get model attribute dynamically in rails 3

Question

How can I get the attribute from the model object dynamically? I have the attribute of the User object as string:

u = User.find(1)

Can I do something like u.get("user_id")

Answer 1

Yet another approach:

attr = :first_name
@user.read_attribute attr  

Answer 2

You could try using the ActiveRecord model instance like a hash.

u = User.find(1)
name = u[:name]
field = "first_name"
first_name = u[field]

Answer 3

Try this

user = User.find(1)

then something like this should do what you require

user.send('field_name')