Why is 'delete' renamed to 'destroy'?

Hi Brendan,

I think delete is the simple implementation - it deletes a row of the database but doesn't tidy up related dependencies. Using the destroy action in the controller allows you to manage dependencies, which keeps the data base clean using callbacks like before_destroy.

Also, delete just bins the record. I think destroy holds the instance in memory so you can use its properties one more time, like "User #{user.id} has been deleted".

I did a Google for a better explanation and found this:

Basically "delete" sends a query directly to the database to delete the record. In that case Rails doesn't know what attributes are in the record it is deleteing nor if there are any callbacks (such as before_destroy).

The "destroy" method takes the passed id, fetches the model from the database using the "find" method, then calls destroy on that. This means the callbacks are triggered.

You would want to use "delete" if you don't want the callbacks to be triggered or you want better performance. Otherwise (and most of the time) you will want to use "destroy".

I hope that helps,

Steve.