Rails /lib modules and

Question

I am writing a custom wrapper for open_flash_chart plugin. It\'s placed in /lib and load it as a module in ApplicationController.

Answer 1

What worked for me, besides uncommenting config.autoload_paths (I’m on Rails 3.1.3), was to create a initializer like this:

#config/initializers/myapp_init.rb
require 'my_module'    
include MyModule

This way I can call mymodule methods from anywhere and as class methods Model.mymodule_method or as instance methods mymodel.mymodule_method

Maybe some expert may explain the implications of this. By now, use it at your own risk.

Edit: Afterwards, I think a better approuch would be:

create a initializer like this:

#config/initializers/myapp_init.rb
require ‘my_module’

Include the module where needed, like this:

1) if you want to use it as "Class Methods" use "extend":

class Myclass < ActiveRecord::Base
   extend MyModule
   def self.method1
      Myclass.my_module_method
   end
end

2) if you want to use it as "Instance Methods" include it inside Class definition:

class Myclass < ActiveRecord::Base
include MyModule
   def method1
      self.my_module_method 
   end
end

3) remember that include MyModule refers to a file my_module.rb in your load path that must be required first