In Rails, what is the best way to update a record or create a new one if it doesn't exist?

Question

I have a create statement for some models, but it’s creating a record within a join table regardless of whether the record already exists.

Here is what my code looks

Answer 1

my_class = ClassName.find_or_initialize_by_name(name)

my_class.update_attributes({
   :street_address => self.street_address,
   :city_name => self.city_name,
   :zip_code => self.zip_code
})