope(:find => finder_options) do
+                    ActiveSupport::Deprecation.silence { send(:#{finder}, options) }
+                  end
+                else
+                  ActiveSupport::Deprecation.silence { send(:#{finder}, options.merge(finder_options)) }
+                end
+              end
+            }, __FILE__, __LINE__
+            send(method_id, *arguments)
+          elsif match = /^find_or_(initialize|create)_by_([_a-zA-Z]\w*)$/.match(method_id.to_s)
+            instantiator = determine_instantiator(match)
+            attribute_names = extract_attribute_names_from_match(match)
+            super unless all_attributes_exists?(attribute_names)
+
+            self.class_eval %{
+              def self.#{method_id}(*args) 
+                if args[0].is_a?(Hash)
+                  attributes = args[0].with_indifferent_access
+                  find_attributes = attributes.slice(*[:#{attribute_names.join(',:')}])
+                else
+                  find_attributes = attributes = construct_attributes_from_arguments([:#{attribute_names.join(',:')}], args)
+                end
+                                
+                options = { :conditions => find_attributes }
+                set_readonly_option!(options)
+
+                record = find_initial(options)
+                if record.nil?
+                  record = self.new { |r| r.send(:attributes=, attributes, false) } 
+                  #{'record.save' if instantiator == :create}
+                  record
+                else
+                  record                
+                end
+              end
+            }, __FILE__, __LINE__
+            send(method_id, *arguments)
+          else
+            super
+          end
+        end
+
+        def determine_finder(match)
+          match.captures.first == 'all_by' ? :find_every : :find_initial
+        end
+
+        def determine_instantiator(match)
+          match.captures.first == 'initialize' ? :new : :create
+        end
+
+        def extract_attribute_names_from_match(match)
+          match.captures.last.split('_and_')
+        end
+
+        def construct_attributes_from_arguments(attribute_names, arguments)
+          attributes = {}
+          attribute_names.each_with_index { |name, idx| attributes[name] = arguments[idx] }
+          attributes
+        end
+
+        def all_attributes_exists?(attribute_names)
+          attribute_names.all? { |name| column_methods_hash.include?(name.to_sym) }
+        end        
+
+        def attribute_condition(argument)
+          case argument
+            when nil   then "IS ?"
+            when Array, ActiveRecord::Associations::AssociationCollection then "IN (?)"
+            when Range then "BETWEEN ? AND ?"
+            else            "= ?"
+          end
         end
-      end
 
-      # Defines the primary key field -- can be overridden in subclasses. Overwritting will negate any effect of the
-      # primary_key_prefix_type setting, though.
-      def primary_key
-        case primary_key_prefix_type
-          when :table_name
-            Inflector.foreign_key(class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self), false)
-          when :table_name_with_underscore
-            Inflector.foreign_key(class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self))
+        # Interpret Array and Hash as conditions and anything else as an id.
+        def expand_id_conditions(id_or_conditions)
+          case id_or_conditions
+            when Array, Hash then id_or_conditions
+            else sanitize_sql(primary_key => id_or_conditions)
+          end
+        end
+
+
+        # Defines an "attribute" method (like #inheritance_column or
+        # #table_name). A new (class) method will be created with the
+        # given name. If a value is specified, the new method will
+        # return that value (as a string). Otherwise, the given block
+        # will be used to compute the value of the method.
+        #
+        # The original method will be aliased, with the new name being
+        # prefixed with "original_". This allows the new method to
+        # access the original value.
+        #
+        # Example:
+        #
+        #   class A < ActiveRecord::Base
+        #     define_attr_method :primary_key, "sysid"
+        #     define_attr_method( :inheritance_column ) do
+        #       original_inheritance_column + "_id"
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        def define_attr_method(name, value=nil, &block)
+          sing = class << self; self; end
+          sing.send :alias_method, "original_#{name}", name
+          if block_given?
+            sing.send :define_method, name, &block
           else
-            "id"
+            # use eval instead of a block to work around a memory leak in dev
+            # mode in fcgi
+            sing.class_eval "def #{name}; #{value.to_s.inspect}; end"
+          end
         end
-      end
 
-      # Defines the column name for use with single table inheritance -- can be overridden in subclasses.
-      def inheritance_column
-	      "type"
-      end
+      protected
+        # Scope parameters to method calls within the block.  Takes a hash of method_name => parameters hash.
+        # method_name may be :find or :create. :find parameters may include the <tt>:conditions</tt>, <tt>:joins</tt>,
+        # <tt>:include</tt>, <tt>:offset</tt>, <tt>:limit</tt>, and <tt>:readonly</tt> options. :create parameters are an attributes hash.
+        #
+        #   class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
+        #     def self.create_with_scope
+        #       with_scope(:find => { :conditions => "blog_id = 1" }, :create => { :blog_id => 1 }) do
+        #         find(1) # => SELECT * from articles WHERE blog_id = 1 AND id = 1
+        #         a = create(1)
+        #         a.blog_id # => 1
+        #       end
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        #
+        # In nested scopings, all previous parameters are overwritten by the innermost rule, with the exception of
+        # :conditions and :include options in :find, which are merged.
+        #
+        #   class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
+        #     def self.find_with_scope
+        #       with_scope(:find => { :conditions => "blog_id = 1", :limit => 1 }, :create => { :blog_id => 1 }) do
+        #         with_scope(:find => { :limit => 10})
+        #           find(:all) # => SELECT * from articles WHERE blog_id = 1 LIMIT 10
+        #         end
+        #         with_scope(:find => { :conditions => "author_id = 3" })
+        #           find(:all) # => SELECT * from articles WHERE blog_id = 1 AND author_id = 3 LIMIT 1
+        #         end
+        #       end
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        #
+        # You can ignore any previous scopings by using the <tt>with_exclusive_scope</tt> method.
+        #
+        #   class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
+        #     def self.find_with_exclusive_scope
+        #       with_scope(:find => { :conditions => "blog_id = 1", :limit => 1 }) do
+        #         with_exclusive_scope(:find => { :limit => 10 })
+        #           find(:all) # => SELECT * from articles LIMIT 10
+        #         end
+        #       end
+        #     end
+        #   end
+        def with_scope(method_scoping = {}, action = :merge, &block)
+          method_scoping = method_scoping.method_scoping if method_scoping.respond_to?(:method_scoping)
+
+          # Dup first and second level of hash (method and params).
+          method_scoping = method_scoping.inject({}) do |hash, (method, params)|
+            hash[method] = (params == true) ? params : params.dup
+            hash
+          end
 
-      # Turns the +table_name+ back into a class name following the reverse rules of +table_name+.
-      def class_name(table_name = table_name) # :nodoc:
-        # remove any prefix and/or suffix from the table name
-        class_name = Inflector.camelize(table_name[table_name_prefix.length..-(table_name_suffix.length + 1)])
-        class_name = Inflector.singularize(class_name) if pluralize_table_names
-        return class_name
-      end
+          method_scoping.assert_valid_keys([ :find, :create ])
 
-      # Returns an array of column objects for the table associated with this class.
-      def columns
-        @columns ||= connection.columns(table_name, "#{name} Columns")
-      end
-      
-      # Returns an array of column objects for the table associated with this class.
-      def columns_hash
-        @columns_hash ||= columns.inject({}) { |hash, column| hash[column.name] = column; hash }
-      end
+          if f = method_scoping[:find]
+            f.assert_valid_keys(VALID_FIND_OPTIONS)
+            set_readonly_option! f
+          end
 
-      # Returns an array of columns objects where the primary id, all columns ending in "_id" or "_count", 
-      # and columns used for single table inheritance has been removed.
-      def content_columns
-        columns.reject { |c| c.name == primary_key || c.name =~ /(_id|_count)$/ || c.name == inheritance_column }
-      end
+          # Merge scopings
+          if action == :merge && current_scoped_methods
+            method_scoping = current_scoped_methods.inject(method_scoping) do |hash, (method, params)|
+              case hash[method]
+                when Hash
+                  if method == :find
+                    (hash[method].keys + params.keys).uniq.each do |key|
+                      merge = hash[method][key] && params[key] # merge if both scopes have the same key
+                      if key == :conditions && merge
+                        hash[method][key] = [params[key], hash[method][key]].collect{ |sql| "( %s )" % sanitize_sql(sql) }.join(" AND ")
+                      elsif key == :include && merge
+                        hash[method][key] = merge_includes(hash[method][key], params[key]).uniq
+                      else
+                        hash[method][key] = hash[method][key] || params[key]
+                      end
+                    end
+                  else
+                    hash[method] = params.merge(hash[method])
+                  end
+                else
+                  hash[method] = params
+              end
+              hash
+            end
+          end
 
-      # Transforms attribute key names into a more humane format, such as "First name" instead of "first_name". Example:
-      #   Person.human_attribute_name("first_name") # => "First name"
-      def human_attribute_name(attribute_key_name)
-        attribute_key_name.gsub(/_/, " ").capitalize unless attribute_key_name.nil?
-      end
-      
-      def descents_from_active_record? # :nodoc:
-        superclass == Base
-      end
+          self.scoped_methods << method_scoping
 
-      # Used to sanitize objects before they're used in an SELECT SQL-statement.
-      def sanitize(object) # :nodoc:
-        return object if Fixnum === object
-        object.to_s.gsub(/([;:])/, "").gsub('##', '\#\#').gsub(/'/, "''") # ' (for ruby-mode)
-      end
+          begin
+            yield
+          ensure
+            self.scoped_methods.pop
+          end
+        end
 
-      # Used to aggregate logging and benchmark, so you can measure and represent multiple statements in a single block.
-      # Usage (hides all the SQL calls for the individual actions and calculates total runtime for them all):
-      #
-      #   Project.benchmark("Creating project") do
-      #     project = Project.create("name" => "stuff")
-      #     project.create_manager("name" => "David")
-      #     project.milestones << Milestone.find_all
-      #   end
-      def benchmark(title)
-        logger.level = Logger::ERROR
-        bm = Benchmark.measure { yield }
-        logger.level = Logger::DEBUG
-        logger.info "#{title} (#{sprintf("%f", bm.real)})"
-      end
+        # Works like with_scope, but discards any nested properties.
+        def with_exclusive_scope(method_scoping = {}, &block)
+          with_scope(method_scoping, :overwrite, &block)
+        end
 
-      private
-        # Finder methods must instantiate through this method to work with the single-table inheritance model
-        # that makes it possible to create objects of different types from the same table.
-        def instantiate(record)
-          object = record_with_type?(record) ? compute_type(record[inheritance_column]).allocate : allocate
-          object.instance_variable_set("@attributes", record)
-          return object
+        def subclasses #:nodoc:
+          @@subclasses[self] ||= []
+          @@subclasses[self] + extra = @@subclasses[self].inject([]) {|list, subclass| list + subclass.subclasses }
         end
-        
-        # Returns true if the +record+ has a single table inheritance column and is using it.
-        def record_with_type?(record)
-          record.include?(inheritance_column) && !record[inheritance_column].nil? && 
-	           !record[inheritance_column].empty?
+
+        # Test whether the given method and optional key are scoped.
+        def scoped?(method, key = nil) #:nodoc:
+          if current_scoped_methods && (scope = current_scoped_methods[method])
+            !key || scope.has_key?(key)
+          end
         end
-        
-        # Returns the name of the type of the record using the current module as a prefix. So descendents of
-        # MyApp::Business::Account would be appear as "MyApp::Business::AccountSubclass".
-        def type_name_with_module(type_name)
-          self.name =~ /::/ ? self.name.scan(/(.*)::/).first.first + "::" + type_name : type_name
+
+        # Retrieve the scope for the given method and optional key.
+        def scope(method, key = nil) #:nodoc:
+          if current_scoped_methods && (scope = current_scoped_methods[method])
+            key ? scope[key] : scope
+          end
         end
 
-        # Adds a sanitized version of +conditions+ to the +sql+ string. Note that it's the passed +sql+ string is changed.
-        def add_conditions!(sql, conditions)
-          sql << "WHERE #{sanitize_conditions(conditions)} " unless conditions.nil?
-          sql << (conditions.nil? ? "WHERE " : " AND ") + type_condition unless descents_from_active_record?
+        def thread_safe_scoped_methods #:nodoc:
+          scoped_methods = (Thread.current[:scoped_methods] ||= {})
+          scoped_methods[self] ||= []
         end
         
-        def type_condition
-          " (" + subclasses.inject("#{inheritance_column} = '#{Inflector.demodulize(name)}' ") do |condition, subclass| 
-            condition << "OR #{inheritance_column} = '#{Inflector.demodulize(subclass.name)}' "
-          end + ") "
+        def single_threaded_scoped_methods #:nodoc:
+          @scoped_methods ||= []
         end
-
-        # Guesses the table name, but does not decorate it with prefix and suffix information.
-        def undecorated_table_name(class_name = class_name_of_active_record_descendant(self))
-          table_name = Inflector.underscore(Inflector.demodulize(class_name))
-          table_name = Inflector.pluralize(table_name) if pluralize_table_names
-          return table_name
+        
+        # pick up the correct scoped_methods version from @@allow_concurrency
+        if @@allow_concurrency
+          alias_method :scoped_methods, :thread_safe_scoped_methods
+        else
+          alias_method :scoped_methods, :single_threaded_scoped_methods
         end
-
-
-      protected
-        def subclasses
-          @@subclasses[self] ||= []
-          @@subclasses[self] + extra = @@subclasses[self].inject([]) {|list, subclass| list + subclass.subclasses }
+        
+        def current_scoped_methods #:nodoc:
+          scoped_methods.last
         end
-      
+
         # Returns the class type of the record using the current module as a prefix. So descendents of
-        # MyApp::Business::Account would be appear as MyApp::Business::AccountSubclass.
+        # MyApp::Business::Account would appear as MyApp::Business::AccountSubclass.
         def compute_type(type_name)
-          type_name_with_module(type_name).split("::").inject(Object) do |final_type, part| 
-            final_type = final_type.const_get(part)
+          modularized_name = type_name_with_module(type_name)
+          begin
+            class_eval(modularized_name, __FILE__, __LINE__)
+          rescue NameError
+            class_eval(type_name, __FILE__, __LINE__)
           end
         end
 
-        # Returns the name of the class descending directly from ActiveRecord in the inheritance hierarchy.
-        def class_name_of_active_record_descendant(klass)
-          if klass.superclass == Base
-            return klass.name
+        # Returns the class descending directly from ActiveRecord in the inheritance hierarchy.
+        def class_of_active_record_descendant(klass)
+          if klass.superclass == Base || klass.superclass.abstract_class?
+            klass
           elsif klass.superclass.nil?
             raise ActiveRecordError, "#{name} doesn't belong in a hierarchy descending from ActiveRecord"
           else
-            class_name_of_active_record_descendant(klass.superclass)
+            class_of_active_record_descendant(klass.superclass)
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Returns the name of the class descending directly from ActiveRecord in the inheritance hierarchy.
+        def class_name_of_active_record_descendant(klass) #:nodoc:
+          klass.base_class.name
+        end
+
+        # Accepts an array, hash, or string of sql conditions and sanitizes
+        # them into a valid SQL fragment for a WHERE clause.
+        #   ["name='%s' and group_id='%s'", "foo'bar", 4]  returns  "name='foo''bar' and group_id='4'"
+        #   { :name => "foo'bar", :group_id => 4 }  returns "name='foo''bar' and group_id='4'"
+        #   "name='foo''bar' and group_id='4'" returns "name='foo''bar' and group_id='4'"
+        def sanitize_sql_for_conditions(condition)
+          case condition
+            when Array; sanitize_sql_array(condition)
+            when Hash;  sanitize_sql_hash_for_conditions(condition)
+            else        condition
+          end
+        end
+        alias_method :sanitize_sql, :sanitize_sql_for_conditions
+
+        # Accepts an array, hash, or string of sql conditions and sanitizes
+        # them into a valid SQL fragment for a SET clause.
+        #   { :name => nil, :group_id => 4 }  returns "name = NULL , group_id='4'"
+        def sanitize_sql_for_assignment(assignments)
+          case assignments
+            when Array; sanitize_sql_array(assignments)
+            when Hash;  sanitize_sql_hash_for_assignment(assignments)
+            else        assignments
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Sanitizes a hash of attribute/value pairs into SQL conditions for a WHERE clause.
+        #   { :name => "foo'bar", :group_id => 4 }
+        #     # => "name='foo''bar' and group_id= 4"
+        #   { :status => nil, :group_id => [1,2,3] }
+        #     # => "status IS NULL and group_id IN (1,2,3)"
+        #   { :age => 13..18 }
+        #     # => "age BETWEEN 13 AND 18"
+        #   { 'other_records.id' => 7 }
+        #     # => "`other_records`.`id` = 7"
+        def sanitize_sql_hash_for_conditions(attrs)
+          conditions = attrs.map do |attr, value|
+            attr = attr.to_s
+
+            # Extract table name from qualified attribute names.
+            if attr.include?('.')
+              table_name, attr = attr.split('.', 2)
+              table_name = connection.quote_table_name(table_name)
+            else
+              table_name = quoted_table_name
+            end
+
+            "#{table_name}.#{connection.quote_column_name(attr)} #{attribute_condition(value)}"
+          end.join(' AND ')
+
+          replace_bind_variables(conditions, expand_range_bind_variables(attrs.values))
+        end
+        alias_method :sanitize_sql_hash, :sanitize_sql_hash_for_conditions
+
+        # Sanitizes a hash of attribute/value pairs into SQL conditions for a SET clause.
+        #   { :status => nil, :group_id => 1 }
+        #     # => "status = NULL , group_id = 1"
+        def sanitize_sql_hash_for_assignment(attrs)
+          conditions = attrs.map do |attr, value|
+            "#{connection.quote_column_name(attr)} = #{quote_bound_value(value)}"
+          end.join(', ')
+        end
+
+        # Accepts an array of conditions.  The array has each value
+        # sanitized and interpolated into the sql statement.
+        #   ["name='%s' and group_id='%s'", "foo'bar", 4]  returns  "name='foo''bar' and group_id='4'"
+        def sanitize_sql_array(ary)
+          statement, *values = ary
+          if values.first.is_a?(Hash) and statement =~ /:\w+/
+            replace_named_bind_variables(statement, values.first)
+          elsif statement.include?('?')
+            replace_bind_variables(statement, values)
+          else
+            statement % values.collect { |value| connection.quote_string(value.to_s) }
+          end
+        end
+
+        alias_method :sanitize_conditions, :sanitize_sql
+
+        def replace_bind_variables(statement, values) #:nodoc:
+          raise_if_bind_arity_mismatch(statement, statement.count('?'), values.size)
+          bound = values.dup
+          statement.gsub('?') { quote_bound_value(bound.shift) }
+        end
+
+        def replace_named_bind_variables(statement, bind_vars) #:nodoc:
+          statement.gsub(/:(\w+)/) do
+            match = $1.to_sym
+            if bind_vars.include?(match)
+              quote_bound_value(bind_vars[match])
+            else
+              raise PreparedStatementInvalid, "missing value for :#{match} in #{statement}"
+            end
+          end
+        end
+
+        def expand_range_bind_variables(bind_vars) #:nodoc:
+          bind_vars.each_with_index do |var, index|
+            bind_vars[index, 1] = [var.first, var.last] if var.is_a?(Range)
+          end
+          bind_vars
+        end
+
+        def quote_bound_value(value) #:nodoc:
+          if value.respond_to?(:map) && !value.is_a?(String)
+            if value.respond_to?(:empty?) && value.empty?
+              connection.quote(nil)
+            else
+              value.map { |v| connection.quote(v) }.join(',')
+            end
+          else
+            connection.quote(value)
+          end
+        end
+
+        def raise_if_bind_arity_mismatch(statement, expected, provided) #:nodoc:
+          unless expected == provided
+            raise PreparedStatementInvalid, "wrong number of bind variables (#{provided} for #{expected}) in: #{statement}"
           end
         end
 
-        # Accepts either a condition array or string. The string is returned untouched, but the array has each of
-        # the condition values sanitized.
-        def sanitize_conditions(conditions)
-          if Array === conditions
-            statement, values = conditions[0], conditions[1..-1]
-            values.collect! { |value| sanitize(value) }
-            conditions = statement % values
+        VALID_FIND_OPTIONS = [ :conditions, :include, :joins, :limit, :offset,
+                               :order, :select, :readonly, :group, :from, :lock ]
+
+        def validate_find_options(options) #:nodoc:
+          options.assert_valid_keys(VALID_FIND_OPTIONS)
+        end
+
+        def set_readonly_option!(options) #:nodoc:
+          # Inherit :readonly from finder scope if set.  Otherwise,
+          # if :joins is not blank then :readonly defaults to true.
+          unless options.has_key?(:readonly)
+            if scoped_readonly = scope(:find, :readonly)
+              options[:readonly] = scoped_readonly
+            elsif !options[:joins].blank? && !options[:select]
+              options[:readonly] = true
+            end
           end
-          
-          return conditions
+        end
+
+        def encode_quoted_value(value) #:nodoc:
+          quoted_value = connection.quote(value)
+          quoted_value = "'#{quoted_value[1..-2].gsub(/\'/, "\\\\'")}'" if quoted_value.include?("\\\'") # (for ruby mode) " 
+          quoted_value 
         end
     end
 
     public
       # New objects can be instantiated as either empty (pass no construction parameter) or pre-set with
       # attributes but not yet saved (pass a hash with key names matching the associated table column names).
-      # In both instances, valid attribute keys are determined by the column names of the associated table -- 
+      # In both instances, valid attribute keys are determined by the column names of the associated table --
       # hence you can't have attributes that aren't part of the table columns.
       def initialize(attributes = nil)
         @attributes = attributes_from_column_definition
+        @attributes_cache = {}
         @new_record = true
         ensure_proper_type
         self.attributes = attributes unless attributes.nil?
-        yield self if block_given?
+        self.class.send(:scope, :create).each { |att,value| self.send("#{att}=", value) } if self.class.send(:scoped?, :create)
+        result = yield self if block_given?
+        callback(:after_initialize) if respond_to_without_attributes?(:after_initialize)
+        result
       end
-      
-      # Every Active Record class must use "id" as their primary ID. This getter overwrites the native
-      # id method, which isn't being used in this context.
+
+      # A model instance's primary key is always available as model.id
+      # whether you name it the default 'id' or set it to something else.
       def id
-        read_attribute(self.class.primary_key)
+        attr_name = self.class.primary_key
+        column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
+        
+        self.class.send(:define_read_method, :id, attr_name, column)
+        # now that the method exists, call it
+        self.send attr_name.to_sym
+
       end
-      
+
+      # Enables Active Record objects to be used as URL parameters in Action Pack automatically.
+      def to_param
+        # We can't use alias_method here, because method 'id' optimizes itself on the fly.
+        (id = self.id) ? id.to_s : nil # Be sure to stringify the id for routes
+      end
+
+      def id_before_type_cast #:nodoc:
+        read_attribute_before_type_cast(self.class.primary_key)
+      end
+
+      def quoted_id #:nodoc:
+        quote_value(id, column_for_attribute(self.class.primary_key))
+      end
+
       # Sets the primary ID.
       def id=(value)
         write_attribute(self.class.primary_key, value)
       end
-      
+
       # Returns true if this object hasn't been saved yet -- that is, a record for the object doesn't exist yet.
       def new_record?
         @new_record
       end
-      
+
       # * No record exists: Creates a new record with values matching those of the object attributes.
       # * A record does exist: Updates the record with values matching those of the object attributes.
       def save
         create_or_update
-        return true
       end
-    
+      
+      # Attempts to save the record, but instead of just returning false if it couldn't happen, it raises a 
+      # RecordNotSaved exception
+      def save!
+        create_or_update || raise(RecordNotSaved)
+      end
+
       # Deletes the record in the database and freezes this instance to reflect that no changes should
       # be made (since they can't be persisted).
       def destroy
         unless new_record?
-          connection.delete(
-            "DELETE FROM #{self.class.table_name} " + 
-            "WHERE #{self.class.primary_key} = '#{id}'", 
-            "#{self.class.name} Destroy"
-          )
+          connection.delete <<-end_sql, "#{self.class.name} Destroy"
+            DELETE FROM #{self.class.quoted_table_name}
+            WHERE #{connection.quote_column_name(self.class.primary_key)} = #{quoted_id}
+          end_sql
         end
 
         freeze
       end
 
-      # Returns a clone of the record that hasn't been assigned an id yet and is treated as a new record.
+      # Returns a clone of the record that hasn't been assigned an id yet and
+      # is treated as a new record.  Note that this is a "shallow" clone:
+      # it copies the object's attributes only, not its associations.
+      # The extent of a "deep" clone is application-specific and is therefore
+      # left to the application to implement according to its need.
       def clone
-        attr = Hash.new
+        attrs = self.attributes_before_type_cast
+        attrs.delete(self.class.primary_key)
+        record = self.class.new
+        record.send :instance_variable_set, '@attributes', attrs
+        record
+      end
 
-        self.attribute_names.each do |name|
-          begin
-            attr[name] = read_attribute(name).clone
-          rescue TypeError
-            attr[name] = read_attribute(name)
-          end
+      # Returns an instance of the specified klass with the attributes of the current record. This is mostly useful in relation to
+      # single-table inheritance structures where you want a subclass to appear as the superclass. This can be used along with record
+      # identification in Action Pack to allow, say, Client < Company to do something like render :partial => @client.becomes(Company)
+      # to render that instance using the companies/company partial instead of clients/client.
+      #
+      # Note: The new instance will share a link to the same attributes as the original class. So any change to the attributes in either
+      # instance will affect the other.
+      def becomes(klass)
+        returning klass.new do |became|
+          became.instance_variable_set("@attributes", @attributes)
+          became.instance_variable_set("@attributes_cache", @attributes_cache)
+          became.instance_variable_set("@new_record", new_record?)
         end
-
-        cloned_record = self.class.new(attr)
-        cloned_record.instance_variable_set "@new_record", true
-        cloned_record.id = nil
-        cloned_record
       end
-            
+
       # Updates a single attribute and saves the record. This is especially useful for boolean flags on existing records.
+      # Note: This method is overwritten by the Validation module that'll make sure that updates made with this method
+      # aren't subjected to validation checks. Hence, attributes can be updated even if the full object isn't valid.
       def update_attribute(name, value)
-        self[name] = value
+        send(name.to_s + '=', value)
+        save
+      end
+
+      # Updates all the attributes from the passed-in Hash and saves the record. If the object is invalid, the saving will
+      # fail and false will be returned.
+      def update_attributes(attributes)
+        self.attributes = attributes
         save
       end
+      
+      # Updates an object just like Base.update_attributes but calls save! instead of save so an exception is raised if the record is invalid.
+      def update_attributes!(attributes)
+        self.attributes = attributes
+        save!
+      end
+
+      # Initializes the +attribute+ to zero if nil and adds one. Only makes sense for number-based attributes. Returns self.
+      def increment(attribute)
+        self[attribute] ||= 0
+        self[attribute] += 1
+        self
+      end
+
+      # Increments the +attribute+ and saves the record.
+      def increment!(attribute)
+        increment(attribute).update_attribute(attribute, self[attribute])
+      end
+
+      # Initializes the +attribute+ to zero if nil and subtracts one. Only makes sense for number-based attributes. Returns self.
+      def decrement(attribute)
+        self[attribute] ||= 0
+        self[attribute] -= 1
+        self
+      end
+
+      # Decrements the +attribute+ and saves the record.
+      def decrement!(attribute)
+        decrement(attribute).update_attribute(attribute, self[attribute])
+      end
 
-      # Returns the value of attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> after it has been type cast (for example, 
+      # Turns an +attribute+ that's currently true into false and vice versa. Returns self.
+      def toggle(attribute)
+        self[attribute] = !send("#{attribute}?")
+        self
+      end
+
+      # Toggles the +attribute+ and saves the record.
+      def toggle!(attribute)
+        toggle(attribute).update_attribute(attribute, self[attribute])
+      end
+
+      # Reloads the attributes of this object from the database.
+      # The optional options argument is passed to find when reloading so you
+      # may do e.g. record.reload(:lock => true) to reload the same record with
+      # an exclusive row lock.
+      def reload(options = nil)
+        clear_aggregation_cache
+        clear_association_cache
+        @attributes.update(self.class.find(self.id, options).instance_variable_get('@attributes'))
+        @attributes_cache = {}
+        self
+      end
+
+      # Returns the value of the attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> after it has been typecast (for example,
       # "2004-12-12" in a data column is cast to a date object, like Date.new(2004, 12, 12)).
       # (Alias for the protected read_attribute method).
-      def [](attr_name) 
+      def [](attr_name)
         read_attribute(attr_name)
       end
-      
+
       # Updates the attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> with the specified +value+.
       # (Alias for the protected write_attribute method).
-      def []= (attr_name, value) 
+      def []=(attr_name, value)
         write_attribute(attr_name, value)
       end
 
       # Allows you to set all the attributes at once by passing in a hash with keys
       # matching the attribute names (which again matches the column names). Sensitive attributes can be protected
       # from this form of mass-assignment by using the +attr_protected+ macro. Or you can alternatively
-      # specify which attributes *can* be accessed in with the +attr_accessible+ macro. Then all the
-      # attributes not included in that won't be allowed to be mass-assigned.
-      def attributes=(attributes)
-        return if attributes.nil?
+      # specify which attributes *can* be accessed with the +attr_accessible+ macro. Then all the
+      # attributes not included in that won't be allowed to be mass-assigned. 
+      def attributes=(new_attributes, guard_protected_attributes = true)
+        return if new_attributes.nil?
+        attributes = new_attributes.dup
+        attributes.stringify_keys!
 
         multi_parameter_attributes = []
-        remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes).each do |k, v| 
+        attributes = remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes) if guard_protected_attributes
+        
+        attributes.each do |k, v|
           k.include?("(") ? multi_parameter_attributes << [ k, v ] : send(k + "=", v)
         end
+
         assign_multiparameter_attributes(multi_parameter_attributes)
       end
 
+
+      # Returns a hash of all the attributes with their names as keys and clones of their objects as values.
+      def attributes(options = nil)
+        attributes = clone_attributes :read_attribute
+        
+        if options.nil?
+          attributes
+        else
+          if except = options[:except]
+            except = Array(except).collect { |attribute| attribute.to_s }
+            except.each { |attribute_name| attributes.delete(attribute_name) }
+            attributes
+          elsif only = options[:only]
+            only = Array(only).collect { |attribute| attribute.to_s }
+            attributes.delete_if { |key, value| !only.include?(key) }
+            attributes
+          else
+            raise ArgumentError, "Options does not specify :except or :only (#{options.keys.inspect})"
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Returns a hash of cloned attributes before typecasting and deserialization.
+      def attributes_before_type_cast
+        clone_attributes :read_attribute_before_type_cast
+      end
+
+      # Format attributes nicely for inspect.
+      def attribute_for_inspect(attr_name)
+        value = read_attribute(attr_name)
+
+        if value.is_a?(String) && value.length > 50
+          "#{value[0..50]}...".inspect
+        elsif value.is_a?(Date) || value.is_a?(Time)
+          %("#{value.to_s(:db)}")
+        else
+          value.inspect
+        end
+      end
+
       # Returns true if the specified +attribute+ has been set by the user or by a database load and is neither
-      # nil nor empty? (the latter only applies to objects that responds to empty?, most notably Strings).
+      # nil nor empty? (the latter only applies to objects that respond to empty?, most notably Strings).
       def attribute_present?(attribute)
-        is_empty = read_attribute(attribute).respond_to?("empty?") ? read_attribute(attribute).empty? : false
-        @attributes.include?(attribute) && !@attributes[attribute].nil? && !is_empty
+        value = read_attribute(attribute)
+        !value.blank?
+      end
+
+      # Returns true if the given attribute is in the attributes hash
+      def has_attribute?(attr_name)
+        @attributes.has_key?(attr_name.to_s)
       end
 
       # Returns an array of names for the attributes available on this object sorted alphabetically.
@@ -714,174 +2106,180 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
 
       # Returns the column object for the named attribute.
       def column_for_attribute(name)
-        self.class.columns_hash[name]
+        self.class.columns_hash[name.to_s]
       end
-      
-      # Returns true if the +comparison_object+ is of the same type and has the same id.
+
+      # Returns true if the +comparison_object+ is the same object, or is of the same type and has the same id.
       def ==(comparison_object)
-        comparison_object.instance_of?(self.class) && comparison_object.id == id
+        comparison_object.equal?(self) ||
+          (comparison_object.instance_of?(self.class) && 
+            comparison_object.id == id && 
+            !comparison_object.new_record?)
+      end
+
+      # Delegates to ==
+      def eql?(comparison_object)
+        self == (comparison_object)
       end
 
-      # For checking respond_to? without searching the attributes (which is faster).
-      alias_method :respond_to_without_attributes?, :respond_to?
+      # Delegates to id in order to allow two records of the same type and id to work with something like:
+      #   [ Person.find(1), Person.find(2), Person.find(3) ] & [ Person.find(1), Person.find(4) ] # => [ Person.find(1) ]
+      def hash
+        id.hash
+      end
+
+      # Freeze the attributes hash such that associations are still accessible, even on destroyed records.
+      def freeze
+        @attributes.freeze; self
+      end
+
+      # Returns +true+ if the attributes hash has been frozen.
+      def frozen?
+        @attributes.frozen?
+      end
+
+      # Returns +true+ if the record is read only. Records loaded through joins with piggy-back
+      # attributes will be marked as read only since they cannot be saved.
+      def readonly?
+        @readonly == true
+      end
+
+      # Marks this record as read only.
+      def readonly!
+        @readonly = true
+      end
 
-      # A Person object with a name attribute can ask person.respond_to?("name"), person.respond_to?("name="), and
-      # person.respond_to?("name?") which will all return true.
-      def respond_to?(method)
-        @@dynamic_methods ||= attribute_names + attribute_names.collect { |attr| attr + "=" } + attribute_names.collect { |attr| attr + "?" }
-        @@dynamic_methods.include?(method.to_s) ? true : respond_to_without_attributes?(method)
+      # Returns the contents of the record as a nicely formatted string.
+      def inspect
+        attributes_as_nice_string = self.class.column_names.collect { |name|
+          if has_attribute?(name) || new_record?
+            "#{name}: #{attribute_for_inspect(name)}"
+          end
+        }.compact.join(", ")
+        "#<#{self.class} #{attributes_as_nice_string}>"
       end
 
     private
       def create_or_update
-        if new_record? then create else update end
+        raise ReadOnlyRecord if readonly?
+        result = new_record? ? create : update
+        result != false
       end
 
-      # Updates the associated record with values matching those of the instant attributes.
+      # Updates the associated record with values matching those of the instance attributes.
+      # Returns the number of affected rows.
       def update
+        quoted_attributes = attributes_with_quotes(false, false)
+        return 0 if quoted_attributes.empty?
         connection.update(
-          "UPDATE #{self.class.table_name} " +
-          "SET #{quoted_comma_pair_list(connection, attributes_with_quotes)} " +
-          "WHERE #{self.class.primary_key} = '#{id}'",
+          "UPDATE #{self.class.quoted_table_name} " +
+          "SET #{quoted_comma_pair_list(connection, quoted_attributes)} " +
+          "WHERE #{connection.quote_column_name(self.class.primary_key)} = #{quote_value(id)}",
           "#{self.class.name} Update"
         )
       end
 
-      # Creates a new record with values matching those of the instant attributes.
+      # Creates a record with values matching those of the instance attributes
+      # and returns its id.
       def create
-        self.id = connection.insert(
-          "INSERT INTO #{self.class.table_name} " +
+        if self.id.nil? && connection.prefetch_primary_key?(self.class.table_name)
+          self.id = connection.next_sequence_value(self.class.sequence_name)
+        end
+
+        quoted_attributes = attributes_with_quotes
+
+        statement = if quoted_attributes.empty?
+          connection.empty_insert_statement(self.class.table_name)
+        else
+          "INSERT INTO #{self.class.quoted_table_name} " +
           "(#{quoted_column_names.join(', ')}) " +
-          "VALUES(#{attributes_with_quotes.values.join(', ')})",
-          "#{self.class.name} Create",
-      	  self.class.primary_key, self.id
-        )
-        
+          "VALUES(#{quoted_attributes.values.join(', ')})"
+        end
+
+        self.id = connection.insert(statement, "#{self.class.name} Create",
+          self.class.primary_key, self.id, self.class.sequence_name)
+
         @new_record = false
+        id
       end
 
-      # Sets the attribute used for single table inheritance to this class name if this is not the ActiveRecord descendant. 
-      # Considering the hierarchy Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, this makes it possible to do Reply.new without having to 
-      # set Reply[Reply.inheritance_column] = "Reply" yourself. No such attribute would be set for objects of the 
+      # Sets the attribute used for single table inheritance to this class name if this is not the ActiveRecord descendent.
+      # Considering the hierarchy Reply < Message < ActiveRecord, this makes it possible to do Reply.new without having to
+      # set Reply[Reply.inheritance_column] = "Reply" yourself. No such attribute would be set for objects of the
       # Message class in that example.
       def ensure_proper_type
-        unless self.class.descents_from_active_record?
-	        write_attribute(self.class.inheritance_column, Inflector.demodulize(self.class.name))
-	      end
-      end
-
-      # Allows access to the object attributes, which are held in the @attributes hash, as were
-      # they first-class methods. So a Person class with a name attribute can use Person#name and
-      # Person#name= and never directly use the attributes hash -- except for multiple assigns with
-      # ActiveRecord#attributes=. A Milestone class can also ask Milestone#completed? to test that
-      # the completed attribute is not nil or 0. 
-      #
-      # It's also possible to instantiate related objects, so a Client class belonging to the clients
-      # table with a master_id foreign key can instantiate master through Client#master.
-      def method_missing(method_id, *arguments)
-        method_name = method_id.id2name
-      
-        if method_name =~ read_method? && @attributes.include?($1)
-          return read_attribute($1)
-        elsif method_name =~ write_method?
-          write_attribute($1, arguments[0])
-        elsif method_name =~ query_method?
-          return query_attribute($1)
-        else
-          super
+        unless self.class.descends_from_active_record?
+          write_attribute(self.class.inheritance_column, Inflector.demodulize(self.class.name))
         end
       end
 
-      def read_method?()  /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)[^=?]*$/ end
-      def write_method?() /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)=.*$/    end
-      def query_method?() /^([a-zA-Z][-_\w]*)\?$/     end
-
-      # Returns the value of attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> after it has been type cast (for example, 
-      # "2004-12-12" in a data column is cast to a date object, like Date.new(2004, 12, 12)).
-      def read_attribute(attr_name) #:doc:
-        if column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
-          @attributes[attr_name] = unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column) ?
-            unserialize_attribute(attr_name) : column.type_cast(@attributes[attr_name])
+      def convert_number_column_value(value)
+        case value
+          when FalseClass; 0
+          when TrueClass;  1
+          when '';         nil
+          else value
         end
-        
-        @attributes[attr_name]
       end
 
-      # Returns true if the attribute is of a text column and marked for serialization.
-      def unserializable_attribute?(attr_name, column)
-        @attributes[attr_name] && column.send(:type) == :text && @attributes[attr_name].is_a?(String) && self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]
-      end
+      def remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes)
+        safe_attributes =
+          if self.class.accessible_attributes.nil? && self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
+            attributes.reject { |key, value| attributes_protected_by_default.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/, "")) }
+          elsif self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
+            attributes.reject { |key, value| !self.class.accessible_attributes.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/, "")) || attributes_protected_by_default.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/, "")) }
+          elsif self.class.accessible_attributes.nil?
+            attributes.reject { |key, value| self.class.protected_attributes.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/,"")) || attributes_protected_by_default.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/, "")) }
+          else
+            raise "Declare either attr_protected or attr_accessible for #{self.class}, but not both."
+          end
 
-      # Returns the unserialized object of the attribute.
-      def unserialize_attribute(attr_name)
-        unserialized_object = object_from_yaml(@attributes[attr_name])
+        removed_attributes = attributes.keys - safe_attributes.keys
 
-        if unserialized_object.is_a?(self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name])
-          @attributes[attr_name] = unserialized_object
-        else
-          raise(
-            SerializationTypeMismatch, 
-            "#{attr_name} was supposed to be a #{self.class.serialized_attributes[attr_name]}, " +
-            "but was a #{unserialized_object.class.to_s}"
-          )
+        if removed_attributes.any?
+          logger.debug "WARNING: Can't mass-assign these protected attributes: #{removed_attributes.join(', ')}"
         end
-      end
 
-      # Updates the attribute identified by <tt>attr_name</tt> with the specified +value+. Empty strings for fixnum and float
-      # columns are turned into nil.
-      def write_attribute(attr_name, value) #:doc:
-        @attributes[attr_name] = empty_string_for_number_column?(attr_name, value) ? nil : value
+        safe_attributes
       end
 
-      def empty_string_for_number_column?(attr_name, value)
-        column = column_for_attribute(attr_name)
-        column && (column.klass == Fixnum || column.klass == Float) && value == ""
-      end
-
-      def query_attribute(attr_name)
-        attribute = @attributes[attr_name]
-        if attribute.kind_of?(Fixnum) && attribute == 0
-          false
-        elsif attribute.kind_of?(String) && attribute == "0"
-          false
-        elsif attribute.kind_of?(String) && attribute.empty?
-          false
-        elsif attribute.nil?
-          false
-        elsif attribute == false
-          false
-        elsif attribute == "f"
-          false
-        elsif attribute == "false"
-          false
+      # Removes attributes which have been marked as readonly.
+      def remove_readonly_attributes(attributes)
+        unless self.class.readonly_attributes.nil?
+          attributes.delete_if { |key, value| self.class.readonly_attributes.include?(key.gsub(/\(.+/,"")) }
         else
-          true
+          attributes
         end
       end
 
-      def remove_attributes_protected_from_mass_assignment(attributes)
-        if self.class.accessible_attributes.nil? && self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
-          attributes.reject { |key, value| key == self.class.primary_key }
-        elsif self.class.protected_attributes.nil?
-          attributes.reject { |key, value| !self.class.accessible_attributes.include?(key.intern) || key == self.class.primary_key }
-        elsif self.class.accessible_attributes.nil?
-          attributes.reject { |key, value| self.class.protected_attributes.include?(key.intern) || key == self.class.primary_key }
-        end
+      # The primary key and inheritance column can never be set by mass-assignment for security reasons.
+      def attributes_protected_by_default
+        default = [ self.class.primary_key, self.class.inheritance_column ]
+        default << 'id' unless self.class.primary_key.eql? 'id'
+        default
       end
 
-      # Returns copy of the attributes hash where all the values have been safely quoted for use in
-      # an SQL statement. 
-      def attributes_with_quotes
-        columns_hash = self.class.columns_hash
-        @attributes.inject({}) do |attrs_quoted, pair| 
-          attrs_quoted[pair.first] = quote(pair.last, columns_hash[pair.first])
-          attrs_quoted
+      # Returns a copy of the attributes hash where all the values have been safely quoted for use in
+      # an SQL statement.
+      def attributes_with_quotes(include_primary_key = true, include_readonly_attributes = true)
+        quoted = attributes.inject({}) do |quoted, (name, value)|
+          if column = column_for_attribute(name)
+            quoted[name] = quote_value(value, column) unless !include_primary_key && column.primary
+          end
+          quoted
         end
+        include_readonly_attributes ? quoted : remove_readonly_attributes(quoted)
       end
-      
+
       # Quote strings appropriately for SQL statements.
-      def quote(value, column = nil)
-        connection.quote(value, column)
+      def quote_value(value, column = nil)
+        self.class.connection.quote(value, column)
+      end
+
+      # Interpolate custom sql string in instance context.
+      # Optional record argument is meant for custom insert_sql.
+      def interpolate_sql(sql, record = nil)
+        instance_eval("%@#{sql.gsub('@', '\@')}@")
       end
 
       # Initializes the attributes array with keys matching the columns from the linked table and
@@ -889,7 +2287,7 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
       # that a new instance, or one populated from a passed-in Hash, still has all the attributes
       # that instances loaded from the database would.
       def attributes_from_column_definition
-        connection.columns(self.class.table_name, "#{self.class.name} Columns").inject({}) do |attributes, column| 
+        self.class.columns.inject({}) do |attributes, column|
           attributes[column.name] = column.default unless column.name == self.class.primary_key
           attributes
         end
@@ -899,26 +2297,34 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
       # by calling new on the column type or aggregation type (through composed_of) object with these parameters.
       # So having the pairs written_on(1) = "2004", written_on(2) = "6", written_on(3) = "24", will instantiate
       # written_on (a date type) with Date.new("2004", "6", "24"). You can also specify a typecast character in the
-      # parenteses to have the parameters typecasted before they're used in the constructor. Use i for Fixnum, f for Float,
-      # s for String, and a for Array. If all the values for a given attribute is empty, the attribute will be set to nil.
+      # parentheses to have the parameters typecasted before they're used in the constructor. Use i for Fixnum, f for Float,
+      # s for String, and a for Array. If all the values for a given attribute are empty, the attribute will be set to nil.
       def assign_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
         execute_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(
           extract_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
         )
       end
-      
+
       # Includes an ugly hack for Time.local instead of Time.new because the latter is reserved by Time itself.
       def execute_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(callstack)
+        errors = []
         callstack.each do |name, values|
-          klass = (self.class.reflect_on_aggregation(name) || column_for_attribute(name)).klass
+          klass = (self.class.reflect_on_aggregation(name.to_sym) || column_for_attribute(name)).klass
           if values.empty?
             send(name + "=", nil)
           else
-            send(name + "=", Time == klass ? klass.local(*values) : klass.new(*values))
+            begin
+              send(name + "=", Time == klass ? (@@default_timezone == :utc ? klass.utc(*values) : klass.local(*values)) : klass.new(*values))
+            rescue => ex
+              errors << AttributeAssignmentError.new("error on assignment #{values.inspect} to #{name}", ex, name)
+            end
           end
         end
+        unless errors.empty?
+          raise MultiparameterAssignmentErrors.new(errors), "#{errors.size} error(s) on assignment of multiparameter attributes"
+        end
       end
-      
+
       def extract_callstack_for_multiparameter_attributes(pairs)
         attributes = { }
 
@@ -928,58 +2334,65 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
           attributes[attribute_name] = [] unless attributes.include?(attribute_name)
 
           unless value.empty?
-            attributes[attribute_name] << 
-              [find_parameter_position(multiparameter_name), type_cast_attribute_value(multiparameter_name, value)]
+            attributes[attribute_name] <<
+              [ find_parameter_position(multiparameter_name), type_cast_attribute_value(multiparameter_name, value) ]
           end
         end
 
         attributes.each { |name, values| attributes[name] = values.sort_by{ |v| v.first }.collect { |v| v.last } }
       end
-      
+
       def type_cast_attribute_value(multiparameter_name, value)
         multiparameter_name =~ /\([0-9]*([a-z])\)/ ? value.send("to_" + $1) : value
       end
-      
+
       def find_parameter_position(multiparameter_name)
         multiparameter_name.scan(/\(([0-9]*).*\)/).first.first
       end
-      
+
       # Returns a comma-separated pair list, like "key1 = val1, key2 = val2".
       def comma_pair_list(hash)
         hash.inject([]) { |list, pair| list << "#{pair.first} = #{pair.last}" }.join(", ")
       end
 
-      def quoted_column_names
-        attributes_with_quotes.keys.collect { |column_name| connection.quote_column_name(column_name) }
+      def quoted_column_names(attributes = attributes_with_quotes)
+        attributes.keys.collect do |column_name|
+          self.class.connection.quote_column_name(column_name)
+        end
+      end
+
+      def self.quoted_table_name
+        self.connection.quote_table_name(self.table_name)
       end
 
-      def quote_columns(column_quoter, hash)
-        hash.inject({}) {|list, pair|
-          list[column_quoter.quote_column_name(pair.first)] = pair.last
-          list
-        }
+      def quote_columns(quoter, hash)
+        hash.inject({}) do |quoted, (name, value)|
+          quoted[quoter.quote_column_name(name)] = value
+          quoted
+        end
       end
 
-      def quoted_comma_pair_list(column_quoter, hash)
-        comma_pair_list(quote_columns(column_quoter, hash))
+      def quoted_comma_pair_list(quoter, hash)
+        comma_pair_list(quote_columns(quoter, hash))
       end
 
       def object_from_yaml(string)
-        return string unless String === string
-        if has_yaml_encoding_header?(string)
-          begin
-            YAML::load(string)
-          rescue Object
-            # Apparently wasn't YAML anyway
-            string
-          end
-        else
-          string
+        return string unless string.is_a?(String)
+        YAML::load(string) rescue string
+      end
+
+      def clone_attributes(reader_method = :read_attribute, attributes = {})
+        self.attribute_names.inject(attributes) do |attributes, name|
+          attributes[name] = clone_attribute_value(reader_method, name)
+          attributes
         end
       end
 
-      def has_yaml_encoding_header?(string)
-        string[0..3] == "--- "
+      def clone_attribute_value(reader_method, attribute_name)
+        value = send(reader_method, attribute_name)
+        value.duplicable? ? value.clone : value
+      rescue TypeError, NoMethodError
+        value
       end
   end
-end
+end