Rails 4: Set enum field through FactoryGirl attributes

Question

I have a Model that has an enum as attribute.

class ApplicationLetter < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :user
  belongs_to :event

  validates :user, :event, presence: true

  enum status: {accepted: 1, rejected: 0, pending: 2}

end

As well as a factory that generates this model and sets a value for the enum

FactoryGirl.define do
  factory :application_letter do
    motivation "motivation"
    user
    event
    status :accepted
  end
end

In a controller test I want to get valid attributes through the factory

let(:valid_attributes) { FactoryGirl.build(:application_letter).attributes }

and create a application with these attributes.

application = ApplicationLetter.create! valid_attributes

But I get the following error:

ArgumentError: '1' is not a valid status

Why is status interpreted as string? If I change the status in the factory I get the same error, but with the right corresponding number.

Answer 1

you can do it more dynamically:

FactoryGirl.define do
  factory :application_letter do
    motivation "motivation"
    user
    event
    status { ApplicationLetter.statuses.values.sample }
  end
end

in this each time you will get different status

OR if wanna use static value you have to use integer, because enums by default use integer values

Answer 2

All you need in your factory is status 'accepted'.