Simplify multiple nil checking in Rails

Question

How should I write:

if @parent.child.grand_child.attribute.present?
  do_something

without cumbersome nil checkings to avoid exception:

Answer 1

If the attribute you are checking is always the same, create a method in @parent.

def attribute_present?
  @parent.child.present? && @parent.child.grandchild.present? && @parent.child.grandchild.attribute.present?

end

Alternatively, create has_many :through relationship so that @parent can get to grandchild so that you can use :

@parent.grandchild.try(:attribute).try(:present?)

Note: present? is not just for nil, it also checks for blank values, ''. You can just do @parent.grandchild.attribute if it's just nil checking