Problems keeping an object in an array, Ruby issues and Rails issues

Question

I\'m trying to add an object to my array, however the array seems to always reset, instead of adding. What am I doing wrong? I think it has to do with if(defined? libr

Answer 1

since you're in a function libraryshelf will never be defined as a local variable. And I'm guessing you are using Ruby 1.8.7 so then you are making a new array in a scope (that you shouldn't be able to see ) and assigning that to @listofbooks

I suggest

def add_book
    @listofbooks ||= Array.new
    @listofbooks.push(name)
    @listofbooks # return the entire list, not the last thing pushed
end

Edit to reflect updated question

This is a problem with the life cycle of the controller. For each request a new controller object is instantiated so any @variables are cleared between requests. You will need to store your variables by something like session[:booklist] = @booklist, then retrieve it for the next request.