Creates a new table with the name table_name. table_name
may either be a String or a Symbol.
There are two ways to work with create_table. You can use the
block form or the regular form, like this:
Block form
# create_table() passes a TableDefinition object to the block.
# This form will not only create the table, but also columns for the
# table.
create_table(:suppliers) do |t|
t.column :name, :string, :limit => 60
# Other fields here
end
Regular form
# Creates a table called 'suppliers' with no columns.
create_table(:suppliers)
# Add a column to 'suppliers'.
add_column(:suppliers, :name, :string, {:limit => 60})
The options hash can include the following keys:
- :id
- Whether to automatically add a primary key column. Defaults to true. Join
tables for has_and_belongs_to_many should set :id =>
false.
- :primary_key
- The name of the primary key, if one is to be added automatically. Defaults
to id.
- :options
- Any extra options you want appended to the table definition.
- :temporary
- Make a temporary table.
- :force
- Set to true to drop the table before creating it. Defaults to false.
Examples
Add a backend specific option to the generated SQL (MySQL)
create_table(:suppliers, :options => 'ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8')
generates:
CREATE TABLE suppliers (
id int(11) DEFAULT NULL auto_increment PRIMARY KEY
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8
Rename the primary key column
create_table(:objects, :primary_key => 'guid') do |t|
t.column :name, :string, :limit => 80
end
generates:
CREATE TABLE objects (
guid int(11) DEFAULT NULL auto_increment PRIMARY KEY,
name varchar(80)
)
Do not add a primary key column
create_table(:categories_suppliers, :id => false) do |t|
t.column :category_id, :integer
t.column :supplier_id, :integer
end
generates:
CREATE TABLE categories_suppliers (
category_id int,
supplier_id int
)
See also TableDefinition#column
for details on how to create columns.