Ruby on Rails - Can I modify the value of an attribute before it is called?

Let's say I have this model named Product with a field named brand. Suppose the values of brand are stored in the format *this_is_a_brand*. Can I define a method in the model (or anywhere else) that allows me to modify the value of brand before it is called. For example, if I call @product.brand, I want to get This is a Brand, instead of *this_is_a_brand*.

From stackoverflow

• In your model you can override the method call brand.

  def brand
  #code to modify the value that is stored in brand
  return modified_brand
  end
  

  This will allow it to be stored as this_is_a_brand. But, it will be returned as "this is a brand".

  sker : I tried that, but how do I reference the "internal" brand?

  sker : Ok, I got it. Attributes are stored in @attributes so I can just call @attributes['brand'] inside the method. Thanks for your help.

• Rather than accessing @attributes directly, you should use read_attribute and write_attribute:

  def brand
    b = read_attribute(:brand) 
    b && b.transform_in_some_way
  end
  
  def brand=(b)
    b && b.transform_in_some_way
    write_attribute(:brand, b)
  end
  

  sker : What does the idiom b && b.transform_in_some_way mean?

  sker : And why is it better to use those methods?

  sker : Wait, I get it. Thanks for your help.

  webmat : For the other ppl not getting it: b && b.... is a common Ruby idiom. what's after the && is only executed if b is not nil. See also the andand gem for the same functionality: b.andand.transform_in_some_way

  JasonOng : Ah... nice. Great tip on using &&

• I would recommend using the square bracket syntax ([] and []=) instead of read_attribute and write_attribute. The square bracket syntax is shorter and designed to wrap the protected read/write_attribute methods.

  def brand
    original = self[:brand]
    transform(original)
  end
  
  def brand=(b)
    self[:brand] = reverse_transform(b)
  end