Method: ActiveRecord::Associations::Association#load_target

Defined in:
lib/active_record/associations/association.rb

#load_target ⇒ Object

Loads the target if needed and returns it.

This method is abstract in the sense that it relies on find_target, which is expected to be provided by descendants.

If the target is already loaded it is just returned. Thus, you can call load_target unconditionally to get the target.

ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound is rescued within the method, and it is not reraised. The proxy is reset and nil is the return value.



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# File 'lib/active_record/associations/association.rb', line 172

def load_target
  @target = find_target if (@stale_state && stale_target?) || find_target?

  loaded! unless loaded?
  target
rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
  reset
end