Serialization

serialization.rb

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  serialize :preferences, Hash
  
  def initialize(preferences = {})
    @preferences = preferences
  end
end

user = User.create({ food: { tomatoes: true, salad: false }, sleep: { light: false, noise: false } })

puts user.preferences
# { food: { tomatoes: true, salad: false }, sleep: { light: false, noise: false } }

puts user.preferences[:food]
# { food: { tomatoes: true, salad: false } }

puts user.preferences[:food][:salad]
# false

user.preferences[:sleep] = { light: true, noise: false }
user.save

puts user.preferences 
# { food: { tomatoes: true, salad: false }, sleep: { light: true, noise: false } }

user.preferences[:drinks] = { tea: true, coffe: false }
user.save

puts user.preferences
# { food: { tomatoes: true, salad: false }, sleep: { light: true, noise: false }, drinks: { tea: true, coffe: false } }

# For further validations 

gem 'validates_serialized'