Should I validate the type column? (Rails, STI)

Question

I have a model and I am using Single Table Inheritance. This has a type column in my database which is populated with the string of the class name.

Should I validate this column?

Options:

• required column in the db
• validates :type, presence: true
• validates :type, inclusion: {in: [Class1.to_s, Class2.to_s]}

Answer 1

Since ActiveRecord handles the type field you don't need to write extra validations on this field.